LASER-INDUCED DEGRADATION OF TRANSPARENT SOLIDS

It has been shown that lowering of the optical strength of optically transmissive materials under multishot pulsed laser irradiation can be due to thermal diffusion of locally heated inhomogeneities during the pulse laser action. An increase of the inclusion radius leads to increased heating and thermal strains in the matrix in the vicinity of the inclusions. Local heating of the inclusions occurs due to the recombination of the photoexcited non-equilibrium charge carriers in the material.