Laser-induced damage of metal mirrors under long-term exposure at shallow angle of incidence

Laser induced damage (LID) experiments were performed with a 2-J frequency-multiplied Nd:YAG laser at 1/2 /spl mu/m wavelength and a variety of metal mirrors (pure and impure diamond-turned) at shallow angle of incidence to study the sensitivity of these mirrors to LID under long term exposure. Practical lifetime curves for Al-1100 and 99.999% pure Al mirrors have been established up to 10/sup 4/ shots of operation. The results show general agreement with theoretical predictions.