Substrate effects on absorption of coated surfaces

Photothermal deflection is used for mapping the absorption of bare and coated surfaces. The same area is mapped before and after coating and also after annealing. The great importance of the substrate with respect to the total losses of the coated component is emphasized. First the influence of surface contamination of the bare substrate on the total absorption of the coated substrate is studied for BK7 and fused-silica substrates. Then the mean value of the coated-substrate absorptance is shown to be strongly dependenton the type of substrate. Experimental results show that this effect is associated with a localization of the absorption at the near surface of the substrate and at the interfaces of the film.