SPIE Laser Damage 2009 concluded 23 September.

The Laser Damage Symposium is the leading forum for the exchange of information on the physics/technology of materials for high-power/high-energy lasers. Before 2009, the event was named Boulder Damage. The focus of the event is unchanged.

The series of conference proceedings has grown to be a comprehensive source of information on optics for lasers and includes topics on materials and thin film preparation, durability, properties modeling, testing, and component fabrication.

This year's Symposium drew a 12% increase in papers versus last year, and was kicked off by a roundtable led by co-chairs Vitaly Gruzdev and M.J. Soileau. Other highlights included an open house at Alpine Research Optics, all-day poster sessions, award presentations, and a wine & cheese reception at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

Next year's meeting is tentatively scheduled for 20-22 September 2010 in Boulder, Colorado.

See details of the program:

• Advance Program PDF
• Participant list

The meeting focused on the following topics:

Laser-Induced Damage Issues

• Photonic bandgap materials
• High power fiber lasers
• Fibers for high power laser applications
• High power, ultra fast, lasers
• Multi-layer thin films
• Nonlinear optical and laser host materials

Other Laser-Induced Damage Related Issues

• Measurement protocols
• Materials characterization
• Fundamental mechanisms
• Contamination of optical components
• Surface and bulk defects

MINI-SYMPOSIUM: Femtosecond Laser Induced Damage

Symposium Organizers

Conference Co-Chairs: Gregory J. Exarhos,  Pacific Northwest National Lab.; Vitaly E. Gruzdev, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia; Detlev Ristau, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany),M. J. Soileau, College of Optics & Photonics/Univ. of Central Florida; Christopher J. Stolz, Lawrence Livermore National Lab.

International Program Committee: Detlev Ristau, Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (Germany), Committee Chair; James E. Andrew, Atomic Weapons Establishment plc (United Kingdom); Jonathan W. Arenberg, TRW Inc.; Mireille Commandré, Institut Fresnel (France); Stavros Demos, Lawrence Livermore National Lab.; Jerry B. Franck, U.S. Army Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate; Leonid B. Glebov, College of Optics & Photonics/Univ. of Central Florida; Klaus Mann, Laser-Lab. Göttingen e.V. (Germany); Masataka Murahara, Tokai Univ. (Japan); Jerome Neauport, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (France); Semyon Papernov,Amy L. Rigatti, Univ. of Rochester; Jianda Shao, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (China); Michelle Shinn, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Lab.; Kunio Yoshida, Osaka Institute of Technology (Japan)

Founding Organizers: Arthur H. Guenther and Alexander J. Glass

Technical Contact: Kent Rochford, National Institute of Standards and Technology