Temporally and spatially resolved photoluminescence of laser-induced damage sites of fused silica

We present a temporally and spatially resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurement technique developed to rapidly characterize fused silica damage sites and determine their propensity to grow under subsequent laser irradiation. A diffusional model is used to describe the observed PL dynamics and correlation to the local damage morphologies. We believe that our measurement and analysis approach can allow rapid identification of growth-prone damage sites, providing a pathway to fast, non-destructive predictions of laser-induced damage growth and enable selective damage site mitigation which will greatly reduce the time required to recycle NIF’s optics.