Diamond mirrors for high-power continuous-wave lasers.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 35545622.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-022-30335-2 and PMC identifier 9095672.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
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.