Modeling and characterization of wavefront morphologies of laser induced damages on dielectric coating

The specific morphologies of laser induced damages on dielectric coating can cause wavefront modulations and influence the downstream propagation properties of transmitted beam, which is so called wavefront morphologies. In this paper, the modeling and characterization of these wavefront morphologies are carried out. In theory, the modulation effects of different morphologies are discussed and their influence on downstream beam propagation properties are simulated based on diffraction integral. In experiment, a pump-and-probe system is developed to characterize different wavefront morphologies, and in correspondence, their geometric morphologies are characterized by microscopic instruments. The simulation and experiment match well with each other, and the geometric characterization explains the origins of wavefront properties of different morphologies.