Shaping ultrafast laser inscribed optical waveguides using a deformable mirror

Thomson, Robert R.; Bockelt, Alexander; Ramsay, E.; Beecher, Stephen J.; Greenaway, A. H.; Kar, Ajoy K.; Reid, Derryck T.

doi:10.1364/oe.16.012786

Cited by 43 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The virtual slit also enables dynamic tapering of the waveguides [71]. Also a deformable mirror (DM) can be used instead of an SLM in order to astigmatically shape the laser focal spot [73]. Another popular method to obtain circular mode fields is to use the multiscan technique [58,74].…”

Section: Beam Shapingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrafast-laser-inscribed 3D integrated photonics: challenges and emerging applications

2015

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Since the discovery that tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses can induce a highly localised and permanent refractive index modification in a large number of transparent dielectrics, the technique of ultrafast laser inscription has received great attention from a wide range of applications. In particular, the capability to create three-dimensional optical waveguide circuits has opened up new opportunities for integrated photonics that would not have been possible with traditional planar fabrication techniques because it enables full access to the many degrees of freedom in a photon. This paper reviews the basic techniques and technological challenges of 3D integrated photonics fabricated using ultrafast laser inscription as well as reviews the most recent progress in the fields of astrophotonics, optical communication, quantum photonics, emulation of quantum systems, optofluidics and sensing.

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Section: Beam Shapingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrafast-laser-inscribed 3D integrated photonics: challenges and emerging applications

2015

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“…This arrangement also creates waveguides with symmetric cross section, but has the disadvantage of wasting most of the laser power impinging on the slit. Alternative approaches for controlling the waveguide cross section are multiscan writing [61] and spatial beam shaping with a deformable mirror [62]. The asymmetry problem is naturally overcome in the high frequency writing regime, since isotropic heat diffusion leads to a symmetric waveguide cross section [63].…”

Section: Laser and Photonics Reviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Femtosecond laser microstructuring: an enabling tool for optofluidic lab‐on‐chips

Osellame

Hoekstra

Cerullo

et al. 2011

Laser & Photonics Reviews

286

226

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This paper provides an overview of the rather new field concerning the applications of femtosecond laser microstructuring of glass to optofluidics. Femtosecond lasers have recently emerged as a powerful microfabrication tool due to their unique characteristics. On the one hand, they enable to induce a permanent refractive index increase, in a micrometer-sized volume of the material, allowing single-step, three-dimensional fabrication of optical waveguides. On the other hand, femtosecond-laser irradiation of fused silica followed by chemical etching enables the manufacturing of directly buried microfluidic channels. This opens the intriguing possibility of using a single laser system for the fabrication and three-dimensional integration of optofluidic devices. This paper will review the state of the art of femtosecond laser fabrication of optical waveguides and microfluidic channels, as well as their integration for high sensitivity detection of biomolecules and for cell manipulation.

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“…Writing with low NA objectives leads to formation of waveguides with elliptical profiles however, a number of approaches to symmetrising the profile have been reported, including pulse shaping prior to its focusing [351], use of a slit aperture [352] or of a two-dimensional deformable mirror [353], and multiple scan writing [354]. Other parameters that affect the writing process are the scanning speed, pulse shape as well as orientation and polarization of the fs-laser beam [355,356].…”

Section: Optical Writingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optically pumped planar waveguide lasers, Part I: Fundamentals and fabrication techniques

Grivas

2011

Progress in Quantum Electronics

193

102

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Abstract:The tremendous interest in the field of waveguide lasers in the past two decades is largely attributed to the geometry of the gain medium, which provides the possibility to store optical energy on a very small dimension in the form of an optical mode. This allows for realization of sources with enhanced optical gain, low lasing threshold, and small footprint and opens up exciting possibilities in the area of integrated optics by facilitating their on-chip integration with different functionalities and highly compact photonic circuits. Moreover, this geometrical concept is compatible with high power diode pumping schemes as it provides exceptional thermal management, minimizing the impact of thermal loading on laser performance. The proliferation of techniques for fabrication and processing capable of producing high optical quality waveguides has greatly contributed to the growth of waveguide lasers from a topic of fundamental research to an area that encompasses a variety of practical applications. In this first part of the review on optically pumped waveguide lasers the properties that distinguish these sources from other classes of lasers will be discussed. Furthermore, the current state-of-the art in terms of fabrication tools used for producing waveguide lasers is reviewed from the aspects of the processes and the materials involved. 2 1.IntroductionOver the last two decades the field of solid-state planar waveguide lasers has experienced a steady growth, progressing from a laboratory curiosity to an area that demonstrates a broad spectrum of applications, from multiwavelength laser channel arrays for telecommunications to diode-pumped planar structures with multiwatt output powers for sensing and ranging applications. Waveguide lasers are by no means a new field and the first report on such a source dates back in 1961, when laser operation of a waveguide based on an active glass core rod embedded in a low refractive index cladding was demonstrated [1]. However research efforts in the years that followed this report focused primarily on the development of optically pumped laser sources based on high optical quality bulk dielectric laser media in the form of rods and slabs. The merits of the waveguide geometry and the associated optical confinement have been first highlighted in single mode glass optical fibers. Fibers have proven an enabling technology for realization of highly efficient amplifier and laser sources owing to their unrivalled low loss performance and ability to maintain a small spot size and hence high intensities over lengths that are orders of magnitude longer than would normally be allowed by diffraction, [2,3]. Er-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) in particular have directly contributed to the enormous expansion of the optical communications networks that underpin today's internet infrastructure by allowing for signal regeneration and optical data transmission over long distances. The excellent performance of fiber lasers and amplifiers provided motivation and triggered a major techn...

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Shaping ultrafast laser inscribed optical waveguides using a deformable mirror

Cited by 43 publications

References 14 publications

Ultrafast-laser-inscribed 3D integrated photonics: challenges and emerging applications

Ultrafast-laser-inscribed 3D integrated photonics: challenges and emerging applications

Femtosecond laser microstructuring: an enabling tool for optofluidic lab‐on‐chips

Optically pumped planar waveguide lasers, Part I: Fundamentals and fabrication techniques

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