## 1 Introduction  
Optical components with high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) are of essential importance for the realisation of optical systems used for high-power laser setups and facilities. However, classically manufactured optics exhibit comparatively poor laser resistance which can be directly attributed to effects arising in the course of different optics manufacturing process steps. Conventional optical manufacturing involves rough grinding, fine grinding or lapping, and polishing. By these steps, material removal is achieved by the application of different abrasives where the mechanical impact of such abrasives on the glass surface comes along with the formation of either open or closed subsurface micro cracks as shown in Figure 1. The crack depth is approximately 0.3 times the mean diameter of the used abrasive grains and ranges from 1 to 20 \(\upmu\)m for polished surfaces [1]. Such cracks were identified to play a key role for laser damage due to the formation of interference effects, an increased absorption and a reduction in mechanical strength of a glass surface [2; 3]. Moreover, residues from operation materials used in optics manufacturing can accumulate within existing micro cracks [4]. This leads to a complex possible contamination consisting of (i) mineral oil-containing cooling lubricants used during rough grinding, (ii) wear debris from abrasive grains, e.g., silicon carbide (SiC) or diamond (C) from the rough and fine grinding or lapping process, and (iii) polishing agents as for example cerium oxide, zirconium oxide, or aluminium oxide as well as wear debris from the used polishing pad. Since cooling lubricants and lapping and polishing suspensions are water-based operating materials, the involved hydrogen further impacts the glass surface, for example by hydrolytic scission. This leads to the formation of silica gel or hydrated silica during mechanical chemical polishing (MCP) in the case of silicon dioxide-based glasses [6]. As shown in Figure 1, this medium further accumulates within cracks, roughness valleys and digs and can act as matrix for the above-mentioned contaminants and preferentially residues from polishing agents as shown by _[PERSON]_ and co-workers [7]. Moreover, it was recently reported that an accumulation of such residues within surface and subsurface damage, e.g., micro cracks, gives rise to surface inhomogeneity in terms of chemical composition [4; 8]. These residues or contaminants act as precursors for laser damage [9; 10; 11] and consequently reduce the LIDT of polished glass surfaces [12]. Against this background, a considerable number of investigations on surface and subsurface contamination by polishing agents were performed in the past, e.g., [7; 9; 13; 14]. _[PERSON]_ and co-workers have further shown that the LIDT of fused silica depends on the polishing method and the particularly corresponding density of such precursors, respectively [15]. It is further known that severe reduction in LIDT also results from surface contamination by carbonaceous compounds [16]. For instance, _[PERSON]_ and co-workers have shown that organic contaminants, here the hydrocarbon dioctylphthalate (DOP), can lower the LIDT dramatically [17]. In practice, optics surfaces may exhibit severe carbon contamination [18] which might result from the use of carbon-based cleaning agents such as ethanol (C\({}_{2}\)H\({}_{6}\)O) or acetone (C\({}_{3}\)H\({}_{6}\)O) or originate from adsorption of hydrocarbons from ambient air in the course of storing or usage [19]. In order to increase the LIDT of optics surfaces, different approaches and techniques for monitoring, controlling, and removing surface contaminants were investigated and developed in the past [20; 21]. This includes different post-processing steps after classical polishing such as carbon  
Figure 1: Overview on possible defects of classically manufactured silicon dioxide-based glass surfaces [5].