Production Oriented Laser Damage Testing at Hughes Aircraft Company Available to Purchase

This paper describes the laser damage test station used by Hughes Aircraft Company for production support and incoming inspection of optics. It is emphasized that this is a high volume production station which is utilized almost full time for lot sample testing and related production support activities.

The evolution of damage testing at Hughes over a 15 year period is described from early efforts with ruby lasers to the current facility used in support of our Nd:YAG laser programs. The test station and procedures are described in detail including the use of a reference optic as a standard of comparison. Also discussed is the long term success of this test in providing usable components which are acceptable in actual hardware. Plans are presented for the development of the next generation of production related damage test station which incorporates more sophisticated diagnostics and the potential for almost complete automation of the actual damage test.