PNNL

Abstract

These proceedings contain the papers presented as oral and poster presentations at the 41st Annual Symposium on Optical Materials for High-Power Lasers. The conference was held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology facility in Boulder, Colorado on 21-23 September 2009. The symposium was divided into the traditional sessions devoted to the following topics: thin films; surfaces, mirrors and contamination; fundamental mechanisms; materials and measurements; and finally, a mini-symposium on "Femtosecond laser-induced damage" which included a thin film femtosecond laser damage competition. A roundtable discussion was introduced this year on the topic of "Experimental identification of fundamental LIDT mechanisms: techniques, challenges, and new approaches." The conference was opened by Dr. Vitaly Gruzdev with a symposium welcome. Dr. Gregory J. Exarhos of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (USA), Dr. Vitaly Gruzdev of the University of Missouri, Columbia (USA), Dr. Detlev Ristau of the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany), Dr. M.J. Soileau of the University of Central Florida (USA), and Mr. Christopher J. Stolz of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (USA), co-chaired the symposium. The founding organizers are Dr. Arthur H. Guenther and Dr. Alexander J. Glass.