Aftermarket parts (lenses)

Few materials have 100% transmission in the infrared region. ZnSe is quite flat between 0.6 and 16 um. Most other materials in this range are far from flat in their transmission spectrum.


Note that the transmission is about 70% so some of the laser light at 10.6 um will be absorbed.
Thor Labs has a tutorial page on laser damage of optics:
Laser Damage of optics
The unfocused beam of a 50 W CO2 laser is unlikely to damage a good piece of ZnSe.
If the defects shown in the original post are not due to material deposited on the surface, my guess would be that the AR coating was defective and possibly damaged by the laser or atmospheric conditions.

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AR? Anti reflective?

Yes, optics geek speak.
AR coating are vacuum deposited onto the substrates.
The coating on these optics are probably a single layer and tuned for 0 degree angle of
incidence and 10.6 um. The transmission at 10.6 um could be as high as 95%.

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You guys are incredible. I love to learn more about this as I go.

This makes me want to fill my house with popcorn.

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yes popcorn! so funny.

I was talking with someone last night about using the laser to pop popcorn. We decided we would need to do it one kernel at a time and would also require the laser was defocused so it spread the heat across the kernel as much as possible vs burning a pinpoint hole in it.

Then the microwave beeped :smiling_face:

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One of the all time 80’s classics.

Too bad Mythbusters dis-proved the final scene…

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:slightly_smiling_face: that’s what I was thinking when i “popcorn”.

using the laser to pop corn? :nerd_face: meh. too much trouble.

Of course. But that’s no reason not to try :grin:

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