F2-Lasers: High-Resolution Micromachining System for Shaping Photonic Components

Abstract: We describe a new high-resolution 157-nm optical processing system for micromachining optical materials with record short -wavelength F 2 laser radiation. © 2001 Optical Society of America CIS codes: (060.2340) Fiber optics components 1. Introduction The F 2 -laser defines the short-wavelength forefront of today’s commercial laser systems. The 157 -nm light supports high resolution patterning of ~100 nm features [1] while a large 7.9-eV photon energy drives strong absorption mechanisms for processing our most difficult materials. The F 2 -laser photons can access near-bandedge states in fused silica, germanosilicate [2-4], and other [5] glasses to smoothly microsculpt surfaces and to imprint refractive index structures with ∆n > 3 x 10 -3 [3,4] for a broad range of new applications in photonics processing and trimming. Microfabrication also extends to weakly absorbing polymers like polyethylene, PMMA, and PTFE [6-10] for potential biomedical, electronic, and MEMs applications . The recent addition of the F