Abstract
Femtosecond machining of transparent materials based on laser-induced breakdown is a promising technology because it can generate strongly localized structural changes with a well-defined damage threshold. In fact, because of the nonlinear intensity dependence of the process, the induced damage size can be smaller than the laser spot size overcoming the classical diffraction limit [1]. Moreover, the focused spot can be located inside the transparent material with the help of a focusing lens [2]. Schaffer et al have shown laser induced breakdown in the bulk of glass using an extended cavity oscillator [2] and ~5nJ pulse energies. Here we report the machining of various types of glasses by femtosecond pulses generated directly from a Ti:sapphire oscillator with less than half of that pulse energy.
© 2003 Optical Society of America
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