The influence of organic contamination in vacuum on the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of coatings is studied. TiO2/SiO2 dielectric mirrors with high reflection at 1064 nm are deposited by the electronbeam evaporation method and their LIDTs are measured in vacuum and atmosphere, respectively. It is found that the contamination in vacuum is easily attracted to optical surfaces because of the low pressure and becomes the source of damage, O2 molecules in vacuum with contamination can accele
