Laser-induced damage on large-aperture fused silica gratings

Two sets of laser-damage experiments on large-aperture fused silica optics have been carried out in a high-power laser facility. Severe damage has been found on the grating which presented dense craters on the front surface. This phenomenon is quite different from other fused silica optics, which are damaged on the rear surface. The damage possibility due to the redeposition layer was ruled out by acid-etching the grating’s front surface. The remarkable stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effect was observed in grating and the reason for the front surface damage is thought to be the backward SBS.     

Laser-induced modification of bulk fused silica by femtosecond pulses

The features of the local nondestructive modifications of the bulk fused silica are experimentally studied. A method for the measurement of the refractive index in a transparent sample irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses is developed. The accuracy of the refractive-index measurements achieves about 10^?5, and a spatial resolution is several microns. The quantitative data on the dynamics of the permanent modification of glass as a function of the radiation energy are obtained for the first time. The spatial localization of the modified area that is predominantly determined by the laser-beam divergence is analyzed. The femtosecond interferometry is used to investigate the laser-pulse propagation in amorphous silica.     

Misoriented surfaces with randomly distributed steps

Models for surfaces with randomly distributed steps having a peferred direction, i.e., an unequal probability of encountering an up or down step when going from one lattice site to the adjacent one, are constructed. The terrace widths obey a geometric distribution function. A closed-form solution is obtained for the angular distribution of the electron diffraction beam intensity. We show that both the angular width of the diffracted beam and the Bragg peak position oscillate as a function of the incident electron energy. Practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Femtosecond laser fabrication of nanostructures in silica glass

A femtosecond laser beam focused inside fused silica and other glasses can modify the refractive index of the glass. Chemical etching and atomic-force microscope studies show that the modified region can have a sharp-tipped cone-shaped structure with a tip diameter as small as 100 nm. Placing the structure near the bottom surface of a silica glass sample and applying a selective chemical etch to the bottom surface produces clean, circular, submicrometer-diameter holes. Holes spaced as close to one another as 1.4 microm are demonstrated.     

Femtosecond Bessel-beam-assisted high-aspect-ratio microgroove fabrication in fused silica

A simple and repeatable method to fabricate high-aspect-ratio(HAR) and high-quality microgrooves in silica is reported. The method consists of two steps:(1) formation of laser-modified regions by femtosecond Bessel beam irradiation, and(2) removing laser-modified regions through HF etching. Uniform, straight microgrooves can be fabricated and the highest aspect ratio that can be reached is ～52. The phenomenon is attributed to the uniform energy distribution in the long propagation distance, which leads to the long and uniform laser-modified regions and subsequent HF acid etching of laser-modified regions with high selectivity. This method will have potential applications in fabrication of HAR microgrooves in transparent materials.     

多波长激光同时辐照下熔石英元件的损伤研究

对比研究了3ω单独辐照、3ω＋2ω和3ω＋1ω双波长同时辐照下熔石英元件的初始损伤和损伤增长规律,重点研究3ω能量密度在其阈值附近时,低能量密度的2ω和1ω对初始损伤和损伤增长的影响,分析了波长间的能量耦合效应。结果表明：双波长同时辐照下,当2ω和1ω能量密度远低于其自身阈值时,它们对初始损伤几率和损伤增长阈值的影响可以忽略,但也会参与初始损伤和损伤增长过程,会增加初始损伤程度和损伤增长系数。基于飞秒双脉冲成像的冲击波速度测量表明,3ω和1ω同时辐照下,波长间的能量耦合效应会促进激光能量向材料沉积的效率。     

Direct laser fabrication of blaze gratings in fused silica

Results of our investigations on direct laser fabrication of blaze gratings in fused silica using a special fluorine-laser mask projection technology allowing to produce plane and smooth reflecting areas and optimum blaze geometry will be presented. In particular, it will be shown that gratings with nearly optimum blaze geometry and relatively low surface roughness of the reflecting areas can be produced. The technique is a one-step method and has a high variability with regard to grating geometry and also substrate materials. We use masks made of tantalum foil, projected onto a fused silica substrate surface with a demagnification ratio of 26:1 and also novel scattering masks made of calcium fluoride. In these masks, up to 25 times smaller transmission apertures can be manufactured allowing thus grating constants in the range of a few μm. The average surface roughness of the reflecting areas along a blaze grating line was measured to be R _a=38 nm without any surface smoothing. The maximum variance of the blaze angle within one grating is about 0.5 degree.     

