Line patterning with large refractive index changes in the deep inside of glass by nanosecond pulsed YAG laser irradiation

摘要

Nanosecond (～ 100 ns) pulsed (10 Hz) Nd:YAG laser operating at the wavelength ( λ) of 1064 nm with pulse energies of 0.16-1.24 mJ/cm~2 has irradiated 10Sm_2O_3-40BaO·50B_2O_3 glass. It is demonstrated for the first time that the structural modification resulting the large decease (～3.5%) in the refractive index is induced by the irradiation of YAG laser with λ = 1064 nm. The lines with refractive index changes are written in the deep inside of 100-1000μm depths by scanning laser. The line width is 1-13μm, depending on laser pulse energy and focused beam position. It is proposed that the samarium atom heat processing is a novel technique for inducing structural modification (refractive index change) in the deep interior of glass.