Modification and laser-damage resistance of zirconia thin films

ZrO2 sol was obtained by using hydrothermal synthesis. Thin ZrO2 films and ZrO2-PVP composite films were prepared with spin coating method. Both the ZrO2 films and ZrO2-PVP composite films were characterized by ellipsometer, FTIR, AFM respectively. The crystallization behavior of ZrO2 xerogels was examined by X-ray diffraction. And 1-on-1 laser-induced damage threshold tests on ZrO2 films and ZrO2-PVP composite films were carried out with a Q-switched Nd:YAG high power laser at 1 064 nm with a pulse width of 10 ns. The measured laser-induced damage threshold of ZrO2 films with heat treatment at 300 ℃ for 60 min was 24.5 J/cm2, and 37.5 J/cm2 for that of ZrO2-PVP composite films. The experimental results show that the incorporating organic binder PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone), without obviou