Abstract

In the last few years femtosecond lasers have proved to be of great utility for micromachining within the bulk of transparent materials.^1,2 When an intense femtosecond laser pulse is tightly focused into a transparent material, high-order non-linear absorption allows the energy to be deposited predominantly within the focal volume producing a permanent refractive index modification of up to 10⁻² in the bulk of the transparent material. This process allows local patterning inside transparent media into 3D structures, allowing for instance the assembly of many optical components in a single glass block, producing rigid and environmentally tolerant devices.

© 2002 Optical Society of America