Fabrication of two- and three-dimensional periodic submicron structures by holographic lithography with a 635~nm laserand matched photopolymer

2D and 3D submicron periodic structures are first fabricated by red-induced photopolymerization using a common 635 nm semiconductor laser and specially developed red-sensitive polymer material. The principle of this new photo-polymer material fabrication is explained and the absorption spectra of the material are measured. This fabrication technique allows a deeper penetration into volume and larger interference irradiation area which is more than 1 cm². The optical design, theoretical calculations and experimental results including diffraction patterns verifying the formation of periodic structures are presented. Compared with other fabrication technologies using high-power lasers, this approach has greatly reduced the demand for laser apparatus. Therefore, it is much more accessible to most laboratories and potentially usable in holographic fabrication of photonic crystals and devices in micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).     

Arbitrary-lattice photonic crystals created by multiphoton microfabrication

We used voxels of an intensely modified refractive index generated by multiphoton absorption at the focus of femtosecond laser pulses in Ge-doped silica as photonic atoms to build photonic lattices. The voxels were spatially organized in the same way as atoms arrayed in actual crystals, and a Bragg-like diffraction from the photonic atoms was evidenced by a photonic bandgap (PBG) effect. Postfabrication annealing was found to be essential for reducing random scattering and therefore enhancing PBG. This technique has an intrinsic capability of individually addressing single atoms. Therefore the introduction of defect structures was much facilitated, making the technique quite appealing for photonic research and applications.     

Femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization of inorganic-organic hybrid materials for applications in photonics

Investigations of two-photon polymerization of inorganic-organic hybrid materials initiated by femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses are performed. First applications of this technique for the fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures and photonic crystals in inorganic-organic hybrid polymers with a structure size down to 200 nm and a periodicity of 450 nm are discussed.     

Fabrication of three-dimensional photonic crystal structures containing an active nonlinear optical chromophore

Direct laser writing by two-photon polymerization of photosensitive materials has emerged as a very promising technique for rapid and flexible fabrication of photonic crystals. In this work, a photosensitive silica sol-gel containing the nonlinear optical chromophore Disperse Red 1 is synthesized, and the two-photon polymerization technique is employed to fabricate three-dimensional photonic crystals with stop-gaps in the near-infrared. The composite material exhibits minimal shrinkage during photopolymerization, eliminating the need for shrinkage compensation or the fabrication of support structures.     

Direct fabrication of freely movable microplate inside photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser for lab-on-chip application

We demonstrate the fabrication of complicated three-dimensional (3D) microstructures embedded in a photosensitive glass by a high-order multiphoton process using a femtosecond (fs) laser. Direct writing of the fs laser followed by a post baking process and preferential etching in a dilute hydrofluoric (HF) acid solution results in a microplate that can freely move in hollow structures embedded in the glass. The fabricated structure functions as a microvalve that can control the flow direction of fluids in the microreactor. PACS 42.62.-b; 81.05.Kf; 82.50.Pt     

Parallel direct laser writing of micro-optical and photonic structures using spatial light modulator

Two-photon polymerization (2PP) is a powerful tool for direct laser writing of micro-optical and photonic structures due to its flexibility in 3D structuring and sub-micrometer resolution. However, it can be time consuming to fabricate arrays of micro-optical devices and complex photonic structures. In this study, we propose to use predefined patterns (PPs) for parallel 2PP processing. A PP contains a multiple focal spot pattern optimized for the fabrication of certain microstructures. PP can be created by holographic laser beam modulation with a spatial light modulator (SLM). The quantity and position of the multiple foci can be flexibly and precisely controlled by predesigned computer generated holograms (CGHs). With these specially designed PPs, parallel fabrication of arbitrary distributed microlens arrays and 3D photonic structures is demonstrated. This method significantly improves throughput and flexibility of the 2PP technique and can be used for mass production of functional devices in micro-optics and photonics.     

3D microoptical elements formed in a photostructurable germanium silicate by direct laser writing

We present our investigations into the fabrication of three-dimensional microoptical elements by the direct femtosecond laser writing of a germanium–silicon photosensitive hybrid material. Germanium glass composites are very interesting for optical applications as they are photosensitive, and maintain high optical transparency in the visible and near-infrared bands of the spectrum. Here, we have used a germanium containing hybrid material to make nanophotonic structures and microoptical elements such as photonic crystal templates, prisms and spatial polarization plates, both on flat surfaces and fiber tips. Our results show that this germanium silicate composite is an excellent material for microoptics fabrication.     

飞秒脉冲在透明材料中的三维光存储及其机理

使用经钛宝石啁啾脉冲放大的脉冲宽度为200fs、波长为800nm、重复频率为1kHz的超短脉冲激光束,紧聚焦到熔融石英中实现了三维逐位式光数据存储,记录下20层三维数据位点,利用CCD和数码相机对数据位进行了观察讨论了飞秒超短脉冲与透明介质的相互作用,以及产生等离子体的雪崩电离和多光子吸收电离的机理实验结果表明:在飞秒超短脉冲与透明光学介质的相互作用中起主要作用的是多光子吸收.     

Three‐dimensional femtosecond laser micromachining of photosensitive glass for biomicrochips

Internal modification of transparent materials such as glass can be carried out using multiphoton absorption induced by a femtosecond (fs) laser. The fs‐laser modification followed by thermal treatment and successive chemical wet etching in a hydrofluoric (HF) acid solution forms three‐dimensional (3D) hollow microstructures embedded in photosensitive glass. This technique is a powerful method for directly fabricating 3D microfluidic structures inside a photosensitive glass microchip. We used fabricated microchips, referred to as a nanoaquarium, for dynamic observations of living microorganisms. In addition, the present technique can also be used to form microoptical components such as micromirrors and microlenses inside the photosensitive glass, since the fabricated structures have optically flat surfaces. The integration of microfluidics and microoptical components in a single glass chip yields biophotonic microchips, in other words, optofluidics, which provide high sensitivity in absorption and fluorescence measurements of small volumes of liquid samples.