Ultrashort pulses-driven dynamics of blisters in Au-coated gratings

Abstract Au-coated gratings (ACGs) for chirped pulse compression were irradiated using 800 ± 35 nm multiple laser pulses with duration of 30 fs. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of Au-coated gratings decreases from 0.35 J/cm 2 to 0.10 J/cm 2 with the increased pulse shots. The near threshold damage feature of Au-coated gratings at different pulses shows blisters. It is indicated that the gradually increased blister height with increasing multiple pulses on ACGs is caused by the accumulation effect. The damage morphologies combine with simulated results indicate that the damage of the ACGs can be attributed to the pinholes at the base of grating pillars and the separation of gold coating and photoresist gratings caused by the photoresist absorbed the incident laser energy. Therefore, we consider the damage threshold can be enhanced by optimizing coating deposition technology to reduce pinholes density and increase the adhesion between the gold and the photoresist.