Fabrication of pyroelectric PVDF linear arrays for diagnostic systems of high power CO2 laser beams

Pyroelectric linear arrays made of PVDF (Polyninilidene-difluoride) films have been prepared with laser ablation of the gold-platinum metallization. The developed fabrication process has a spatial resolution of about 0.1mm. It is low-cost and reproducible. A geometrical pattern with four linear arrays was used in a system developed for the control of the dimensions of high power and large IR laser beams. Metallized PVDF films were found suitable for this application owing to their quite high damage threshold (3.6 W/cm2).