ACOUSTIC DETECTION OF DAMAGE TO OPTICAL-C OMPONENTS BY RADIATION FROMA PULSED TEA CO2-LASER

An investigation was made of the feasibility of acoustic detection of the damage caused by pulsed radiation from a TEA CO2 laser to infrared optical materials (CaF2, BaF2, ZnSe). The detector was a wide-band hi ghly sensitive WAT-11 transducer made of lithium niobate. The state of the surface and of the interior of the test samples was examined with a microscope before and after irradiation. The magnification was a fa ctor of 120. The dependences of the acoustic signal amplitude on the e nergy density of the laser radiation were determined. The earliest sta ges of the appearance of damage were accompanied by a strong (a factor of up to 10(2)) increase in the acoustic signal. It was concluded tha t a piezoelectric transducer made of lithium niobate is a promising de vice for the effective detection of laser damage to infrared optical c omponents during the initial stages of the damage process.