Luminescence of silicon Dioxide — silica glass, α-quartz and stishovite

This paper compares the luminescence of different modifications of silicon dioxide — silica glass, α-quartz crystal and dense octahedron structured stishovite crystal. Under x-ray irradiation of pure silica glass and pure α-quartz crystal, only the luminescence of self-trapped exciton (STE) is detected, excitable only in the range of intrinsic absorption. No STE luminescence was detected in stishovite since, even though its luminescence is excitable below the optical gap, it could not be ascribed to a self-trapped exciton. Under ArF laser excitation of pure α-quartz crystal, luminescence of a self-trapped exciton was detected under two-photon excitation. In silica glass and stishovite mono crystal, we spectrally detected mutually similar luminescences under single-photon excitation of ArF laser. In silica glass, the luminescence of an oxygen deficient center is presented by the so-called twofold coordinated silicon center (L.N. Skuja et al., Solid State Commun. 50, 1069 (1984)). This center is modified with an unknown surrounding or localized states of silica glass (A.N. Trukhin et al., J. Non-Cryst. Solids 248, 40 (1999)). In stishovite, that same luminescence was ascribed to some defect existing after crystal growth. For α-quartz crystal, similar to silica and stishovite, luminescence could be obtained only by irradiation with a lattice damaging source such as a dense electron beam at a temperature below 80 K, as well as by neutron or -irradiation at 290 K.     

Luminescence of polymorphous SiO2

The luminescence of self-trapped exciton (STE) was found and systematically studied in tetrahedron structured silica crystals (α-quartz, coesite, cristobalite) and glass. In octahedron structured stishovite only host material defect luminescence was observed. It strongly resembles luminescence of oxygen deficient silica glass and γ or neutron irradiated α-quartz. The energetic yield of STE luminescence for α-quartz and coesite is about 20% of absorbed energy and about 5(7)% for cristobalite. Two types of STE were found in α-quartz. Two overlapping bands of STEs are located at 2.5–2.7 eV. The model of STE is proposed as Si–O bond rupture, relaxation of created non-bridging oxygen (NBO) with foundation of a bond with bridging oxygen (BO) on opposite side of c or x,y channel. The strength of this bond is responsible for thermal stability of STE. Similar model of STE was ascribed for coesite and cristobalite with difference related to different structure. STE of Silica glass is strongly affected by disordered structure.     

Structural changes in BK7 glass upon exposure to femtosecond laser pulses

A general picture of refractive index change mechanisms in glass modified by a femtosecond laser has proven elusive. In this paper, Raman microscopy was used in conjunction with refractive near‐field profilometry to analyse the structure of borosilicate glass (Schott BK7) modified by a femtosecond laser and determine the mechanism of the observed refractive index change. For a pulse repetition rate of 1 kHz, it was determined that the refractive index change was due to an elevated population of non‐bridging oxygen atoms, resulting in more ionic bonds forming within the glass network and increasing the molar refractivity of the glass. For a pulse repetition rate of 5.1 MHz, the dominant mechanism of refractive index change was densification and rarefaction of the glass network. Different refractive index change mechanisms were attributed to different thermal conditions imparted to the glass under different pulse repetition rates. Implications for device fabrication are also discussed. These findings constitute an important step toward a complete overview of femtosecond‐laser‐induced refractive index change in glass. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nonlinear photoionization and laser-induced damage in silicate glasses by infrared ultrashort laser pulses

We show that photoionization of wide band gap silicate glasses by infrared ultrashort laser pulses can occur without laser-induced damage. Two glasses are studied, fused silica and a multi-component silicate photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass. Experiments are performed by low numerical aperture focusing of ultrashort laser pulses (100 fsec<τ<1.5 psec) at the wavelengths 780 nm, 1430 nm, and 1550 nm. Filaments form inside both glasses and are visibly observable due to intrinsic luminescence. Keldysh’s theory of nonlinear photoionization is used to model the formation of filaments and values of about 10¹³ W cm⁻² for the laser intensity and 10¹⁹ cm⁻³ for the free electron density are estimated for stable filaments to arise. Laser-induced damage is studied by the generation of a third harmonic from an interface created between a damage site and the surrounding glass matrix. It is found that third harmonic generation occurs only after several thousands of laser shots indicating that damage is not a single-shot phenomena. The ability to photoionize PTR glass without damage by ultrashort laser pulses offers a new approach for fabricating diffractive optical elements in photosensitive glass.     

