Three-dimensional integration of microoptical components buried inside photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser direct writing

We report the three-dimensional (3D) integration of microoptical components such as microlenses, micromirrors and optical waveguides in a single glass chip by femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing. First, two types of microoptical lenses were fabricated inside photosensitive Foturan glass by forming hollow microstructures using fs laser direct writing followed by thermal treatment, successive wet etching and additional annealing. One type of lens is the cylindrical microlens with a curvature radius R of 1.0 mm, and the other is the plano-convex microlens with radius R of 0.75 mm. Subsequently, by the continuous procedure of hollow microstructure fabrication, a micromirror was integrated with the plano-convex microlens in the single glass chip. Further integration of waveguides was performed by internal refractive index modification using fs laser direct writing after the hollow structure fabrication of the microlens and the micromirror. A demonstration of the laser beam transmission in the integrated optical microdevice shows that the 3D integration of waveguides with a micromirror and a microoptical lens in a single glass chip is highly effective for light beam guiding and focusing. PACS 42.62.-b; 81.05.Kf; 42.82.Cr; 82.50.Pt; 42.79.Gn     

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.     

Three-dimensional micro-optical components embedded in photosensitive glass by a femtosecond laser

We show that three-dimensional micro-optical components can be embedded in a photosensitive glass by a femtosecond (fs) laser. After exposure to the tightly focused fs laser beam, latent images are written inside the sample. Modified regions are developed by a postbaking process and then preferentially etched away in a 10%-dilute solution of hydrofluoric acid. After this process, hollow internal structures are formed that act as a mirror and a beam splitter. Furthermore, we find that postannealing smoothes the surfaces of the fabricated hollow structures, resulting in great improvement of their optical properties.     

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.     

Three-dimensional micromachining of glass using femtosecond laser for lab-on-a-chip device manufacture

Three-dimensional (3D) micromachining of photosensitive glass is demonstrated by photochemical reaction using femtosecond (fs) laser for lab-on-a-chip application. True 3D hollow microstructures embedded in the glass are fabricated by fs laser direct writing followed by heat treatment and successive wet etching. The modification mechanism of the photosensitive glass by the fs laser and advantage of this process are discussed. Various microcomponents for the lab-on-a-chip devices such as microfluidics, microvalves, microoptics, microlasers, etc. are fabricated by using this technique and their performance is examined . PACS 42.62.-b; 82.50.Pt; 87.80.Mj     

Fabrication of microlens arrays in photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser direct writing

This article reports the fabrication of high-fill-factor plano-convex cylindrical and spherical microlens arrays horizontally and vertically embedded in a photosensitive Foturan glass chip by femtosecond (fs) laser micromachining. The microlens arrays were fabricated by modifying the microstructure of Foturan glass using fs laser direct writing followed by thermal treatment, wet etching, and additional annealing. The focusing ability and image quality of the microlens arrays were examined, showing that the lens arrays not only can focus light well but also provide an imaging capability that holds great potential for lab-on-a-chip applications.     

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     

Femtosecond transform-limited Kerr-lens mode-locked dye lasers

Using SF6 glass plates as intracavity Kerr lenses and double-prism pairs for dispersion compensation, we achieve tunable femtosecond passive mode locking in rhodamine 590 (R6G) and 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-16-p-dimethylaminostyryl-4H-pyran (DCM) dye lasers. The R6G laser produces transform limited 240–500 fs pulses between 577 and 606 nm, and the DCM laser produces 150 fs transform-limited pulses between 650 and 671 nm. We use dilute intracavity saturable-absorber jets to make the mode locking self-starting. Characteristics of the pulses and the stability regions of the lasers agree with general theories of passive mode locking.     

Structural changes induced on strontium barium niobate glass by femtosecond laser irradiation

Localized modification of the optical properties of erbium doped strontium barium niobate (SBN) glass has been performed using femtosecond laser irradiation. The samples, with composition SrO–BaO–Nb₂O₅–B₂O₅ and doped with 5%mol of Er³⁺, were fabricated using a melt-quenching method. The samples were irradiated with different number of pulses per spot (1–50 pulses) at two different laser fluences (2.6 and 5.6 J/cm²) by using an fs laser amplifier operating at 800 nm and generating pulses with a duration of 120 fs. Micro-luminescent microscopy, using an Ar⁺ laser as excitation source, has been used to analyze the modifications of the luminescent properties of the sample upon fs laser exposure. The emissions of the Er³⁺: ⁴I_11/2→⁴I_15/2 and ⁴I_13/2→⁴I_15/2 transitions allow appreciating the structural modifications caused by femtosecond laser exposure. The lifetimes of the levels involved in these transitions were measured inside and outside the laser irradiated region. These measurements have been compared with those obtained in bulk glass ceramic sample, which is obtained from the glass precursor by a thermal treatment in order to estimate the optimal conditions to produce nanocrystals in a localized region by ultrafast laser irradiation.     

