Space-selective crystallization of glass induced by femtosecond laser irradiation

Transparent glasses imbedded with functional nanocrystals have attracted considerable interest and been studied widely in the past several decades, due to their applications in optical devices, such as optical amplifiers, nonlinear optical devices, optical storage, 3D displays, etc. Femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation induced crystallization of glass has been proved to be a powerful tool to realize the space-selective precipitation of various nanocrystals inside glasses. In this review, we highlight our recent research achievements on the fs laser induced precipitation of nanocrystals inside glasses, including nonlinear optical crystal, upconversion luminescence crystal, high refractive index crystal, and metal nanoparticles. These studies not only help to understand the interaction process between fs laser and glassy materials, but also have potential applications in the fabrication of micro-optical devices.