Ultrafast laser direct writing and nanostructuring in transparent materials

An overview of recent achievements in the field of femtosecond laser writing in transparent materials is presented. Thanks to the unique properties of light-matter interaction on the ultrashort time scale, this direct writing technique has led to observation of unique phenomena, including nonreciprocal writing and anisotropic photosensitivity, in transparent materials and allowed engineering of novel photonic devices. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America