Femtosecond laser writing of low-loss three-dimensional waveguide coupler in LiNbO_(3) crystal

With different interactions between material and femtosecond lasers,two-dimensional(2D)and three-dimensional(3D)waveguide couplers,whose separation distances are fabricated in z-cut lithium niobate crystal by femtosecond laser writing,are reported.Experimentally and numerically,it is shown from results that the guidance is only propagating along TM polarization due to the Type I modification and holds equal splitting ratios,which are the same as power splitters at632.8 nm.The propagation losses of 2D and 3D waveguide couplers exhibit better transmission properties than those of the previously reported Type I Y-junction waveguide splitters.

Periodic transparent nanowires in ITO film fabricated via femtosecond laser direct writing

This paper reports the fabrication of regular large-area laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSSs)in indium tin oxide(ITO)films via femtosecond laser direct writing focused by a cylindrical lens.The regular LIPSSs exhibited good properties as nanowires,with a resistivity almost equal to that of the initial ITO film.By changing the laser fluence,the nanowire resistances could be tuned from 15 to 73 kΩ/mm with a consistency of±10%.Furthermore,the average transmittance of the ITO films with regular LIPSSs in the range of 1200-2000 nm was improved from 21%to 60%.The regular LIPSS is promising for transparent electrodes of nano-optoelectronic devices-particularly in the near-infrared band.

Femtosecond laser direct writing of functional stimulus-responsive structures and applications

Diverse natural organisms possess stimulus-responsive structures to adapt to the surrounding environment.Inspired by nature,researchers have developed various smart stimulus-responsive structures with adjustable properties and functions to address the demands of ever-changing application environments that are becoming more intricate.Among many fabrication methods for stimulus-responsive structures,femtosecond laser direct writing(FsLDW)has received increasing attention because of its high precision,simplicity,true three-dimensional machining ability,and wide applicability to almost all materials.This paper systematically outlines state-of-the-art research on stimulus-responsive structures prepared by FsLDW.Based on the introduction of femtosecond laser-matter interaction and mainstream FsLDW-based manufacturing strategies,different stimulating factors that can trigger structural responses of prepared intelligent structures,such as magnetic field,light,temperature,pH,and humidity,are emphatically summarized.Various applications of functional structures with stimuli-responsive dynamic behaviors fabricated by FsLDW,as well as the present obstacles and forthcoming development opportunities,are discussed.

Bioinspired micro/nanostructured surfaces prepared by femtosecond laser direct writing for multi-functional applications

manufacturing of biomimetic micro/nanostructures due to its specific advantages including high precision,simplicity,and compatibility for diverse materials in comparison with other methods(e.g.ion etching,sol-gel process,chemical vapor deposition,template method,and self-assembly).These biomimetic micro/nanostructured surfaces are of significant interest for academic and industrial research due to their wide range of potential applications,including self-cleaning surfaces,oil-water separation,and fog collection.This review presents the inherent relationship between natural organisms,fabrication methods,micro/nanostructures and their potential applications.Thereafter,we throw a list of current fabrication strategies so as to highlight the advantages of FLDW in manufacturing bioinspired microstructured surfaces.Subsequently,we summarize a variety of typical bioinspired designs(e.g.lotus leaf,pitcher plant,rice leaf,butterfly wings,etc)for diverse multifunctional micro/nanostructures through extreme femtosecond laser processing technology.Based on the principle of interfacial chemistry and geometrical optics,we discuss the potential applications of these functional micro/nanostructures and assess the underlying challenges and opportunities in the extreme fabrication of bioinspired micro/nanostructures by FLDW.This review concludes with a follow up and an outlook of femtosecond laser processing in biomimetic domains.

Confocal photoluminescence characterization of silicon-vacancy color centers in 4H-SiC fabricated by a femtosecond laser

Silicon-vacancy(VSi)centers in silicon carbide(SiC)are expected to serve as solid qubits,which can be used in quantum computing and sensing.As a new controllable color center fabrication method,femtosecond(fs)laserwriting has been gradually applied in the preparation of VSi in SiC.In this study,4H-SiCwas directlywritten by an fs laser and characterized at 293 K by atomic force microscopy,confocal photoluminescence(PL),and Raman spectroscopy.PL signals of VSi were found and analyzed using 785 nm laser excitation by means of depth profiling and two-dimensional mapping.The influence of machining parameters on the VSi formation was analyzed,and the three-dimensional distribution of VSi defects in the fs laser writing of 4H-SiC was established.

