Versatile photonic device fabrication using nonlinear processing in glass with a femtosecond laser oscillator

Summary form only given. Photonic device fabrication using nonlinear material interactions with near-IR femtosecond pulses has several advantages. Localized, clean, three-dimensional structures can be created in many materials such as metals, semiconductors, and glasses. Very recently, the processing of glass waveguides using pulses directly from femtosecond lasers oscillators, without the need for amplification, has been reported. Oscillators have practical advantages over amplifier systems, and moreover, the higher repetition rate enables faster and more efficient fabrication. Our group has developed a high-power femtosecond Ti:Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ laser oscillator using a novel long cavity design. It can generate pulses of 80 fs width and 4 MHz repetition rate with a maximum energy of 100 nJ at 800 nm, far above the threshold for nonlinear processing in glass. This enables greater flexibility in fabrication parameters, such as irradiation laser power, focus, and processing speed.