High-performance dichroic beam splitters for deuterium fluoride chemical lasers.

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Laser Technology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Dichroic beam splitters are crucial optical components in various laser systems.
• Deuterium fluoride (DF) lasers operate at specific wavelengths, requiring specialized optical coatings.
• Shared-aperture optics demand components that perform multiple functions simultaneously.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the optical performance of novel dichroic beam splitters designed for DF laser applications.
• To evaluate the simultaneous high reflectance/transmittance capabilities in the 3.8-microm and 8-14-microm wavelength bands.
• To quantify the optical losses and efficiency of these shared-aperture components.

Main Methods:

• Optical performance evaluation using spectrophotometry.
• Characterization of reflectance, transmittance, and absorptance.
• Testing of dichroic beam splitters designed for DF laser output (3.8 micrometers) and long-wave infrared (8-14 micrometers).

Main Results:

• Reflecting dichroic optics exhibited <0.2% absorption and 0.1% transmission losses at DF laser wavelengths.
• The reflecting dichroic showed 80% average transmittance in the 8-14-microm band.
• Transmitting dichroic optics demonstrated <0.4% absorptance losses in the DF laser band and >50% average reflectance in the 8-14-microm region.

Conclusions:

• The developed dichroic beam splitters meet the stringent optical performance requirements for DF laser applications.
• These shared-aperture components effectively manage optical energy across disparate wavelength bands.
• The demonstrated low losses and high efficiency make these dichroic beam splitters suitable for advanced optical systems.