Affiliation:
1. Brookhaven National Laboratory
2. University of Central Florida
Abstract
Optical materials transparent in the CO2 laser wavelength range have been evaluated regarding their suitability for components in ultrashort-pulse (≤ a few ps), high-peak-power (≥ a few TW) long-wave infrared (LWIR) lasers. We provide values for the nonlinear refractive index (n2) for seventeen materials, and onsets for nonlinear absorption for eleven materials. Characterizations were performed using a 2 ps laser pulse at λ=9.2μm. This paper methodically presents the newly acquired data in conjunction with existing literature on linear optical properties, establishing it as a comprehensive reference for designing high-peak-power LWIR laser systems.