Planarization of optical substrates

1. A method of making a laser mirror in which a mirror substrate has at least a one micron size nodular defect comprising:

depositing a planarization layer over the mirror substrate and the nodular defect;

depositing a layer of silicon dioxide over the planarization layer;

etching away a portion of the layer of silicon dioxide;

thereafter, depositing a layer of hafnium dioxide over the layer of silicon dioxide; and

repeating the steps of depositing a layer of silicon dioxide, etching away a portion of the layer of silicon dioxide, and depositing a layer of hafnium dioxide until the nodular defect is reduced in size a predetermined amount.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein depositing a layer of silicon dioxide comprises depositing a layer of controlled thickness.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein etching away a portion of the layer of silicon dioxide comprises etching away about half of a thickness of the layer of silicon dioxide.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the planarization layer comprises silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ).

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the planarization layer comprises hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ).

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the planarization layer comprises at least one of tantala (Ta 2 O 5 ) or zirconia (ZrO 2 ).

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the layer of silicon dioxide is at least one micron thick.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein depositing a layer of silicon dioxide comprises ion beam sputtering silicon dioxide.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein etching away a portion of the layer of silicon dioxide comprises ion beam etching.

10. An optical component comprising:

a substrate having at least an about one micron size nodule thereon, wherein a surface of the nodule projects above an upper surface of the substrate;

a planarization layer disposed across the upper surface of the substrate and over the nodule, the planarization layer comprised of a material that flows over and around the nodule to cover the nodule and to produce a new surface layer substantially flat and co-planar with the upper surface of the substrate, without requiring etching to produce the new surface layer; and

an alternating sequence of layers of silicon dioxide and hafnium dioxide disposed on the planarization layer.

11. The optical component of claim 10 wherein the planarization layer comprises silicon dioxide.

12. The optical component of claim 10 wherein the planarization layer is characterized by a thickness of at least about 1.2 microns.

13. The optical component of claim 12 wherein the thickness is at least about 2 microns.

14. The optical component of claim 10 wherein the silicon dioxide layers comprise sputtered silicon dioxide and the hafnium dioxide layers comprise sputtered hafnium dioxide.

15. The optical component of claim 10 wherein the planarization layer comprises hafnium dioxide (HfO 2 ).

16. The optical component of claim 10 wherein the planarization layer comprises at least one of tantala (Ta 2 O 5 ) or zirconia (ZrO 2 ).

17. The optical component of claim 10 , wherein the optical component comprises a laser mirror.

18. A laser mirror comprising:

a substrate having at least an about one micron size nodule thereon, wherein a surface of the nodule projects above an upper surface of the substrate;

a planarization layer disposed over a surface of the substrate and over the nodule, the planarization layer comprised of a material that flows over and around the nodule to fully cover the nodule while producing a new surface layer substantially flat and co-planar with the upper surface, without requiring subsequent etching to produce the new surface layer;

the planarization layer being formed from a first layer of silicon dioxide; and

an alternating sequence of additional layers of silicon dioxide and hafnium dioxide disposed on the planarization layer.