Diamond mirrors for high-power continuous-wave lasers

Diamond mirrors for high-power continuous-wave lasers

High-power continuous-wave (CW) lasers are used in a variety of areas including industry, medicine, communications, and defense. Yet, conventional optics, which are based on multi-layer coatings, are damaged when illuminated by high-power CW laser light, primarily due to thermal loading. This hamper...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2022-05, Vol.13 (1), p.2610-2610, Article 2610
Main Authors: Atikian, Haig A, Sinclair, Neil, Latawiec, Pawel, Xiong, Xiao, Meesala, Srujan, Gauthier, Scarlett, Wintz, Daniel, Randi, Joseph, Bernot, David, DeFrances, Sage, Thomas, Jeffrey, Roman, Michael, Durrant, Sean, Capasso, Federico, Lončar, Marko
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Continuous wave lasers
Defense industry
Diameters
Diamonds
Etching
Fabrication
High power lasers
Irradiation
Laser applications
Laser damage
Lasers
Light
Medicine
Mirrors
Multilayers
Optical properties
Optics
Radiation damage
Single crystals
Thermal properties
Thermodynamic properties
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Summary:High-power continuous-wave (CW) lasers are used in a variety of areas including industry, medicine, communications, and defense. Yet, conventional optics, which are based on multi-layer coatings, are damaged when illuminated by high-power CW laser light, primarily due to thermal loading. This hampers the effectiveness, restricts the scope and utility, and raises the cost and complexity of high-power CW laser applications. Here we demonstrate monolithic and highly reflective mirrors that operate under high-power CW laser irradiation without damage. In contrast to conventional mirrors, ours are realized by etching nanostructures into the surface of single-crystal diamond, a material with exceptional optical and thermal properties. We measure reflectivities of greater than 98% and demonstrate damage-free operation using 10 kW of CW laser light at 1070 nm, focused to a spot of 750 μm diameter. In contrast, we observe damage to a conventional dielectric mirror when illuminated by the same beam. Our results initiate a new category of optics that operate under extreme conditions, which has potential to improve or create new applications of high-power lasers.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723