The sacrificial thermal shutter/reflector concept is suitable for optical power limiting in optical systems containing an intermediate focus and uses a thermally activated chemical process to form a mirror that reflects a large fraction of the incident laser light. Under normal illumination, the thermal reflector component is a transmissive optical element at or near a focal plane of an optical system. A pulse from an incident laser beam heats a film of precursor chemicals on the optical element and thereby converts it to a localized reflective metallic mirror. For visible laser pulses longer than 0.1 ms, the thermal shutter provides optical limiting at energies below the ANSI Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) standard for laser eye protection. For shorter pulses, near-MPE limiting is achieved. See-through during exposure is also possible with these elements. Various thermal shutter chemistries and efforts to form optically clear thin precursor films are described. The laser testing results highlight the importance of the substrate and absorber in these devices.