Eye protection is an important type of measure in the context of laser safety, as the eyes are particularly sensitive to laser radiation and at the same time particularly important. Different kinds of laser radiation can cause different types of damage. Most important is damage of the retina as most often caused by excessive irradiation in the visible or near-infrared spectral range, but there can also be damage of the cornea or the lens caused by mid-infrared light (causing overheating) or ultraviolet light (causing cataracts of the eye's lens).

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Therefore, different types of safety glasses have been developed for different circumstances. For moderate optical power levels, lightweight goggles with plastic filters can be used. These are made of, e.g., a polycarbonate with a dye mixed into the material, or with an absorbing or reflecting coating. For higher powers, real glasses are usually preferred. These can be more robust against laser light and also against abrasion (but less so against mechanical shock), apart from offering better visible light transmission. There are also combination products, containing a lamination of filter glass and polymer layers. Special coatings help to prevent a filter from totally falling apart when the glass is cracked under the influence of high-intensity light.

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Apart from the filter glass or plastics, the housing is also important, as it influences the protection against beams coming from the side or the rear, but also the ease of wearing, the field of view, the tendency for fogging, the possibility of wearing prescription glasses below, etc.

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Are there any additional concerns regarding the safety of laser light in the presence of moisture inside the safety goggles or do they still provide adequate protection against eye damage?

I think the actual safety problem with moisture is that users may in practice not be strictly using their goggles if they cannot see enough with them due to accumulating moisture.

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EKSMA Optics offers laser safety goggles designed for the safe operation of Nd:YAG, Ti:sapphire and Yb:KGW/KYW fundamental and harmonic wavelengths.

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Different kinds of eye protection are required when working with dangerous light sources. A first approach should target the source, preventing dangerous beams from hitting the face in the first place. However, this may often not be achieved with the required certainty. Therefore, it is often necessary to use additional eye protection with special kinds of laser safety glasses (Figure 1; also called safety goggles or laser glasses). These mostly contain absorbing optical filters for attenuating dangerous laser radiation. One may in principle also use multilayer structures (dielectric coatings) which operate as Bragg mirrors for certain wavelengths and could handle higher optical powers, but these are effective only in limited angular ranges.

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Kentek offers a broad range of laser eyewear filters in polymer and glass to provide protective eyewear with a range of special features and advantages, depending on the environment. Materials include glass, polymer and coated filters. Eyewear frames are also available with a broad range of features.

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The multiple trade-offs show that it is important to select carefully eye protection which is suitable under the given conditions. One has to take into account not only the properties of the lasers involved, but also various other aspects of the work environment.

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Alpes Lasers offers two models of laser safety goggles. The LSG1 is suitable for people not wearing glassed, while the LSG2 is suitable to be worn over a pair of corrective glasses. Both models provide 6+ OD in the mid-IR.

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It can be difficult to meet all these requirements simultaneously in a particular case. Some typical limitations and trade-offs are:

Edmund Optics offers a wide selection of laser safety products including personal safety equipment and lab safety components. Laser safety eyewear provides CE certified laser radiation protection at wavelengths of common industrial lasers, including Nd:YAG and CO2, with various style and frame options for user comfort.