Laser Window Buying Guide: Material, Coating and LIDT Selection
Laser Window Buying Guide: Material, Coating and LIDT Selection
Laser protective window is a critical consumable for laser cutting, welding and marking machines. Wrong material or coating will cause overheating, burn-through and unstable laser performance. This guide helps you select laser windows correctly.
1. Substrate Material Selection
Fused Silica: Best for fiber laser 1064nm, UV laser. Low absorption, high thermal shock resistance. Most popular choice for industrial fiber lasers.
ZnSe: Mainly for CO2 infrared laser at 10.6μm. Not suitable for high power fiber laser.
BK7: Low cost, only for low-power visible laser, cannot handle high power infrared laser.
2. Laser Wavelength & AR Coating
AR coating must match your laser wavelength. A coating optimized for 1064nm cannot work well for UV 355nm laser. Custom broadband AR coating is available for multi-wavelength systems.
3. LIDT – Laser Induced Damage Threshold
LIDT tells the maximum laser power density the window can withstand. Higher laser power requires higher LIDT window. Always select LIDT with safety margin higher than your working power.
4. Key Practical Tips
- Keep window surface clean; dust will cause laser burn
- Consider edge chamfer to avoid edge crack
- High power laser needs clean-room packaging
Talk to our optical engineers for laser window recommendation. Check our optical windows and laser components.
Submit your laser parameters on the Request Quote page for quotation.
