The UV Laser Damage Program has been in existence at Los Alamos for over five years. Recently, the damage laboratories have been upgraded by using a computer system to control and monitor testing parameters, and to display and store the damage data.

The system was designed around already existing testing equipment merged with an IBM-XT for cost effectiveness. The damage fluence is set by a programmable beam attenuator configured in a closed-loop control system with the computer and an energy meter. A matrix of damage sites is set up at the test plane such that the operator can move the sample sequentially between sites or pick sites at random. To aid the operator in choosing test fluence values, a damage plot may be generated on the monitor or on a high resolution plotter.

By automating the Laser Damage Laboratory with a computer, consistent results can be achieved over a short testing time.