Micromachining soda-lime glass by femtosecond laser pulses

The physical process of forming a modified region in soda-lime glass was investigated using 1 kHz intense femtosecond laser pulses from a Ti: sapphire laser at 775 nm. Through the modifications induced by the femtosecond laser radiation using selective chemical etching techniques, we fabricated reproducible and defined microstructures and further studied their morphologies and etching properties. Moreover, a possible physical mechanism for the femtosecond laser modification in soda-lime glass was proposed.     

Fabrication and analysis of a directional coupler written in glass by nanojoule femtosecond laser pulses

A directional coupler written in a glass sample by the focused 400-nm output from a 25-fs oscillator is reported. The coupler is single mode; the splitting ratio is 1.9 dB at 633 nm. A refractive-index profile of the waveguide with a magnitude of Dn = 4.5 x 10(-3) was retrieved from a near-field mode pattern.     

Micromachining of circular ring microstructure by femtosecond laser pulses

In this paper, integration of interference phenomenon into femtosecond laser micromachining was reported as the femtosecond laser pulses were reshaped spatially to perform ablation. The generation of circular interference pattern was demonstrated by overlapping infrared femtosecond laser pulses. The interference pattern was subsequently focused on a copper substrate to ablate microstructures of concentric circular rings. The present technique is expected to open up new applications in the areas of rapid fabrication of micro-Fresnel lenses, hybrid microlenses and lens arrays.     

Self-guided glass drilling by femtosecond laser pulses

Straight through-holes of high aspect ratio have been fabricated in glass by femtosecond laser pulses, utilizing unique characteristics of ultrafast lasers such as volumetric multi-photon absorption and nonlinear self-focusing. In this study, interestingly, the drilling process was initiated and progressed in a self-regulated manner, while the laser focus was fixed through the specimen at the neighborhood of the rear surface that was in contact with liquid during the entire drilling process. The deposition of laser energy along the nonlinearly extended focal range and the guided drilling along the pre-defined region are explained based on time-resolved optical transmission and emission measurements.     

The study of nanojoule femtosecond laser ablation on organic glass

The Ti:sapphire oscillator is used to realize structural change in an organic glass (polymethyl -methacrylate (PMMA)). Single pulse fluence threshold of PMMA and the relation of the breakdown threshold with different numerical aperture objectives are determined using a formula deduced from an existent equation. Three-dimensional dots in the organic glass is performed at the same time.     

Irradiation of glass with infrared femtosecond laser pulses

We report a novel resistive random access memory using tri-layer dielectrics of GeO _x /nano-crystal TiO₂/TaON and low cost top Ni and bottom TaN electrodes. Excellent device performance of ultra-low 720 fJ switching energy, tight distributions of set/reset currents, and exceptionally long endurance of 5×10⁹ cycles were achieved simultaneously. Such excellent endurance may create new applications such as those used for Data Centers that are ascribed to the higher-κ nano-crystal TiO₂, hopping pass via grain boundaries, and fast switching speed of 100 ns to improve the dielectric fatigue during endurance stress.     

Microstructuring of diamond bulk by IR femtosecond laser pulses

We report the fabrication of graphitic microstructures in the bulk of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond using 120-fs laser pulses at 800-nm wavelength. The nature of the laser-modified region and generation of mechanical stresses in the surrounding diamond is studied with Raman spectroscopy. A spontaneous growth of the laser-modified region from the focal plane towards the laser has been visualized in the process of multipulse irradiation with different pulse energies. The formation of discrete or continuous graphitized structures is revealed depending on the varied local laser intensity. The physical processes governing the appearance of separate graphitic globules and continuous extension of the graphitized region are discussed. Controlling the laser irradiation conditions permits us to fabricate graphitic wires with typical length of 150 μm and diameter of 1.5 μm. The longer, 300-ps pulses, as applied to laser microstructuring of the CVD diamond bulk, are found to be inappropriate due to the stronger influence of structural defects on the damage threshold, the noticeable fluctuation of the structure diameter over the length and the pronounced cracking of the surrounding diamond. PACS 42.62.-b; 61.80.Ba     

Delivery of nanojoule femtosecond pulses through large-core microstructured fibers

We investigate femtosecond-pulse propagation through large-core microstructured fibers. Although these fibers are highly multimode, excitation of the fundamental mode is readily achieved, and coupling to higher-order modes is weak even when the fiber is bent or twisted. For prechirped input pulses with energies as large as 3 nJ, pulses as short as 140 fs were produced at the output of the fiber. Such a system could prove to be extremely useful for applications such as in vivo multiphoton microscopy and endoscopy that require delivery of femtosecond pulses and collection of fluorescence.     

Optical waveguide writing inside Foturan glass with femtosecond laser pulses

We investigated the femtosecond laser writing of optical waveguides inside Foturan glass at various pulse energies and focusing depths. An optimal waveguide fabricated solely by femtosecond laser irradiation showed a refractive index modulation of ∼1.7×10^-3 and a minimum transmission loss of ∼0.80 dB/cm. This type of waveguide had lower transmission loss than those fabricated by a hybrid process of femtosecond laser exposure and following thermal treatment. An optical splitter was also fabricated at high pulse energy. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.82.Et; 42.70.Gi     

Micromachining of quartz with ultrashort laser pulses

Received: 6 January 1997/Accepted: 1 April 1997     

Mechanism for spherical dome and microvoid formation in polycarbonate using nanojoule femtosecond laser pulses

Spherical domes are created on the surface of polycarbonate samples, and microvoids are formed within the bulk using only a femtosecond oscillator with pulse energy of just 0.47?nJ. Size of spherical domes and shape of microvoids are controlled by changing the laser focus inside the material. Their formation is explained by a combination of heat accumulation and dome formation dynamics, where the dome acts as a microlens shifting the laser focus within the sample. The technique described here provides a simple avenue for fabricating smooth microlens arrays of various sizes and opens the possibility for direct fabrication of complex three-dimensional microfluidic channels in transparent materials.     