Silicon Vacancy Color Centers in 6H-SiC Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Direct Writing

As a single photon source,silicon vacancy(V_(Si))centers in wide bandgap semiconductor silicon carbide(SiC)are expected to be used in quantum technology as spin qubits to participate in quantum sensing and quantum computing.Simultaneously,the new direct femtosecond(fs)laser writing technology has been successfully applied to preparing V_(Si)s in SiC.In this study,6H-SiC,which has been less studied,was used as the processed material.V_(Si) center arrays were formed on the 6H-SiC surface using a 1030-nm-wavelength fs pulsed laser.The surface was characterized by white light microscopy,atomic force microscopy,and confocal photoluminescence(PL)/Raman spectrometry.The effect of fs laser energy,vector polarization,pulse number,and repetition rate on 6H-SiC V_(Si) defect preparation was analyzed by measuring the V_(Si) PL signal at 785-nm laser excitation.The results show that fs laser energy and pulse number greatly influence the preparation of the color center,which plays a key role in optimizing the yield of V_(Si)s prepared by fs laser nanomachining.

Protein-based soft micro-optics fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing

In this work,we report a novel soft diffractive micro-optics,called‘microscale kinoform phase-type lens(micro-KPL)’,which is fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing(FsLDW)using bovine serum albumin(BSA)as building blocks and flexible polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)slices as substrates.By carefully optimizing various process parameters of FsLDW(e.g.,average laser power density,scanning step,exposure time on a single point and protein concentration),the as-formed protein micro-KPLs exhibit excellent surface quality,well-defined three-dimensional(3D)geometry and distinctive optical properties,even in relatively harsh operation environments(for instance,in strong acid or base).Laser shaping,imaging and other optical performances can be easily achieved.More importantly,micro-KPLs also have unique flexible and stretchable properties as well as good biocompatibility and biodegradability.Therefore,such protein hydrogel-based micro-optics may have great potential applications,such as in flexible and stretchable photonics and optics,soft integrated optical microsystems and bioimplantable devices.

Femtosecond laser-inscribed optical waveguides in dielectric crystals:a concise review and recent advances

Femtosecond laser inscription or writing has been recognized as a powerful technique to engineer various materials toward a number of applications.By efficient modification of refractive indices of dielectric crystals,optical waveguides with diverse configurations have been produced by femtosecond laser writing.The waveguiding properties depend not only on the parameters of the laser writing but also on the nature of the crystals.The mode profile tailoring and polarization engineering are realizable by selecting appropriate fabrication conditions.In addition,regardless of the complexity of crystal refractive index changes induced by ultrafast pulses,several three-dimensional geometries have been designed and implemented that are useful for the fabrication of laser-written photonic chips.Some intriguing devices,e.g.,waveguide lasers,wavelength converters,and quantum memories,have been made,exhibiting potential for applications in various areas.Our work gives a concise review of the femtosecond laser-inscribed waveguides in dielectric crystals and focuses on the recent advances of this research area,including the fundamentals,fabrication,and selected photonic applications.

Photonic circuits written by femtosecond laser in glass:improved fabrication and recent progress in photonic devices

Integrated photonics is attracting considerable attention and has found many applications in both classical and quantum optics,fulfilling the requirements for the ever-growing complexity in modern optical experiments and big data communication.Femtosecond(fs)laser direct writing(FLDW)is an acknowledged technique for producing waveguides(WGs)in transparent glass that have been used to construct complex integrated photonic devices.FLDW possesses unique features,such as three-dimensional fabrication geometry,rapid prototyping,and single step fabrication,which are important for integrated communication devices and quantum photonic and astrophotonic technologies.To fully take advantage of FLDW,considerable efforts have been made to produce WGs over a large depth with low propagation loss,coupling loss,bend loss,and highly symmetrical mode field.We summarize the improved techniques as well as the mechanisms for writing high-performance WGs with controllable morphology of cross-section,highly symmetrical mode field,low loss,and high processing uniformity and efficiency,and discuss the recent progress of WGs in photonic integrated devices for communication,topological physics,quantum information processing,and astrophotonics.Prospective challenges and future research directions in this field are also pointed out.

Transient features of graphitization and nitrogen-vacancy color centers in a diamond fabricated by localization femtosecond laser direct writing

Femtosecond laser direct writing provides an efficient approach to fabricating single nitrogen vacancy(NV) color centers with a relatively high yield. Different from previously reported NV color centers with a random distribution in a bulk diamond or nanocrystals, this gives an opportunity to study the photophysical properties of single NV color centers with precise numbers and positions. However, ultrafast studies on single NV color centers prepared by localization femtosecond laser direct writing are still rare, especially for the graphitization inside a diamond and its relationship with single NV color centers. Here, we report the broadband transient absorption(TA) spectroscopic features of the graphitization and NV color centers in a diamond fabricated by localization femtosecond laser direct writing at room temperature under 400 nm excitation. In comparison with the graphene oxide film, the bleaching features of the graphitization point array in a diamond are similar to reduced graphene oxide,accompanied by excited state absorption signals from local carbon atom vacancy defects in graphene-like structures induced by laser writing. On the other hand, transient features of laser processing array containing single NV color centers with a yield of~50% are different from those of the graphitization point array. Our findings suggest that for ultrashort pulse processing of diamonds, broadband TA spectral signals are sensitive to the surrounding atomic environment of processing sites, which could be applied to laser writing point defects in other materials used as solid-state single photon sources.

