One-off holographic writing of double-microgratings in Ag2O-doped glass by a single femtosecond laser pulse

Holographic double-microgratings were written one-off in Ag2O-doped silicate glass by a single femtosecond laser pulse with the aid of heat treatment for half an hour at 500 °C. Transmission electron and optical microscopic observations show that the double-micrograting was formed from Ag nanoparticles precipitation in the glass. Also, the first-order diffraction efficiency of the double-micrograting was measured to be ∼4.9%. The present technique is applicable not only to fast encoding multiple holographic microgratings in all non-photosensitive transparent dielectric material but also to fabricating nanostructured devices such as quantum wire arrays, photonic crystals and optical switches.