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Thermal anneal is known to arrest the growth of laser-induced damage in optical materials. However, the response of the material which leads to this observed behavior is poorly understood. In this work, we investigate the effect of isothermal anneal at 1100°C for 12 hours on the growth rate of laser-induced damage sites in fused silica. Growth rate was significantly lower for annealed initiated damage sites than that for untreated sites. This decrease in growth rate was associated with the closure of small surface and subsurface cracks, suggesting that aggressive growth rate is due, at least in part, to subsurface fracture complexity.
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