Observation of voids and optical seizing of voids in silica glass with infrared femtosecond laser pulses

Many researchers have investigated the interaction of femtosecond laser pulses with a wide variety of materials. The structural modifications both on the surface and inside the bulk of transparent materials have been demonstrated. When femtosecond laser pulses are focused into glasses with a high numerical-aperture objective, voids are formed. We demonstrate that one can seize and move voids formed by femtosecond laser pulses inside silica glass and also merge two voids into one. We also present clear evidence that a void is a cavity by showing a scanning-electron-microscope image of cleft voids: we clove through the glass along a plane that includes the laser-ablated thin line on the surface and the voids formed inside. The optical seizing and merging of voids are important basic techniques for fabricate micro-optical dynamic devices, such as the rewritable 3-D optical storage.