Formation mechanism of self-organized voids in dielectrics induced by tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses

In this paper, we briefly summarize two typical morphology characteristics of the self-organized void array induced in bulk of fused silica glass by a tightly focused femtosecond laser beam, such as the key role of high numerical aperture in the void array formation and the concentric-circle-like structure indicated by the top view of the void array. By adopting a physical model which combines the nonlinear propagation of femtosecond laser pulses with the spherical aberration effect (SA) at the interface of two mediums of different refractive indices, reasonable agreements between the simulation results and the experimental results are obtained. By comparing the fluence distributions of the case with both SA and nonlinear effects included and the case with only consideration of SA, we suggest that spherical aberration, which results from the refractive index mismatch between air and fused silica glass, is the main reason for the formation of the self-organized void array. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Self-compression of femtosecond pulses in argon with a power close to the self-focusing threshold

Self-compression of femtosecond pulses in noble gases with an input power close to the self-focusing threshold has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is demonstrated that either multiphoton ionization (MPI) or space time focusing and self-steepening effects can induce pulse shortening, but they predominate at different beam intensities during the propagation. The latter effects play a key role in the final pulse self-compression. By choosing an appropriate focusing parameter, action distance of the space time focusing and self-steepening effects can be lengthened, which can promote a shock pulse structure with a duration as short as two optical cycles. It is also found that, for our calculation cases in which an input pulse power is close to the self-focusing threshold, either group velocity dispersion (GVD) or multiphoton absorption (MPA) has a negligible influence on pulse characteristics in the propagation process.

Micromodification of element distribution in glass using femtosecond laser irradiation

We report micromodification of Eu element distribution in a silicate glass with femtosecond laser irradiation. Elemental analysis shows that the content of Eu decreased at the focal point and increased in a ring-shaped region around the focal point, which indicates migration of Eu ions has been induced by the femtosecond laser irradiation. Confocal fluorescence spectra demonstrate that the fluorescence intensity of Eu3+ ions increased by 20% in the laser-induced, Eu-enriched, ring-shaped region compared with that for nonirradiated glass. The mechanism for the laser induced change in fluorescence properties of Eu3+ has been investigated. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Coherent linking of periodic nano-ripples on a ZnO crystal surface induced by femtosecond laser pulses

We demonstrate the coherent linking of periodic nano-ripples formed on the surface of ZnO crystals induced by femtosecond laser pulses. By adjusting the distance between two laser scanning zones, the periodic nano-ripples induced by two separated laser writing processes can be coherently linked and the ZnO nanograting with much longer grooves is therefore produced. The length limitation of this kind of nanograting previously set by the laser focus size is thus overcome. The micro-Raman mapping technique is used to evaluate the quality of coherent linking, and the underlying physics is discussed. The demonstrated scheme is promising for producing large-size self-organized nanogratings induced by femtosecond laser pulses.

Compression of intense laser pulse through filamentation in an argon-filled cell

We demonstrate a pulse compression technique through filamentation in an argon-filled cell. By using a pair of chirped mirrors for dispersion compensation, we have successfully compressed the 53 fs pulse to 15 fs with good spatial qualities and good pulse stability. The total transmitted efficiency is more than 75%. The influence of the experiment parameters to the compressed pulses is also studied experimentally.

Effect of cerium oxide on the precipitation of silver nanoparticles in femtosecond laser irradiated silicate glass

We investigated the effect of cerium oxide on the precipitation of Ag nanoparticles in silicate glass via a femtosecond laser irradiation and successive annealing. Absorption spectra show that Ce3+ ions may absorb part of the laser energy via multiphoton absorption and release free electrons, resulting in an increase of the concentration of Ag atoms and a decrease of the concentration of hole-trapped color centers, which influence precipitation of the Ag nanoparticles. In addition, we found that the formed Ag-0 may reduce Ce4+ ions to Ce3+ ions during the annealing process, which inhibits the growth of the Ag nanoparticles.

Self-assembled quasi-periodic voids in glass induced by a tightly focused femtosecond laser

Multiple refocusing of a tightly focused femtosecond laser due to the dynamic transformation between self-focusing and self-defocusing is employed to provide a novel method to produce quasi-periodic voids in glass. It is found that the diameter or the interval of the periodic voids increases with the increasing pulse energy of the laser. The detailed course for producing periodic voids is discussed by analysing the damaged track induced by the tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses. It is suggested that this periodic structure has potential applications in fabrication of three-dimensional optical devices.

Distribution of the microcrystallites generated in borate glass irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses

This paper deals with the distribution of generated microcrystallites in borate glass irradiated by 120 fs laser pulses at a central wavelength of 800 nm. Raman spectroscopy is used to investigate the distribution of the high and low temperature phases of barium metaborate crystals generated in the borate glass. In combination with a microexplosion model, bond-breaking induced by laser irradiation is served as the origin of the formation of BBO crystals. Depending on the laser fluence and cooling conditions, the distribution mechanisms have been discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fluorescent Ag nanoclusters in glass induced by an infrared femtosecond laser

We report a method for the selective introduction of fluorescent Ag nanoclusters in glass. Extinction and photoluminescence spectra show that a fraction of the Ag atoms are generated through femtosecond laser induced multiphoton reduction and then aggregate to form Ag nanoclusters after heat treatment. Red luminescence from the irradiated region is observed under blue or green laser excitation. The fluorescence can be attributed to interband transitions within Ag nanoclusters. This method provides a novel route to fabricate fluorescent nanomaterials in 3D transparent materials. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Algorithm of far-field centre estimation based on phase-only matched filter

Estimation of the far-field centre is carried out in beam auto-alignment. In this paper, the features of the far-field of a square beam are presented. Based on these features, a phase-only matched filter is designed, and the algorithm of centre estimation is developed. Using the simulated images with different kinds of noise and the 40 test images that are taken in sequence, the accuracy of this algorithm is estimated. Results show that the error is no more than one pixel for simulated noise images with a 99% probability, and the stability is restricted within one pixel for test images. Using the improved algorithm, the consumed time is reduced to 0.049 s.