Spatially selected crystallization in glass by YAG laser irradiation

A continuous wave (cw) Nd:YAG laser operating at a wavelength of 1064 nm irradiated Sm2O3- and Dy2O3-doped glasses under various irradiation conditions in the systems of Ln2O3–BaO–B2O3 (Ln:Sm and Dy), and non-linear optical β-BaB2O4 (β-BBO) crystals lines are formed at the surface of glass substrates. It is proposed from the azimuthal dependence of second harmonic intensity that β-BBO crystal lines might be single crystals with the c-axis orientation along the laser scanning direction. The photoluminescence spectra indicate that Sm3+ ions are incorporated into β-BBO crystal lines. The present study proposes that cw Nd:YAG laser irradiation to glass containing Sm3+ and Dy3+ is a novel technique for a spatially selected crystallization in glass.