Abstract

To fabricate optical components with surface layers compatible with high-power laser applications that may operate as antireflective coatings, polarization rotators, or harness physical anisotropy for other uses, metasurfaces are becoming an appealing candidate. In this study, large-beam (1.05 cm diameter) 351-nm laser-induced damage testing was performed on an all-glass metasurface structure composed of cone-like features with a subwavelength spacing of adjacent features. These structures were fabricated on untreated fused silica glass and damage tested, as were structures that were fabricated on fused silica glass that experienced a preliminary etching process to remove the surface Beilby layer that is characteristic of polished fused silica. The laser-induced damage onset for structures on untreated fused silica glass was ${19.3}\;{{\rm J}\cdot {\rm cm}^{- 2}}$, while the sample that saw an initial pretreatment etch exhibited an improved damage onset of ${20.4}\;{{\rm J}\cdot {\rm cm}^{- 2}}$, only 6% short of the reference pretreated glass damage onset of ${21.7}\;{{\rm J}\cdot {\rm cm}^{- 2}}$. For perspective, the National Ignition Facility operational average fluence at this wavelength and pulse length is about ${10}\;{{\rm J/cm}^2}$. At a fluence of ${25.5}\;{{\rm J}\cdot {\rm cm}^{- 2}}$, the reference (pretreated) fused silica initiated 5.2 damage sites per ${{\rm mm}^2}$, while the antireflective metasurface sample with a preliminary etching process treatment initiated 9.8 damage sites per ${{\rm mm}^2}$. These findings demonstrate that substrate-engraved metasurfaces are compatible with high energy and power laser applications, further broadening their application space.

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