Laser damage growth with picosecond pulses.

Laser-induced damage growth has been investigated in the subpicosecond regime at 1030 nm. We have herein studied the growth of damage sites initiated on a high-reflective dielectric coating under subsequent laser irradiations at a constant fluence. We show through an experimental approach that growth can be triggered for fluences as low as 50% of the intrinsic damage threshold of the mirror. Moreover, once growth starts, damage areas increase linearly with the number of laser shots. The behavior of defect-induced damage sites has been observed more extensively, and it appears that their growth probability depends on their initiation fluence.