Mid-IR Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Waveguides and Devices

Ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) is a highly versatile technique for creating index modifications in glasses and crystalline materials. The process of ULI relies on ultrashort laser pulses focused inside of a material. The high intensity of the pulsed beam induces nonlinear absorption processes, which transfers the pulse energy to the material lattice. With careful experimental control of the laser parameters, a permanent change in the refractive can be obtained in the bulk material. The permanent refractive index change obtained by ULI can be used to create waveguides and devices in active and passive materials. In this work, we present recent advances on creation of guided wave devices in Mid-IR compatable materials such as Fe:ZnSe, Cr:ZnSe, Ho:YAG, LiNbO3, and CdSiP2.