Bonding of glass with femtosecond laser pulses at high repetition rates

We report on the welding of fused silica with ultrashort laser pulses at high repetition rates. Femtosecond laser pulses were focused at the interface of two optically contacted fused silica samples. Due to the nonlinear absorption in the focal volume and heat accumulation of successive pulses, the laser acts as a localized heat source at the focus position. Here, we analyze the influence of the laser and processing parameters on the amount of molten material. Moreover, we determine the achievable breaking stress by a three point bending test. With optimized parameters up to 75% of the breaking stress of the bulk material have been obtained.     

Generating optical vortex with computer-generated hologram fabricated inside glass by femtosecond laser pulses

We introduce a novel method to generate the optical vortex with computer-generated hologram (CGH) fabricated inside glass by femtosecond laser pulses. The CGH was directly written inside glass by femtosecond laser pulses induced microexplosion without any pre- or post-treatment of the material. We also realized the restructured optical vortex beams of both the transmission and reflection pattern with high fidelity using a collimated He-Ne laser beam. The total diffractive efficiency of both the transmission and reflection pattern is about 4.79%.     

Self-assembled volume vortex grating induced by femtosecond laser pulses in glass

We presented a microfabrication process for optical volume vortex grating inside glass by femtosecond laser pulses. The self-trapped filament of femtosecond laser pulses can induce hundreds μm-long region refractive-index changes in glass. We realized the restructured optical vortex beams using a collimated He–Ne laser beam. The maximum first-order diffraction efficiency was about 19.6%. The volume vortex grating structure fabricated in glass is polarization dependent.     

Direct joining of glass substrates by 1 kHz femtosecond laser pulses

When a femtosecond laser pulse is focused at the interface of two transparent substrates, localised melting and quenching of the two substrates occur around the focal volume, bridging them due to nonlinear absorption. The substrates can then be joined by resolidification of the materials. We investigate the optimum irradiation conditions needed to join borosilicate glass substrates and fused silica substrates using a 1 kHz 800 nm Ti:sapphire amplifier. We characterised the joint strength and the transmittance through joint volumes as a function of laser energy and translation velocity. We found that a joining strength as large as 14.9 MPa could be obtained in both fused silica and borosilicate glass. Annealing the joint samples led to an increase in the joint strength. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.70.Ce; 81.20.Vj     

One-off writing of multimicrogratings on glass by two interfered femtosecond laser pulses

Multimicrogratings are one-off written on silicate glass by two interfered femtosecond pulsed laser beams with the aid of a mask. The period and depth of the multimicrogratings are revealed by optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The depth is dependent on both the colliding angle between the two interfered laser beams and the laser pulse energy, but the period relies on the colliding angle only. We also observe a series of grooves formed at the middle of each bulge of the multimicrogratings and attribute it to the higher-order modulation arising from second-harmonic generation of the femtosecond laser pulse during the one-off writing processes.     

Micromachining of a thin film by laser ablation using femtosecond laser with masks

A gold thin film was machined by laser ablation using a femtosecond laser with mask patterns in the shape of lines and numbers. The patterns were successfully transferred with proper focusing and laser fluence. The optimal femtosecond laser fluence to keep the line width was about 5.2 mJ/cm² on the mask, and 99 mJ/cm² on the film. The processing resolution was 13 μm, and the narrowest line width was about 4 μm.     

Micromachining NiTi tubes for use in medical devices by using a femtosecond laser

Recent growth in medical device technology has been substantially driven by developments in laser micromachining, which is a powerful fabrication technique in which nickel–titanium (Nitinol, NiTi) alloy materials that exhibit superelastic and shape memory properties are formed (e.g., self-expanding stents). In this study a NiTi tube curve surface process is proposed, involving a femtosecond laser process and a galvano-mirror scanner. The diameter of the NiTi tube was 5.116 mm, its thickness was 0.234 mm, and its length was 100 mm. The results indicated that during the machine process the ablation mechanism of the NiTi tubes was changed by altering the machining path. The path alteration enhanced the laser ablation rate from 12.3 to 26.7 μm/J. Thus the path alteration contributed to a wide kerf line, enabling the assisted air to efficiently remove the debris deposited at the bottom of the kerf during the laser ablation process. The results indicated that the NiTi tube curve process enhanced the laser ablation rate by two times and reduced the amount of energy accumulated within the materials by 50% or more. By altering the machining path using the scanning system, this process can decrease the production of heat affected zones (the accumulation of thermal energy) in medical device applications.     

Thermal character in organic polymers with nanojoule femtosecond laser ablation

Ablation experiments with femtosecond (fs) laser pulse (pulse duration 37 fs, wavelength 800 nm) on organic polymers have been performed in air. The ablation threshold is found to be only several nanojoules. The diameters of the dots ablated in the organic polymers are influenced by the laser fluence and the number of laser pulses. It is observed that heat is diffused in a threadlike manner in all directions around the central focus region.Explanations of the observed phenomena are presented. A one-dimensional waveguide is also ablated in the organic polymers.     

Fabrication of microfluidic optical waveguides on glass chips with femtosecond laser pulses

We describe the fabrication of microfluidic channel structures on the surface of a borosilicate glass slide by femtosecond laser direct writing for optical waveguide application. Liquid with a variable refractive index is fed into the microchannel, serving as the core of the waveguide. We demonstrate that either a multimode or a single-mode waveguide can be achieved by controlling the refractive index of the liquid.