
40
Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials
3.3 Absorption Delocalization as a Major Damage
Mechanism for Small Absorbers
e thermal diusion–based model for damage initiated by absorbing inclusions con-
sidered the host material reaching the critical temperature to be a damage-initiation
condition, and the corresponding laser uence (J/cm
2
) to be a damage-threshold uence.
In the absolute majority of these studies, the melting point of the dielectric host material
(typically 1500–3000 K) is taken as a critical temperature. On the other hand, melting
of the thin layer adjacent to the absorber does not necessarily lead to structural changes