Direct comparison of statistical damage frequency method and raster scan procedure

Presented study addresses the nano-size defects acting as damage precursors in nanosecond laser pulse irradiation regime. Defects embedded within the surface of glass are investigated in terms of defect ensembles. Damage frequency method and raster scan procedure are directly compared on the set of two samples: uncoated fused silica substrates and SiO2 monolayer films. The extracted defect ensembles appear to be different from each other. The limitations of compared methods such as pulse-to-pulse variation of laser intensity and sample contamination induced by laser ablation were identified as the main causes of observed differences.