Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides in tailored fluoride glasses: an enabling technology for mid-infrared integrated photonics devices

Toney T. Fernandez; B. Johnston; S. Gross; S. Cozic; M. Poulain; H. Mahmodi; I. Kabakova; M. Withford; A. Fuerbach

doi:10.1038/s41598-022-18701-y

Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides in tailored fluoride glasses: an enabling technology for mid-infrared integrated photonics devices

Toney T. Fernandez, B. Johnston, S. Gross, S. Cozic, M. Poulain, H. Mahmodi, I. Kabakova, M. Withford, A. Fuerbach

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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Abstract

Zirconium fluoride (ZBLAN) glass, the standard material used in fiber-based mid-infrared photonics, has been re-designed to enable the fabrication of high index-contrast low-loss waveguides via femtosecond laser direct writing. We demonstrate that in contrast to pure ZBLAN, a positive index change of close to 10-2 can be induced in hybrid zirconium/hafnium (Z/HBLAN) glasses during ultrafast laser inscription and show that this can be explained by an electron cloud distortion effect that is driven by the existence of two glass formers with contrasting polarizability. High numerical aperture (NA) type-I waveguides that support a well confined 3.1 μm wavelength mode with a mode-field diameter (MFD) as small as 12 μm have successfully been fabricated. These findings open the door for the fabrication of mid-infrared integrated photonic devices that can readily be pigtailed to existing ZBLAN fibers.

Original language	English
Article number	14674
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	12
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-18701-y
Publication status	Published - 29 Aug 2022

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Copyright © 2022. The Author(s). Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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title = "Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides in tailored fluoride glasses: an enabling technology for mid-infrared integrated photonics devices",

abstract = "Zirconium fluoride (ZBLAN) glass, the standard material used in fiber-based mid-infrared photonics, has been re-designed to enable the fabrication of high index-contrast low-loss waveguides via femtosecond laser direct writing. We demonstrate that in contrast to pure ZBLAN, a positive index change of close to 10-2 can be induced in hybrid zirconium/hafnium (Z/HBLAN) glasses during ultrafast laser inscription and show that this can be explained by an electron cloud distortion effect that is driven by the existence of two glass formers with contrasting polarizability. High numerical aperture (NA) type-I waveguides that support a well confined 3.1 μm wavelength mode with a mode-field diameter (MFD) as small as 12 μm have successfully been fabricated. These findings open the door for the fabrication of mid-infrared integrated photonic devices that can readily be pigtailed to existing ZBLAN fibers.",

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AU - Fernandez, Toney T.

AU - Johnston, B.

AU - Gross, S.

AU - Cozic, S.

AU - Poulain, M.

AU - Mahmodi, H.

AU - Kabakova, I.

AU - Withford, M.

AU - Fuerbach, A.

N1 - Copyright © 2022. The Author(s). Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2022/8/29

Y1 - 2022/8/29

N2 - Zirconium fluoride (ZBLAN) glass, the standard material used in fiber-based mid-infrared photonics, has been re-designed to enable the fabrication of high index-contrast low-loss waveguides via femtosecond laser direct writing. We demonstrate that in contrast to pure ZBLAN, a positive index change of close to 10-2 can be induced in hybrid zirconium/hafnium (Z/HBLAN) glasses during ultrafast laser inscription and show that this can be explained by an electron cloud distortion effect that is driven by the existence of two glass formers with contrasting polarizability. High numerical aperture (NA) type-I waveguides that support a well confined 3.1 μm wavelength mode with a mode-field diameter (MFD) as small as 12 μm have successfully been fabricated. These findings open the door for the fabrication of mid-infrared integrated photonic devices that can readily be pigtailed to existing ZBLAN fibers.

AB - Zirconium fluoride (ZBLAN) glass, the standard material used in fiber-based mid-infrared photonics, has been re-designed to enable the fabrication of high index-contrast low-loss waveguides via femtosecond laser direct writing. We demonstrate that in contrast to pure ZBLAN, a positive index change of close to 10-2 can be induced in hybrid zirconium/hafnium (Z/HBLAN) glasses during ultrafast laser inscription and show that this can be explained by an electron cloud distortion effect that is driven by the existence of two glass formers with contrasting polarizability. High numerical aperture (NA) type-I waveguides that support a well confined 3.1 μm wavelength mode with a mode-field diameter (MFD) as small as 12 μm have successfully been fabricated. These findings open the door for the fabrication of mid-infrared integrated photonic devices that can readily be pigtailed to existing ZBLAN fibers.

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Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides in tailored fluoride glasses: an enabling technology for mid-infrared integrated photonics devices

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