Simultaneous irradiation of laser and ion beams on optical materials

Abstract A simultaneous irradiation system of laser and ion beams has been developed to investigate ion beam induced luminescence and optical absorption of crystalline α-Al 2 O 3 samples. The luminescence induced by 30 keV Ar + in visible wavelength region had peaks that were attributed to oxygen vacancies. The optical absorption at 633 nm in wavelength was also measured during the ion irradiation. The amount of optical absorption for the irradiated sample with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pulses was less than that without the laser pulses. The ion irradiation reduced the threshold level of laser damage on the surface region of the sample, and the laser ablation selectively happened on the ion irradiation region.