Laser-writing inside uniaxially birefringent crystals: fine morphology of ultrashort pulse-induced changes in lithium niobate

Abstract

This work presents a detailed analysis of the morphology of femtosecond laser-induced changes in bulk lithium niobate (LiNbO3) – one of the most common host materials in photonics – using second-harmonic generation microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It is shown that focused linearly polarized near-infrared pulses can produce two or three distinct axially separated regions of modified material, depending on whether the pulse propagation is along or perpendicular to the optical axis. When laser writing in LiNbO3 is conducted in multi-shot irradiation mode and the focused light intensity is kept near the bulk damage threshold, periodic planar nanostructures aligned perpendicular to the laser polarization are produced inside the focal volume. These results provide a new perspective to laser writing in crystalline materials, including the fabrication of passive and active waveguides, photonic crystals, and optical data storage devices.