Optical seizing and merging of voids in silica glass with infrared femtosecond laser pulses

We demonstrate that one can seize and translate voids formed by IR femtosecond laser pulses inside silica glass and can also cause two voids to merge into one. We also present clear evidence of a void and its surrounding region by showing scanning electron microscope images of cleaved voids, which we produced by cleaving through the glass along a plane that included a thin laser-ablated line on the surface of the glass and the voids formed inside (C) 2000 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 160.2750, 190.7110.