Ultraviolet-graded coatings for lasers: surface optical performance

Thin film optical coatings play an important role for the design of optical components to be used in the laser field. In particular, optical component s with graded coatings allow the improvement of the quality of the laser be am without introducing inside the cavity additional optical elements. A num ber of coated optical components, useful to this end, are described and thi n film multilayer stacks, capable of giving the required performance, are d esigned taking advantage of the possibility of tailoring the film thickness along the sample surface. Three different components to be used either ins ide or outside the laser cavity are proposed for a XeCl excimer laser. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.