Optoacoustic method for nonintrusive determination of the energy of laser pulses and monitoring of mirror parameters

A description is given of an optoacoustic method for nonintrusive measurement of the energy of light pulses and for monitoring the mirror surface quality by recording the amplitude of displacement of the rear side of a mirror reflecting laser radiation. A theory of the method is given. Experimental tests of this theory are reported for mirrors made of three different materials. The method is particularly valuable in the case of high-power laser systems and for monitoring the surface quality of mirrors with high reflection coefficients.