UV Fatigue and Laser-Induced Contamination of Optics

Laser-induced contamination is a key concern for ultraviolet (UV) laser systems. Contamination resulting from the environment or outgassing can significantly reduce performance or lead to system failure. Dabney presents the core concepts of UV contamination of optics and then discusses the results of long-term UV experiments. He presents experimental results on the laser-induced contamination of UV optics in various environments, along with mitigation strategies and cleaning techniques to potentially recover contaminated optics.

About the presenter
Matthew Dabney, Ph.D., is a principal laser engineer at Edmund Optics. He has over 30 years of experience researching how lasers interact with materials. He fabricated and qualified most of the optics on the Hubble Space Telescope. Dabney joined Edmund Optics in 2019 and has established a laser lab to research the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of various materials. He has published over 30 scientific papers on topics ranging from the pulsed laser deposition of novel transparent conducting oxides, the laser nucleation and growth of silicon, and the safe use of Class 4 lasers in industrial settings, to developing a robust LIDT testbed. Dabney holds master's and doctorate degrees in materials science from Colorado School of Mines.