Understanding How Femtosecond Laser Waveguide Fabrication in Glasses Works

Abstract

In order to understand the physical processes associated with fs-laser waveguide writing in glass, the effects of the laser repetition rate, the material composition and feature size were studied. The resulting material changes were observed by collecting Raman and fluorescence spectra with a confocal microscope. The guiding behavior of the waveguides was evaluated by measuring near field laser coupling profiles in combination with white light microscopy. Waveguides and Bragg gratings were fabricated in fused silica using pulse repetition rates from 1 kHz to 1 MHz and a wide range of scan speeds and pulse energies. Two types of fluorescence were detected in fused silica, depending on the fabrication conditions. Fluorescence from self trapped exciton (E'δ) defects, centered at 550 nm, were dominant for conditions with low total doses, such as using a 1 kHz laser with a scan speed of 20 μm/s and pulse energies less than 1 μJ. For higher doses a broad fluorescence band, centered at 650 nm, associated with non-bridging oxygen hole center (NBOHC) defects was observed. Far fewer NBOHC defects were formed with the 1 MHz laser than with the kHz lasers possibly due to annealing of the defects during writing. We also observed an increase in the intensity of the 605 cm-1 Raman peak relative to the total Raman intensity, corresponding to an increase in the concentration of 3-membered rings for all writing conditions. The magnitude of this increase in waveguides fabricated with a 1 MHz laser was nearly twice that of waveguides fabricated with a 1 kHz laser. Additional waveguides were fabricated in soda lime silicate glasses to assess the effects of changing the glass composition. These waveguides formed around, not inside the exposed regions. This is distinctly different from fused silica in which the waveguides are inside the exposed regions. A comprehensive analysis of all the experimental results indicates that good waveguides are formed below the actual damage threshold of the glass. The rapid quenching model, which correlates the refractive index of the modified material to its cooling rate, explains the effect of composition on waveguide behavior.