Ta2O5 and Nb2O5 films are deposited on BK7 glass substrates using an electron beam evaporation method and are annealed at 673 K in the air. In this letter, comparative studies of the optical transmittance, microstructure, chemical composition, optical absorption, and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the two films are conducted. Findings indicate that the substoichiometric defect is very harmful to the laser damage resistance of Ta2O5 and Nb2O5 films. The decrease of absorption improves t