Diffraction from surfaces with randomly distributed steps

A closed-form solution is obtained for the angular distribution of intensity in diffraction from a surface on which the terrace size distribution is given by the geometric distribution, i.e. a surface in which the occurrence of steps is random. Several distributions of step heights that are integral multiples of the monatomic step height are considered. It is shown that a random occurrence of monatomic steps will cause some multiatomic steps. If a very broad distribution of step heights is assumed, the beam width no longer oscillates with energy but approaches a constant value except at the characteristic energies of zero width. Comparisons are made with a previous model and with measurements on GaAs(110).     

Optically produced arrays of planar nanostructures inside fused silica

Linearly polarized femtosecond light pulses, focused inside fused silica to an intensity that leads to multiphoton ionization, produce arrayed planes of modified material having their normal parallel to the laser polarization. The planes are < or = 10 nm thick and are spaced at approximately lambda/2 in the medium for free space wavelengths of both 800 and 400 nm. By slowly scanning the sample under a fixed laser focus, order is maintained over macroscopic distances for all angles between the polarization and scan direction. With the laser polarization parallel to the scan direction we produce long-range Bragg-like gratings. We discuss how local field enhancement influences dielectric ionization, describe how this leads to nanoplane growth, why the planes are arrayed, and how long-range order is maintained.     

Laser-induced high-quality etching of fused silica using a novel aqueous medium

Laser-induced backside wet etching of fused-silica plates using an aqueous solution of naphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid trisodium salt (Np(SO₃Na)₃) is reported. A KrF excimer laser was employed as a light source. The etch rate varied greatly with the concentration of the solution and the laser fluence. For lower concentration solutions, the etch rate increased linearly with laser fluence. For highly concentrated solutions, however, the etch rate increased abruptly at higher fluence. Well-defined line-and-space and grid micropatterns were fabricated using a low etch rate. The etched surface was as flat as the surface of the virgin plates and the etched pattern was free of debris and microcracks. The formation and propagation of shockwaves and bubbles in the solution during the etch process were monitored. High pressure, as well as the high temperature generated by the photothermal process, plays a key role in the etching process. Received: 8 April 2002 / Accepted: 12 April 2002 / Published online: 19 July 2002     

Femtosecond laser fabrication of phase-shifted Bragg grating waveguides in fused silica

Phase-shifted Bragg grating waveguides (PSBGWs) were formed in bulk fused silica glass by femtosecond laser direct writing to produce narrowband (22±3) pm filters at 1550 nm. Tunable π and other phase shifts generated narrow passbands in controlled positions of the Bragg stopband, while the accurate placement of multiple cascaded phase-shift regions yielded a rectangular-shaped bandpass filter. A waveguide birefringence of (7.5±0.3)×10(-5) is inferred from the polarization-induced spectral shifting of the PSBGW narrowband filters.     

Polarization-selective etching in femtosecond laser-assisted microfluidic channel fabrication in fused silica

We fabricate microchannels in fused silica by femtosecond laser irradiation followed by etching in diluted hydrofluoric acid. We show a dramatic dependence of the etch rate on the laser polarization, spanning 2 orders of magnitude. We establish the existence of an energy-per-pulse threshold at which etching of the laser-modified zones becomes highly polarization selective. The enhanced selective etching is due to long-range, periodic, polarization-dependent nanostructures formed in the laser-modified material.     

熔石英表面铜颗粒污染激光诱导损伤

利用SAGA-S激光器输出的355 nm波长激光,研究了熔石英表面铜颗粒污染的激光损伤规律。采用磁控溅射的方式在洁净熔石英表面制备不同尺寸的颗粒状污染物,用1-on-1,10-on-1,20-on-1的方式测试经污染后的熔石英基底的损伤阈值,并采用光学显微镜观察损伤形貌、CCD在线测量损伤斑尺寸。结果表明:污染后的熔石英基底的损伤主要发生在后表面,而且以热烧蚀和热应力为主,基底的损伤阈值与熔石英前表面污染颗粒尺寸呈负指数关系,随后表面污染物颗粒尺寸的增大呈略微下降。前表面颗粒污染物诱导损伤斑尺寸为颗粒污染物尺寸的4倍,后表面颗粒污染物引起的损伤斑尺寸约为颗粒污染物尺寸的2倍。并绘出损伤斑尺寸与颗粒尺寸、辐照方式之间的关系。     

Using Ion-beam etching to smooth fused silica surfaces

The roughness of fused silica, silicon, and sapphire substrates from different manufacturers is studied. Features of the substrates for imaging optics in the soft X-ray (SXR) and extreme UV (EUV) ranges are discussed. The first results from smoothing quartz substrates by etching with neutralized 50–500-eV argon beams are reported. Surface smoothing has been observed in the spatial-frequency range of 10^-1-10^-2 μm^-1.     

