Fabrication of miniaturized and compact photonic devices utilising femtosecond laser pulses at high repetition rates

• Applicant: Dr. Guido Palmer
• Subject Area: Optics, Quantum Optics and Physics of Atoms, Molecules and Plasmas
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 183347540

Since it was discovered that fs-laser pulses could be used to alter the refractive index of transparent dielectric materials the field of direct-writing of photonic structures has evolved into a rich and active domain of research. Extremely compact photonic devices such as chip-size monolithic waveguide lasers or interferometers have been realised. Beside the aspect of miniaturization, the combination and integration of different functional structures within these glass-chips lead to a more efficient, stable and controllable operation, which holds immense potential for applications in biophotonics, medicine, astrophysics, communications and quantum optics. In contrast to conventional methods, the direct femtosecond laser writing permits the fabrication of active and 3-dimensional structures.Despite all these advantages, there are still many challenges to overcome to make these devices suitable for real-world applications. The main emphasis of this research project will be the realization of simultaneously inscribed optical waveguides and Bragg-gratings in doped and un-doped glasses with the objective of demonstrating optimized and new truly monolithic laser-chips. In parallel, the integration of additional important functional photonic structures will be studied with a view towards higher efficiency and stability, as well as a lower complexity for future applications. In terms of the fabrication sophisticated fs-laser oscillators will be utilized to improve the processing with high pulse energies and fast repetition rates (MHz).

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Australia
• Host: Professor Dr. Alexander Fürbach