Stress in femtosecond-laser-written waveguides in fused silica

We identify two states of stress induced in waveguides fabricated by femtosecond lasers in fused silica and show how they can be relieved by annealing. In-plane stress and stress concentration are revealed through birefringence and loss measurements. Another kind of laser-induced stress appears in the form of swelling of the glass surface when waveguides are written near the surface and is a manifestation of confined rapid material quenching. By annealing the sample we reduce the losses by approximately 30% (at 633 nm) and decrease the birefringence by a factor of 4 in fused silica.     

基频和三倍频Nd:YAG激光诱导熔石英损伤特性

 采用光电探测器和数字示波器检测散射光脉冲信号,研究了基频和三倍频Nd:YAG激光诱导熔石英损伤过程,给出了泵浦光和探针光的散射光光电信号;比较了基频和三倍频激光作用下熔石英烧蚀斑显微照片,并分析了其损伤机理。结果显示:在ns脉冲激光作用下,熔石英损伤均发生在泵浦激光脉冲峰值附近,且基频光作用下损伤开始时间点比三倍频作用下早;在多脉冲或高能量激光辐照下,检测到了等离子体闪光信号,等离子体闪光发生在时间延迟21 ns附近。基于Keldysh理论计算了基频光和三倍频光作用下,熔石英光致电离速率同激光强度的关系。     

Femtosecond laser-induced damage and filamentary propagation in fused silica

Bulk damage induced by fs IR laser pulses in silica is investigated both experimentally and numerically. In a strong focusing geometry, a first damage zone is followed by a narrow track with submicron width, indicating a filamentary propagation. The shape and size of the damage tracks are shown to correspond to the zone where the electron density created by optical field ionization and avalanche is close to 10(20) cm(-3). The relative role of avalanche and photoionization is studied. The plasma density produced in the wake of the pulse is shown to saturate around 2-4x10(20) cm(-3).     

Asymmetric orientational writing dependence on polarization and direction in Li2O–Nb2O5–SiO2 glass with femtosecond laser irradiation

Strong birefringence photo-induced by the femtosecond laser irradiation and a sensitivity to the orientation of the laser movement versus the laboratory reference (i.e., difference between rightward and leftward or between upward and downward) have been demonstrated in 32.5Li₂O–27.5Nb₂O₅–40SiO₂ glass. An asymmetry with the orientation of the laser scanning was firstly observed by one of the authors in 2003 in pure silica (Poumellec et al. in Opt Express 11:1070, 2003). Here, we show in addition that this asymmetric orientational sensitivity is dependent on the direction of laser polarization and the laser scanning (i.e., when the direction is horizontal or vertical). In particular, no asymmetric writing is detected when both laser scanning and polarization directions are vertical. These observations are not explained by the available model.     

Structural Characteristics of Metal Nanoparticles in Glass Upon Irradiation-Assisted Processing

Irradiation-assisted processing, i.e. ion, electron and laser irradiation, have been applied to fabricate metal/glass nanocomposites. The particle configurations are studied by transmission electron microscopy to get some insight into the rather complex formation mechanisms. Special attention is given to spheroidally shaped particles surrounded by smaller secondary particles observed upon ion beam mixing of silica/silver/silica layer compounds as well as irradiating femtosecond laser pulses on sodium silicate glass containing spherical silver particles. Another unique type of structure are cavities observed in silver particles formed by high fluence ion implantation into silica as well as upon laser pulse irradiation of silver particles in glass. The experimental findings are discussed in terms of irradiation-induced defect formation and radiation-enhanced diffusion.     

