This paper reviews the recent advancements achieved using ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) that highlight the cross-disciplinary potential of the technology. An overview of waveguide fabrication is provided and the three distinct types of waveguide cross-section architectures that have so far been fabricated in transparent dielectric materials are discussed. The paper focuses on two key emergent technologies driven by ULI processes. First, the recently developed photonic devices, such as compact mode-locked waveguide sources and novel midinfrared waveguide lasers are discussed. Secondly, the phenomenon and applications of selective etching in developing ultrafast laser inscribed structures for compact lab-on-chip devices are elaborated. The review further discusses the conceivable future of ULI in impacting the aforementioned fields.

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We report the successful fabrication of a low-loss near-IR waveguide in polycrystalline ZnSe using ultrafast laser inscription. The waveguide, which was inscribed using the multiscan fabrication technique, supported a well-confined mode at 1.55 μm. Propagation losses were characterized at 1.55 μm using the Fabry-Perot technique and found to be 1.07 dB · cm(-1) ± 0.03 dB · cm(-1).

Combination of chemotherapeutic agents and angiogenesis inhibitors is now commonly employed in the clinic to treat cancer. Here, we used angiostatic agents anginex and 0118, in combination with the chemotherapeutic irofulven, to treat human ovarian tumor xenografts in mice. General linear mixed models were used to statistically analyze tumor growth curves. Overall, combination of a low, non-toxic dose of irofulven with either angiogenesis inhibitor was more effective at inhibiting tumor growth than any of the single-agent therapies. For example, the anginex/irofulven and 0118/irofulven combinations inhibited tumor growth relative to controls by 92% (p<0.0001) and 96% (p<0.0001), respectively, with the 0118/irofulven combinations yielding 100% complete responses. This study suggests that combination therapy of 0118 or anginex and irofulven may be highly effective in the clinical setting.

Given the results of this study, the recommended dose of irofulven is 10.64 mg/m(2) as a 5-minute IV infusion daily for 5 days every 4 weeks. The preliminary antitumor activity documented in a patient with advanced pancreatic cancer and the striking preclinical antitumor effects of irofulven observed on intermittent dosing schedules support further disease-directed evaluations of this agent on the schedule evaluated in this study.

A new (to our knowledge) ultrashort laser pulse irradiation regime that allows us to directly modify and increase the refractive index of rare earth doped YAG polycrystalline ceramics has been identified. Single-mode buried channel waveguides in both Ho:YAG and Er:YAG ceramics at the near-IR wavelengths of 1.55 μm and 1.95 μm are demonstrated by fabricating positive square step-index cores. Minimum propagation losses of 1.5 dB cm(-1) at a 1.51 μm wavelength have been preliminarily obtained. Confocal microluminescence mapping reveals that the increased refractive index regions retain the near-IR spectral properties of Er3+ ions in the YAG crystalline matrix.