Why Ultrafast Lasers are so Ultrafast in Damaging Optics

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While the high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) is a buzzword when talking about femtosecond and picosecond optics, it is not (only) the nominal LIDT value that matters. Laser damage is a complex phenomenon and, while the result is the same – the optical component is ruined and not suitable for further use, there are different laser damage types and mechanisms. The main ones speaking about ultrafast optics are catastrophic damage and color change. Catastrophic damage causes light scattering, while color change affects the laser pulse shape and temporal characteristics.

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