Understanding of the laser-induced damage threshold and impact of air–vacuum cycling of the optical components in short-pulse laser systems is of fundamental importance. We report the results of a damage-testing campaign that monitored representative pulse compression grating samples that were positioned inside the OMEGA EP grating compressor vacuum chamber during normal operation and routinely damage tested on every quarterly vent for a period of about 10 years. The evolution of their damage resistance under 10-ps and 100-ps pulse lengths are associated with a significant degradation of the laser-induced damage thresholds, which is comparatively larger at 100 ps, is described.

中文翻译：

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长期监测驻留在OMEGA EP激光器压缩室内的多层介质光栅样品的损坏性能

了解激光在短脉冲激光系统中引起的损伤阈值和光学组件的空气-真空循环的影响至关重要。我们报告了一项损害测试活动的结果，该活动监测了正常运行期间位于OMEGA EP光栅压缩机真空室内的代表性脉冲压缩光栅样品，并在每个季度的通风孔上进行了大约10年的例行损害测试。描述了在10 ps和100 ps脉冲长度下其抗损伤性的演变与激光诱导的损伤阈值的显着降低有关，该阈值在100 ps时相对较大。