Laser-induced back-side wet etching of fused silica with an aqueous solution containing organic molecules

The laser-induced back-side wet etching of fused silica with aqueous solutions of pyranine (8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrenetrisulfonic acid trisodium salt) is reported. KrF and XeF excimer lasers were employed as light sources. Well-defined line-and-space and grid micropatterns, free of debris and microcracks, were obtained. Compared with other organic solutions, the aqueous pyranine etching medium etches more slowly but produces a higher quality etched surface. With the KrF laser, the etch rate ranged from 0.02 to 0.12 nm pulse^-1, depending on the dye concentration and the fluence of the laser. The etch rate decreased dramatically when the XeF laser was employed, which was partially attributed to the lower absorption efficiency of the aqueous pyranine solution at the XeF laser wavelength. Received: 20 November 2001 / Accepted: 21 November 2001 / Published online: 2 May 2002     

MBE fabrication of self-assembled Si and metal nanostructures on Si surfaces

Two types of fairly regular distributions of Si nanostructures, of interest as templates to grow spatially controlled ensembles of metal (Co, Fe, Ag, etc.) nanostructures, are presented in this paper. Both of them are achieved by self-assembling processes during Si homoepitaxy. One corresponds to films grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si(0 0 1)-2 × 1 surfaces with low (<1°) miscut angles. In this case, arrays of 3D Si-islands displaying well defined pyramid-like shapes can be obtained, as evidenced by Scanning Force Microscopy (SFM) and Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). Such arrays exhibit strong similarities with those reported for Ge and SiGe islands on Si(0 0 1), and may thus serve as a simpler route to produce ordered distributions of metallic nanodots. On the other hand, on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 vicinal substrates misoriented 4° toward the direction, step rearrangement during homoepitaxy permits to produce nanopatterned surfaces, the building-blocks of which are triangular (1 1 1) platforms, with lateral dimensions of hundreds of nanometers, bound by step bunches about 30 nm high. Furthermore, different Ag deposition experiments support this spontaneous patterning on Si(1 1 1) as a promising approach to achieve regular distributions of metallic nanocrystals with an overall homogeneity in sizes, shapes and spacing.     

Modification of the fused silica glass network associated with waveguide fabrication using femtosecond laser pulses

Atomic-scale structural changes have been observed in the glass network of fused silica after modification by tightly focused 800-nm, 130-fs laser pulses at fluences between 5 and 200 J cm^-2. Raman spectroscopy of the modified glass shows an increase in the 490 and 605-cm^-1 peaks, indicating an increase in the number of 4- and 3-membered ring structures in the silica network. These results provide evidence that densification of the glass occurs after exposure to fs pulses. Fluorescence spectroscopy of the modified glass shows a broad fluorescence band at 630 nm, indicating the formation of non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHC) by fs pulses. Waveguides that support the fundamental mode at 633 nm have been fabricated inside fused silica by scanning the glass along the fs laser beam axis. The index changes are estimated to be approximately 0.07×10^-3. Received: 17 December 2001 / Accepted: 9 July 2002 / Published online: 25 October 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-925/423-2463, E-mail: dmkrol@ucdavis.edu     

Parallel fabrication of atomic nanostructures

A new approach to fabrication of atomic nanostructures for atomic nanooptics is reported, which is based on the use of one-, two-, and three-dimensional spatial localization of laser fields at the nanoscale level, and fabrication of atomic nanostructures on a surface is demonstrated.     

激光诱导等离子体加工石英微通道机理研究

利用调Q的Nd: YAG激光器输出的纳秒激光脉冲诱导等离子体加工石英微通道, 显微镜下观察微通道深度可达4 mm, 通道周围没有发现热裂纹, 围绕通道内壁产生了固化层. 研究了纳秒脉冲下固体材料损伤的电离机理. 波长为1064 nm, 光强不很强的纳秒脉冲作用时, 光学击穿中等离子体的形成主要是雪崩电离的结果, 利用雪崩击穿的阈值理论得到了等离子体形成模型, 求出了等离子体形成范围, 理论模型结果与实验结果基本相符.最后基于激光支持的爆轰波模型, 利用流体力学理论求出了等离子体的温度、 速度、 压强等特征参数, 并分析了微通道的特点.高温高压的等离子体烧蚀出石英微通道, 等离子通过后, 在冲击波压力作用下微通道内壁熔化的 石英凝固形成固化层.