Three-dimensional microfluidic channel with arbitrary length and configuration fabricated inside glass by femtosecond laser direct writing

We demonstrate, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, fabrication of three-dimensional microfluidic channels with arbitrary lengths and configurations inside glass by femtosecond laser direct writing. The main fabrication process includes two steps: (1) direct formation of hollow microchannels in a porous glass substrate immersed in water by femtosecond laser ablation and (2) postannealing of the glass substrate at ～1150°C by which the porous glass can be consolidated. We show that a square-wavelike channel with a total length of ～1.4 cm and a diameter of ～64 μm can be easily produced ～250 μm beneath the glass surface.     

Alteration of the profile of ink-jet-deposited UV-cured lenses using applied electric fields

Microlens arrays and microoptical components in general are integral components in a wide range of high-tech products. The ability to fabricate such elements cheaply and with a high degree of accuracy is vital for the development of the next generation of optics-based technologies. There are currently a wide range of microoptical element fabrication technologies. These techniques all have advantages and disadvantages and no one technique is yet sufficient to meet all possible application criteria. One method that has been examined recently is the ink-jet deposition method. This method applies well-established ink-jet printer technology and is thus one possible candidate for large-scale fabrication of inexpensive components. The lenses fabricated using this method are normally found to have spherical profiles. In this paper, we examine the possibility of modifying the profile of these spherical lenses using an applied electric field (E-field). We note that the resulting aspheric lenses have a wide number of applications. These include beam shaping and power transfer applications including fiber coupling. In this paper we describe initial experiments involving single lenses. The single lenses produced using applied E-Fields differ significantly from lenses produced with no applied E-field.     

Selective metallization of photostructurable glass by femtosecond laser direct writing for biochip application

We report the selective metallization of photostructurable glass by femtosecond (fs) laser direct writing followed by electroless copper (Cu) plating. It was found that a Cu thin film can be deposited only on the rough surface of glass ablated by the fs laser. The deposited Cu thin film exhibits strong adhesion and excellent electrical properties. A Cu film can even be deposited on the internal wall of a hollow microchannel inside photostructurable glass by the multiphoton absorption of the fs laser. To show the use of this technique for micro-total-analysis-system (μ-TAS) applications, the fabrication of a microheater operating at temperatures up to 200 °C was demonstrated. PACS 81.05.Kf; 85.40.Ls; 87.85.Va     

Threshold effect in femtosecond laser induced nanograting formation in glass: influence of the pulse duration

Recently, femtosecond laser direct writing in porous glass is emerging as a powerful technique for building arbitrary 3D hollow micro/nanostructures in bulk glass materials. In this study, we investigate the pulse duration dependence of laser intensity window for inducing a single nanocrack inside porous glass by femtosecond laser direct writing. We find that the window for a single nanocrack increases with the pulse duration, while the roughness of side walls in the nanocracks becomes higher for pulses longer than ~300 fs. When the femtosecond laser pulses of an optimized duration of ~200 fs are chosen, a sufficiently broad range of laser intensity (~44 % of the structuring threshold) for creating a single nanocrack can be obtained, while smooth sidewalls required by nanofluidic applications can still be maintained. The reported results will be beneficial not only for the development of the 3D femtosecond laser micro/nanostructuring techniques, but also for gaining a deeper understanding of the physical mechanism behind the nanograting formation induced by femtosecond laser irradiation in glass and other transparent materials.     

Femtosecond laser application for high capacity optical data storage

A femtosecond (fs) laser application for multi-layer optical recording is investigated. Information patterns at different layer depths were written inside a transparent glass substrate due to micro-void formation by fs laser ablation, which causes re-distribution in glass materials and a refractive index modification. The information bits recorded in a single layer can be retrieved clearly without interference from the neighboring layers. A fs laser irradiation of a transparent polymer matrix (doped with fluorescent materials for use as low-cost recording media) is also studied. A fs laser induced photo-chemical reaction changes the chemical properties of the fluorescent materials and records information bits inside the matrix. With an ultra-fast laser as a new light source, 3D optical recording can be available for high capacity data storage up to 1 TB per disc. PACS 82.50.-m; 42.65. Re; 72.70.Jk.     

