DEEP UV LASER INTERNALLY INDUCED DENSIFICATION IN SILICA GLASSES

摘要

A method of writing a light guiding structure (26) in a bulk glass substrate (4) including selecting a bulk glass substrate (4) made from a soft silica based material. An excimer laser beam (5) is focused at a focus point (3) within the substrate while translating the focus relative to the substrate along the scan path. The laser beam (5) is moved at a scan speed so as to induce an increase in the refractive index of the material along the scan path relative to that of the unexposed material, while at the same time incurring very little laser induced breakdown of the material along the scan path. Various optical devices, including waveguides, can be made in this way.