Imaging/nonimaging microoptical elements and stereoscopic systems based on femtosecond laser direct writing

The development of modern information technology has led to significant demand for microoptical elements with complex surface profiles and nanoscale surface roughness.Therefore,various micro-and nanoprocessing techniques are used to fabricate microoptical elements and systems.Femtosecond laser direct writing(FsLDW)uses ultrafast pulses and the ultraintense instantaneous energy of a femtosecond laser for micro-nano fabrication.FsLDW exhibits various excellent properties,including nonlinear multiphoton absorption,high-precision processing beyond the diffraction limit,and the universality of processable materials,demonstrating its unique advantages and potential applications in three-dimensional(3D)micro-nano manufacturing.FsLDW has demonstrated its value in the fabrication of various microoptical systems.This study details three typical principles of FsLDW,several design considerations to improve processing performance,processable materials,imaging/nonimaging microoptical elements,and their stereoscopic systems.Finally,a summary and perspective on the future research directions for FsLDW-enabled microoptical elements and stereoscopic systems are provided.

High throughput direct writing of a mesoscale binary optical element by femtosecond long focal depth beams

Bessel beams have multiple applications owing to their propagation-invariant properties,including particle trapping,optical coherence tomography,and material processing.However,traditional Bessel-beam shaping techniques require bulky components,which limits the development of miniaturized optical systems for integration with other devices.Here,we report a novel femtosecond laser direct writing strategy for fabricating mesoscale(from submicrometer to subcentimeter)binary optical elements with microscale resolution.This strategy utilizes femtosecond beams with a long focal depth to increase throughput while reducing the constraints on critical sample positioning.As a demonstration,we manufactured and characterized a 2.2 mm diameter binary axicon.The experimentally measured quasi-Bessel beam intensity distribution and the numerical results were remarkably consistent,demonstrating a suitable tradeoff between the overall size,efficiency,and structural fidelity.Furthermore,a compact Bessel lens containing binary axicons was constructed and successfully used for femtosecond laser mask-less ablation of periodic grating-type surface plasmon polariton excitation units.The demonstrated approach shows significant potential for fabricating customizable integrated optical components.

Tailoring light on three-dimensional photonic chips: a platform for versatile OAM mode optical interconnects

Explosive growth in demand for data traffic has prompted exploration of the spatial dimension of lightwaves, which provides a degree of freedom to expand data transmission capacity. Various techniques basedon bulky optical devices have been proposed to tailor light waves in the spatial dimension. However, theirinherent large size, extra loss, and precise alignment requirements make these techniques relativelydifficult to implement in a compact and flexible way. In contrast, three-dimensional (3D) photonic chips withcompact size and low loss provide a promising miniaturized candidate for tailoring light in the spatialdimension. Significantly, they are attractive for chip-assisted short-distance spatial mode optical interconnectsthat are challenging to bulky optics. Here, we propose and fabricate femtosecond laser-inscribed 3D photonicchips to tailor orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes in the spatial dimension. Various functions on theplatform of 3D photonic chips are experimentally demonstrated, including the generation, (de)multiplexing,and exchange of OAM modes. Moreover, chip-chip and chip–fiber–chip short-distance optical interconnectsusing OAM modes are demonstrated in the experiment with favorable performance. This work paves the wayto flexibly tailor light waves on 3D photonic chips and offers a compact solution for versatile opticalinterconnects and other emerging applications with spatial modes.

Simultaneous additive and subtractive three-dimensional nanofabrication using integrated two-photon polymerization and multiphoton ablation

Modern three-dimensional nanofabrication requires both additive and subtractive processes.However,both processes are largely isolated and generally regarded as incompatible with each other.In this study,we developed simultaneous additive and subtractive fabrication processes using two-photon polymerization followed by femtosecond(fs)laser multiphoton ablation.To demonstrate the new capability,submicrometer polymer fibers containing periodic holes of 500-nm diameter and microfluidic channels of 1-mm diameter were successfully fabricated.This method combining both two-photon polymerization and fs laser ablation improves the nanofabrication efficiency and enables the fabrication of complex three-dimensional micro-/nanostructures,promising for a wide range of applications in integrated optics,microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems.