Ray-tracing method to analyze and quantify the light enhancement around subsurface defects in transparent materials

Laser-induced damage (LID) to optical glass has become a growing problem in high-power laser systems. It is well known that the main reason of glass being damaged is due to defects and impurities in the material. Damage caused by subsurface defects (SSDs) is especially common in actual system running. Accordingly, in the presence of SSDs, a simple and alternative calculation method is developed to evaluate the enhancement of light field around the incident and exit surface. This ray tracing approach, based on the classical optics theory, is very direct and clear to show the optical phenomena of light intensity enhancement. Some basic SSD shapes have been studied and investigated here, which reveals the importance and boundary condition of controlling the size and density of SSDs in grinding and polishing process. Finally, to achieve optimal breadth depth ratio, the least etching amounts by hydrofluoric (HF) acid is investigated. The theoretical analysis and simulation results provide an appropriate range of removal amounts, which is very important in the HF etching process.