Laser-induced damage threshold of silicon in millisecond, nanosecond, and picosecond regimes

Millisecond, nanosecond, and picosecond laser pulse induced damage thresholds on single-crystal are investigated in this study. The thresholds of laser-induced damage on silicon are calculated theoretically for three pulse widths based on the thermal damage model. An axisymmetric mathematical model is established for the transient temperature field of the silicon. Experiments are performed to test the damage thresholds of silicon at various pulse widths. The results indicate that the damage thresholds obviously increase with the increasing of laser pulse width. Additionally, the experimental results agree well with theoretical calculations and numerical simulation results.