Spectral broadening in femtosecond laser written waveguides in chalcogenide glass

Hughes, MA; Yang, W; Hewak, DW

Abstract

Nonlinear spectral broadening to 200 nm, from an initial width of 50 nm, has been demonstrated in gallium
lanthanum sulphide glass waveguides from 1540 nm, 200 fs pulses at 30 nJ/pulse. A formation mechanism is
presented for these femtosecond laser written waveguides, based on optical characterization and comparisons
to previous work. Two different types of waveguide are identified. One has a characteristic long narrow structure
and is formed through filamentation caused by self-focusing. The other has a characteristic “teardrop”
structure, which is formed by a type IIA photosensitivity mechanism and cumulative heating of glass around
a central laser-exposed region.

Citation

Hughes, M., Yang, W., & Hewak, D. (2009). Spectral broadening in femtosecond laser written waveguides in chalcogenide glass. Journal of the Optical Society of America B, 26(7), 1370-1378. https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.26.001370

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 15, 2009
• Publication Date: Jun 15, 2009
• Deposit Date: Nov 10, 2015
• Journal: Journal of the Optical Society of America B: Optical Physics (JOSA B)
• Print ISSN: 0740-3224
• Electronic ISSN: 1520-8540
• Publisher: Optical Society of America
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 7
• Pages: 1370-1378
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.26.001370
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.26.001370
• Related Public URLs: https://www.osapublishing.org/josab/home.cfm
• Additional Information: Funders : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)