Theoretical and experimental study on femtosecond laser induced damage in CaF2 crystals

We report on the damage threshold in CaF2 crystals induced by femtosecond laser at wavelengths of 800 nm and 400 nm, respectively. The dependences of ablation depths and ablation volumes on laser fluences are also presented. We investigate theoretically the coupling constants between phonon and conduction band electrons (CBE), and calculate the rates of CBE absorbing laser energy. A theoretical model including CBE production, laser energy deposition, and CBE diffusion is applied to study the damage mechanisms. Our results indicate that energy diffusion greatly influences damage threshold and ablation depth.

超短脉冲激光对透明材料的破坏

基于固体的能带理论和能量守恒原理建立了一个描述激光与非金属材料作用时载流子随时间空间变化的理论模型。讨论了材料的破坏阈值、烧蚀深度与激光脉宽、波长和强度之间的关系，同时也讨论了破坏阈值、烧蚀深度与材料禁带宽度等特性之间的关系。讨论了多光子电离、隧道电离和雪崩电离在激光对材料破坏过程中的不同地位，理论结果表明，光电离在超短脉冲激光对非金属材料破坏过程中对破坏阈值的影响最大。

The ultrafast excitation processes in femtosecond laser-induced damage in dielectric omnidirectional reflectors

A pump and probe system is developed, where the probe pulse duration tau is less than 60 fs while the pump pulse is stretched up to 150-670 fs. The time-resolved excitation processes and damage mechanisms in the omnidirectional reflectors SiO2/TiO2 and ZnS/MgF2 are studied. It is found that as the pump pulse energy is higher than the threshold value, the reflectivity of the probe pulse decreases rapidly during the former half, rather than around the peak of the pump pulse. A coupled dynamic model based on the avalanche ionization (AI) theory is used to study the excitation processes in the sample and its inverse influences on the pump pulse. The results indicate that as pulse duration is longer than 150 fs, photoionization (PI) and AI both play important roles in the generation of conduction band electrons (CBEs); the CBE density generated via AI is higher than that via PI by a factor of 10(2)-10(4). The theory explains well the experimental results about the ultrafast excitation processes and the threshold fluences. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

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.

Selective metallization on insulator surfaces with femtosecond laser pulses

We report selective metallization on surfaces of insulators ( glass slides and lithium niobate crystal) based on femtosecond laser modification combined with electroless plating. The process is mainly composed of four steps: (1) formation of silver nitrate thin films on the surfaces of glass or crystal substrates; (2) generation of silver particles in the irradiated area by femtosecond laser direct writing; (3) removal of unirradiated silver nitrate films; and (4) selective electroless plating in the modified area. We discuss the mechanism of selective metallization on the insulators. Moreover, we investigate the electrical and adhesive properties of the copper microstructures patterned on the insulator surfaces, showing great potential of integrating electrical functions into lab-on-a-chip devices. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.

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.

Formation and characterization of tin oxide aerogel derived from sol-gel process based on tetra(n-butoxy)tin(IV)

Transparent and translucent SnO2 aerogels with high specific surface area (>300m(2)/g) have been prepared by sol-gel process using tetra(n-butoxy)tin(IV) as a starting compound, and supercritical drying technique for solvent extraction. Light scattering measurements reveal that the polymeric cluster size distribution in sol system is gradually broadened during sol-gel transition. SEM images show that the aerogels are made up of the cottonlike oxide agglomerates with a large number of Pores. TEM images show that these aerogels seem to be self-similar at different magnifications. Their pore size distribution is pretty wide ranging, from mesopore to macropore especially for that of translucent aerogel. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cr^4＋：YAG被动调QNd：YAG陶瓷激光器的研究

介绍了近几年迅速发展的一种新型激光介质——透明Nd：YAG多晶陶瓷的发展状况，对比分析了多晶陶瓷与单晶的光谱特性、激光特性和连续实验研究情况。并对钛宝石激光器调谐至808nm，端面抽运Nd：YAG陶瓷被动调Q全固态激光器的脉冲运转进行了较为详细的理论分析和实验研究。采用初始透射率为90％的Cr^4＋：YAG可饱和吸收晶体，被动调Q的阈值功率为119mW，当端面抽运功率为465mW时，获得波长为1064nm，脉宽为16ns，重复频率为18．18kHz，单脉冲能量为3．4μJ，平均输出功率为61mW的稳定调Q

