Femtosecond direct-write uberstructure waveguide Bragg gratings in ZBLAN

Strong waveguide Bragg gratings (10.5 dB transmission dip) were fabricated using the femtosecond (fs) laser direct-write technique in ZBLAN glass. The Bragg gratings are based on depressed cladding waveguides and consist of planes, periodic according to the Bragg condition, which are constructed from a transverse hexagonal lattice of smaller point features. Such gratings are a key step toward the realization of mid-infrared monolithic waveguide lasers using the fs laser direct-write technique. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America