Phenomenology and mechanisms of laser damage growth on optical coatings in the sub-ps pulse regime (Conference Presentation)

We report on our recent work on the effect of defects on laser damage initiation and growth in the ultrashort regime. We particularly investigate the mechanisms of energy deposition in nano / micro scale defects in the coatings and their relation to damage initiation and subsequent damage growth using different experimental tools such as in-situ observation of damage developments, pump probe-microscopy, and studies on engineered model defects.