Femtosecond laser nanostructuring of transparent materials: from bulk to fiber lasers

Progress in high power ultra-short pulse lasers has opened new frontiers in the physics of light-matter interactions and laser material processing. Recently there has been considerable interest in the application of femtosecond lasers to writing inside transparent materials and in particular to fabrication of three-dimensional microstructures

"Quill" writing with ultrashort light pulses in transparent materials

A remarkable phenomenon in ultrafast laser processing of transparent materials, in particular, silica glass, manifested as a change in material modification by reversing the writing direction is observed. The effect resembles writing with a quill pen and is interpreted in terms of anisotropic trapping of electron plasma by a tilted front of the ultrashort laser pulse along the writing direction

Quill writing with ultrashort light pulses in transparent optical materials

Writing in silica glass in opposite directions can be different. The phenomenon resembles quill writing and is interpreted in terms of anisotropic trapping of electron plasma by a tilted front of the ultrashort laser pulse

Recent advances in nanostructuring of glass by strong fields: from poling assisted bleaching to femtosecond laser nanostructuring

Recent progress in poling, femtosecond laser direct writing and related nanostructuring of glass is reviewed

Recent advances in poling and nanostructuring of glass

Poling and femtosecond laser writing are two techniques which are normally used for modification of second-order optical nonlinearity and refractive index of glass. Strong dc and light fields are believed to be responsible for such modifications. Recently it has been observed that high dc field can dissolve metal nanoparticles in glass, opening a prospect of new application of poling for engineering of glass-metal nanocomposites. In its turn, formation of 3D self-assembled sub-wavelength periodic structures has been discovered during femtosecond laser direct writing. Recent progress in poling, femtosecond laser direct writing and related nanostructuring of glass is reviewed