Femtosecond laser micromachining of solid materials such as Si, GaAs, polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and Fused Silica has been performed in air. Femtosecond (fs) laser pulses with pulse duration of 180 fs and output wavelength of 800 nm is applied for a light source. The relationship between pulse energy and sub-micron scale crater on the surface of Si, GaAs, PMMA and Fused Silica induced by fs laser pulses has been figured out. The sub-micron void can be produced in the focal point of fs laser beam. Two kinds of gratings have been fabricated on the surface of Fused Silica by femtosecond laser machining (FLM). The parameters of one grating such as the length of 20 mm, the width of 1.5 mm and the period of 2 μm have been obtained. A 20-mm-long and 0.45-mm-wide grating with period of 11 μm has been also fabricated. The diffraction efficiency of each order has been measured. An elliptical cross section waveguide has been obtained inside the bulk of Fused Silica. The distance beneath the surface was measured to be 2 mm. The diffraction rings can be observed in the far field image of the light output from the waveguide.

Date Published: 21 November 2007
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 6724, 3rd International Symposium on Advanced Optical Manufacturing and Testing Technologies: Design, Manufacturing, and Testing of Micro- and Nano-Optical Devices and Systems, 672419 (21 November 2007); doi: 10.1117/12.782840

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6724:
3rd International Symposium on Advanced Optical Manufacturing and Testing Technologies: Design, Manufacturing, and Testing of Micro- and Nano-Optical Devices and Systems
Sen Han; Tingwen Xing; Yanqiu Li; Zheng Cui, Editor(s)