A microfluidic chip integrated with a microoptical lens fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining

We report on the integration of microlens and microfluidic channels in fused silica glass chip using femtosecond laser micromachining. The main process includes three procedures: (1) femtosecond laser scanning for forming a hemispherical surface and a Y-shaped channel in the fused silica glass; (2) chemical etching of the sample for removal of the modified areas; and (3) oxyhydrogen (OH) flame polish for smoothening the surface of the microlens. In addition, we demonstrate that the fabricated microlens exhibits good imaging performance with a 5× magnification, showing great potential in future lab-on-a-chip applications.     

Fabrication of glass micro-prisms using ultra-fast laser pulses with chemical etching process

In this study, a new process of glass micro-prism structures is investigated by an ultra-fast laser irradiation with chemical etching process. The ultra-fast laser is employed by an all-in-one femtosecond laser (FS-laser) system with the amplifier as an excitation source for patterning the structures. Here, the center wavelength of laser is frequency-doubled to 517 nm. Besides, the repetition rate and pulse width of laser are 100 kHz and 350 fs, respectively. First, the embedded gratings of glass with different pitches can be fabricated using a FS-laser process. Afterwards, the glass samples are placed in the hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution for 15 min to develop structures. Finally, the results of this study demonstrated that the V-cut micro-prisms are successfully formed by controlling etching concentration between intrinsic glass material and modified areas.     

Systematic study of highly efficient white light generation in transparent materials using intense femtosecond laser pulses

We report the results of a systematic study of white light generation in different high band-gap optical media (BaF₂, acrylic, water and BK-7 glass) using ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses. We have investigated the influence of different parameters, such as focal position of the incident laser light within the medium, the polarization state of the incident laser radiation and the pulse duration of the incident laser beam on the white light generation. Our results indicate that for intense, ultrashort pulses, the position of physical focus inside the media is crucial in the generation, with high efficiency, of white light spectra over the wavelength range 400–1100 nm. Linearly polarized incident laser light generates white light with higher intensity in the blue region than circularly polarized light. Ultrashort (45 fs) pulses generate a flatter spectrum with higher white light conversion efficiency than longer (300 fs) pulses of the same laser power. We believe that a flat response over a wide range of wavelengths in the continuum may be efficiently compressed for generation of sub-10 fs pulses. PACS 52.38.Hb; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 33.80.Wz; 52.35.Mw     

飞秒激光诱导Li2O-Nb2O5-SiO2玻璃析晶拉曼谱研究

通过使用波长 800nm、重复频率 250kHz的飞秒激光脉冲聚焦进Li2O-Nb2O5-SiO2组分的玻璃内部,空间选择性诱导出铌酸锂微晶.为了进一步地研究辐照区域晶体的生长机制,使用显微拉曼光谱仪分析了玻璃样品辐照区域不同位置的结构变化.研究表明,在飞秒激光辐照一段时间后的聚焦区域,由于非线性效应和热累积效应形成了一个高温辐射梯度场,在激光辐照中心区域超过玻璃的析晶温度而促使玻璃熔融析晶.     

3-D microstructuring inside photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser excitation

We show that a femtosecond laser enables us to produce true three-dimensional (3-D) microstructures embedded in a photosensitive glass, which has superior properties of transparency, hardness and chemical and thermal resistances. The photosensitivity arises from the cerium in the glass. After exposure to a focused laser beam, latent images are written. Modified regions are developed by a post-baking process and then preferentially etched away in a 10% dilute solution of hydrofluoric acid at room temperature. We have measured the critical dose for modification of the photosensitive glass, and fabricated 3-D microstructures with microcells and hollow microchannels embedded in the glass based on the critical dose. Received: 12 August 2002 / Accepted: 13 August 2002 / Published online: 4 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-48/468-4682, E-mail: mmasudaw@postman.riken.go.jp     

富勒烯有机-无机杂化材料的非共珍三阶非线性光学特性

采用中心波长800 nm、脉宽30 fs的超短激光脉冲,通过飞秒光开关技术（Optical Kerr Shutter,OKS）对富勒烯有机-无机杂化材料的飞秒超快非线性特性进行了实验研究.获得270 fs的开关时间,所得的富勒烯有机-无机杂化材料的三阶非线性系数χ(3)约为4.5×10－14 esu,比C60分子的三阶非线性系数χ(3)高一个数量级.通过实验测定的光克尔信号强度与激发光和探测光偏振方向夹角的依赖关系表明：30 fs的超短激光脉冲激发富勒烯有机-无机杂化材料的克尔信号主要是源于光诱导双折射效应,而非用200 fs的超短激光脉冲时来自瞬态栅的自衍射效应.