Laser-induced birefringence in optical glasses

Laser-induced birefringence in silicate glasses is investigated. The birefringence is found at the boundary between the irradiated and unirradiated regions in the glass after long-term exposure to N₂ laser radiation (λ = 337 nm). Along with the stationary effect, a temporal (transient) change in the polarization of the probe beam is also observed, which arises only during UV irradiation and vanishes when the irradiation is over. The birefringence found is explained by the occurrence of anisotropy at the boundary between the irradiated and unirradiated regions of a glass due to a local change in the glass density in the irradiated region.     

单次飞秒激光脉冲在玻璃内部产生多次微爆的研究

在入射能量不同的情况下，用近红外飞秒激光脉冲在重钡火石玻璃（ZBaF15）内部产生了色心和微爆，在熔融石英的内部产生了多次微爆现象.实验表明：入射能量较高时，色心的中间会产生微爆；在松聚焦条件下，一个飞秒激光脉冲在透明介质内会激发多次微爆.基于飞秒激光脉冲在透明介质内的自聚焦效应和自由电子等离子体的自散焦效应，理论分析了多次微爆产生的原因；也讨论了飞秒激光脉冲诱导玻璃折射率改变的机理.     

Design of highly birefringent chalcogenide glass PCF: A simplest design

In this article, a new simplified structure of a highly birefringent chalcogenide As₂Se₃ glass photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is designed and analyzed by using fully vectorial finite element method. The effective indices, confinement loss, birefringence, and chromatic dispersion of fundamental polarized mode are calculated in the proposed PCF for a wide wavelength range. To maintain the polarization in chalcogenide As₂Se₃ glass PCF, we enlarged two of the central air holes and reduced two transverse air holes for achieving high birefringence. This helps in creating an effective index difference between the two orthogonal polarization modes. It is also shown that As₂Se₃ glass PCF provides lower chromatic dispersion and less confinement loss compared to silica PCF of the same structure in wavelength range 1.3 to 1.8 μm and hence such chalcogenide As₂Se₃ glass PCF have high potential to be used in dispersion compensating and birefringence application in optical communication systems. In addition to this, the polarization mode dispersion (PMD) result of the proposed PCF is also reported.     

熔石英玻璃材料测试用折射液配制技术研究

为了对熔石英光学玻璃应力及光学均匀性进行测试,提出一种测试用高精度折射液配制方法。根据分子结构定量关系及组分的摩尔折光度定量可加的原理,推导了折射液配比公式并制定了折射液的配比工艺;分析了折射液的折射率随测试温度和测试波长不同的变化规律,并进行了实验验证;最后分析了折射液精度对测试结果的影响。通过上述方法在实验室环境配制出与熔石英折射率匹配精度为±2×10-5的折射液;通过对粗磨光学玻璃透射比实验表明,采用该方法配制的折射液对粗磨光学玻璃在450～700nm光谱范围内透射比从低于20%提高到97%以上;利用该方法和选用的成分配制的折射液具有毒性小、挥发性小、无色无味、长时间保存折射率保持性好的优点,可以很好地用于熔石英光学玻璃材料特性测试。     

Interferometric Sizing of Single‐Axis Birefringent Glass Fibers

This paper deals with the on‐line sizing of small diameter glass fibers (i.e. d<30 μm) produced for textiles and reinforcement applications. Two models based on the Lorenz‐Mie Theory are introduced to predict the basic light scattering properties and the response of a phase Doppler interferometer (PDI) to the sizing of infinite glass fibers. Among other parameters, these models take into account particular effects such as the fiber's single‐axis birefringence and the fiber's refractive index dependence on its cooling rate (i.e. diameter). Both effects have a weak influence on the mean response of the PDI but a strong influence on the resonance structures of its phase‐diameter relationship. Two optical set‐ups were selected from a numerical optimization procedure and tested experimentally. Experimental results are presented demonstrating the validity of the models and the ability of the developed PDI set‐ups to study some features of the fiber drawing‐process: fluctuations of the fiber diameter when the nozzle is submitted to a convective perturbation and, when the fiber take‐up velocity is modulated, the detection of hollow fibers.     

