Effect of ammonia treatment on laser-induced damage of nano-porous silica film

The sol–gel monolayer silica films on K9 glass substrates were prepared with the dip method, and then treated in saturated ammonia gas. The laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of silica films with and without ammonia treatment was measured. Properties of the films were analyzed by using Stanford photo-thermal solutions (SPTS), ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and optical microscopy to study the effect of ammonia treatment on laser-induced damage of sol–gel monolayer silica film under laser irradiation. The experimental results showed that compared with the as-grown silica film, the silica film with ammonia treatment had larger absorption and smaller porous ratio, and it had smaller LIDT. Considering the improved abrasion resistance of films with ammonia treatment, a trade-off is always needed between abrasion resistance and LIDT in practice.