A quasimodal expansion method (QMEM) is developed to model and understand the scattering properties of arbitrary shaped two-dimensional (2-D) open structures. In contrast with the bounded case which have only discrete spectrum (real in the lossless media case), open resonators show a continuous spectrum composed of radiation modes and may also be characterized by resonances associated to complex eigenvalues (quasimodes). The use of a complex change of coordinates to build Perfectly Matched Layers (PMLs) allows the numerical computation of those quasimodes and of approximate radiation modes. Unfortunately, the transformed operator at stake is no longer self-adjoint, and classical modal expansion fails. To cope with this issue, we consider an adjoint eigenvalue problem which eigenvectors are bi-orthogonal to the eigenvectors of the initial problem. The scattered field is expanded on this complete set of modes leading to a reduced order model of the initial problem. The different contributions of the eigenmodes to the scattered field unambiguously appears through the modal coefficients, allowing us to analyze how a given mode is excited when changing incidence parameters. This gives new physical insights to the spectral properties of different open structures such as nanoparticles and diffraction gratings. Moreover, the QMEM proves to be extremely efficient for the computation of Local Density Of States (LDOS).

We report on extensive femtosecond laser damage threshold measurements of optical materials in both bulk and thin-film form. This study, which is based on published and new data, involved simple oxide and fluoride films, composite films made from a mixture of two dielectric materials, metallic films, and the surfaces of various bulk materials: oxides, fluorides, semiconductors, and ionic crystals. The samples were tested in comparable conditions at 1030 nm, 375 to 600 fs, under single-pulse irradiation. A large number of different samples prepared by different deposition techniques have been tested, involving classical materials used in the fabrication of optical thin film components (Ag, AlF3, Al2O3, HfO2, MgF2, Nb2O5, Pt, Sc2O3, SiO2, Ta2O5, Y2O3, and ZrO2) and their combination with codeposition processes. Their behaviors are compared with the surfaces of bulk materials (Al2O3, BaF2, CaF2, Ge, KBr, LiF, MgF2, NaCl, Quartz, Si, ZnS, ZnSe, and different silica glasses). Tabulated values of results are presented and discussed.