3. Temporally shaped femtosecond laser pulses for creation of functional sub-100nm structures in dielectrics

Abstract

Material processing of dielectrics by temporally shaped femtosecond laser pulses will be presented in this chapter. Structures with feature sizes in the sub-100 nm range are created and the motivation for their application in optical devices is given. The properties of our processing method are discussed with respect to the ionization effects of the light-matter interaction and the implemented tailored pulse shapes to address these individually. Experimental results of structures created in dielectric solids are shown. Electron densities in a water jet were studied numerically and by spectral interferometry to confirm a model for light-matter interaction. The application and characterization of fabricated patterns with regard to the implementation of an optical filter element were studied by numerical simulations and experimental methods.