Yb：Y2O3透明陶瓷的光学性能研究

介绍了一种基于纳米粉末真空烧结技术的新型固体激光材料——Yb：Y2O3多晶陶瓷的制备工艺、物理化学特性、能级结构和光谱特性，并与Yb：YAG单晶进行了对比．采用紧凑型有源镜激光器（CAMIL）的抽运方式，验证了Yb：Y2O3透明陶瓷的激光输出性能．在35W的最大抽运功率下，得到波长1078nm，功率10．5w的连续激光输出，斜率效率达到37．5％．实验中还观察到激光输出波长随抽运功率增加而红移以及随输出耦合镜变化而漂移的现象．Yb：Y2O3多晶陶瓷是一种理想的激光材料，不仅具有与Yb：YAG单晶同样优秀的

高性能透明激光陶瓷及陶瓷激光器的最新应用进展

激光陶瓷的出现,为固体激光材料向高功率、大尺寸、多功能发展提供了全新的途径,从而为激光技术的发展提供了更加灵活广阔的设计空间。介绍了近年来国际国内透明激光陶瓷及陶瓷激光器发展的最新进展,并展望了陶瓷激光器的未来发展价值。高功率陶瓷激光器方面:中科院上海光学精密机械研究所采用超均匀侧面泵浦技术在1at.%Nd:YAG陶瓷棒中获得输出功率236W,斜率效率62%的连续激光输出。美国利弗莫尔实验室采用Sm3+包边Nd:YAG复合结构陶瓷热容激光器实现了5Hz,67kW激光输出。陶瓷激光器方面,日本World-Labo.Co实验室采用掺杂浓度为15at.%的Yb:YSAG透明陶瓷,获得脉冲宽度280fs,平均输出能量为62mW的锁模脉冲激光输出。陶瓷自调Q脉冲激光器和陶瓷光纤激光器亦有很大进展。陶瓷激光器的开发和应用不仅延伸到传统固体激光器的各个研究领域,并且能够不断突破现有固体激光技术的局限,有望推动未来固体激光工程向更广阔的空间发展。

Nd：Y3Sc（1．5）Al（3．5）O（12）透明陶瓷的光谱性能以及激光输出

采用燃烧法制备了Nd：YSAG粉体,经过成型、素烧,最终在氢气气氛中烧结制备了Nd：YSAG透明陶瓷.测试结果表明,Nd：YSAG透明陶瓷具有荧光谱线较宽,荧光寿命较长的特点.激光实验得到的激光输出,斜率效率为23.6%,输出功率为0.36W,输出激光的谱线分布较宽.

5.5W CWYb3+ : Y2O3 ceramic laser pumped with 970 nm laser diode

CW laser output has been demonstrated for polycrystalline transparent 10 at.% Yb3+-doped Y2O3 ceramics. End-pumped with 970 nm laser diode, a maximum output power of 5.5 W has been obtained with absorbed pump power of 31.1 W. The slope efficiency is 25% while the threshold pump power is 5.6 W. Saturation is not observed in our experiments, indicating higher laser output can be expected with higher pump power. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

TeO2-AlF3氟碲酸盐玻璃的性质和结构

制备了不同氟化物含量的（1-x）TeO2-AlF3（x=10％，20％，30％，按摩尔计）透明氟碲酸盐玻璃。利用差热分析和Raman光谱对玻璃的性质和结构进行研究。结果显示：当x达到30％时，氟化铝以Al-F多面体的形式进入玻璃网络结构。随着氟化物含量增加，玻璃在中红外区的透过率提高，玻璃结构单元从[Te（O，F）4]三方双锥向[Te（O，F）3]三方锥转变。Raman光谱显示：1个宽的强峰出现在750～840cm^-1，表明玻璃中Te-O键长介于0．185-0．196nm之间。

Microstructure of the crystals generated in borate glass irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses

In this study, we examined the microstructure of crystals generated in borate glass by femtosecond laser irradiation (FSLI). The distribution of the high-temperature and low-temperature phases of barium metaborate crystals produced in the borate glass is analyzed using Raman spectroscopy. We then propose the possible mechanism for the generation of crystals in glass by FSLI.