Photoinduced refractive-index change in Sm(+2)/Sm(+3) codoped aluminosilicate fiber by irradiation of an Ar-ion laser

A Sm(+2)/Sm(+3) codoped aluminosilicate glass optical fiber was fabricated by use of modified chemical-vapor deposition in conjunction with an aerosol-delivery technique. A permanent index change of 7.6 x 10(-5) was induced in the fiber by irradiation of 1 W of multiline output from an Ar-ion laser. Bleaching of a broad absorption band of Sm(+2) in the visible range was also observed, and it is believed that photoionization of Sm(+2)? Sm(+3)+e plays an important role in the induced photorefractivity.     

Ultraviolet true zero-order wave plate made of birefringent porous silica

Porous Si made from (110) Si wafers exhibits strong in-plane optical anisotropy (birefringence) in the visible and near-IR ranges. Oxidation of the birefringent porous Si results in the formation of birefringent porous silica. We demonstrate that the degree of the birefringence of porous silica can be controlled by the oxidation condition, and very small birefringence can be achieved. The smallest anisotropy of the refractive index (Δn) is 0.001, which is about ten times smaller than that of quartz. The small birefringence allows us to produce true zero-order wave plates operating in the UV range.     

光波导覆层热膨胀系数对应力双折射影响的分析

用有限元方法计算了硅基光波导器件的应力，得到由应力引起的双折射，从理论上分析了内应力对器件偏振特性的影响。得出结论：硅基与其它层材料热膨胀系数的不同，是引起芯区双折射的主要因素，通过掺杂、调整覆层的热膨胀系数，可以得到双折射系数较小的光波导。     

The role of self-trapped excitons and defects in the formation of nanogratings in fused silica

We investigate the role of self-trapped excitons (STEs) and defects in the formation of femtosecond laser pulse induced nanogratings (NGs) in fused silica. Our experiments reveal strongly enhanced NG formation for pulse separations up to the STE lifetime. In addition, the absorption spectra show that the weaker cumulative action of laser pulses for longer temporal separations is predominantly mediated by dangling-bond-type lattice defects that emerge from decaying STEs.     

Photo-induced anisotropy in ZnO/PVA nanocomposites prepared by modified electrochemical method in PMA matrix

Substantial photo-induced optical anisotropy was discovered in ZnO/PVA nanocomposites under the influence of external bicolor laser illumination. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by electrolysis of a sodium chloride aqueous medium including poly-methacrylic acid (PMA) in a cell system having a soluble zinc anode. The structural analysis of the ZnO powder samples has been carried out by X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) embedded ZnO films obtained from the powder samples possess larger grain sizes than those in powder form. The films were prepared from the same polymer matrix but elaborated with two different PVA contents which are respectively 15% and 30%. The photoinduced anisotropy was identified by using two bicolor Er: glass laser beams incident at different angles. Substantial influence of the technological processes on the embedded nanoparticle sizes and related birefringence was explored. The process of laser induced anisotropy shows an occurrence of birefringence saturation.     

Elaboration and characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles incorporated in SiO2 host matrix

Nanometer-scale TiO₂ particles have been synthesized by sol-gel method. It was incorporated in a glass-based silica aerogel. The composite was characterized by various techniques such as particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and photoluminescence (PL). The bulk glass presents a strong luminescence at wavelengths ranging from 750 to 950 nm. This PL was attributed to various non-bridging oxygen hole centers (NBOHCs) defects resulting from thermal treatment and crystallization of TiO₂ at the interface between titania nanoparticles and silica host matrix.