Manufacturing of high quality integrated optical components by laser direct-write

The index of refraction of most glasses can be permanently changed by exposure to femtosecond laser pulses. This effect can be quite strong, allowing for the fabrication of various two-dimensional or three-dimensional light guiding structures. Passive optical waveguides, splitters, couplers, and long period gratings, have been manufactured using this femtosecond direct-write technique. Active waveguides have also been produced with this method.

We describe recent work at Translume in femtosecond direct write to produce waveguide-based devices characterized by low insertion loss and low birefringence. Performance data, including optical characteristic and environmental test reliability, is presented.