A novel micro-processing of waveguide coupler in birefringent crystal by twin tracks of single-scan femtosecond laser writing

Abstract

Through a novel micro-processing mechanism in birefringent crystals proposed in this work, a coupler containing twin depressed cladding waveguides have been achieved in Nd:GdVO 4 laser crystals. By employing single-scan of femtosecond laser writing, twin tracks with different depths separated by a distance of 70μm were produced due to the birefringence of Nd:GdVO 4 crystal. The adjacent 30μm-diameter cladding waveguides, which consist of a 2×2 coupler with a separation of 70μm in a 4-mm-long crystal sample, were inscribed simultaneously. The ratio of output power division from both waveguides was approximately 10.5:1 at 633nm. Continuous-wave lasing was realized in the waveguide coupler platform under the direct optical pump at 808nm. This work indicates a great potential for femtosecond laser inscribed symmetry structures such as waveguide couplers in birefringent crystals based on the proposed micro-processing mechanism.