Periodic nanostructuring of Er/Yb-codoped IOG1 phosphate glass by using ultraviolet laser-assisted selective chemical etching

The patterning of submicron period (approximate to 500 nm) Bragg reflectors in the Er/Yb-codoped IOG1 Schott, phosphate glass is demonstrated. A high yield patterning technique is presented, wherein high volume damage is induced into the glass matrix by exposure to intense ultraviolet 213 nm, 150 ps Nd:YAG laser radiation and, subsequently, a chemical development in potassium hydroxide (KOH)/ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) aqueous solution selectively etches the exposed areas. The electronic changes induced by the 213 nm ultraviolet irradiation are examined by employing spectrophotometric measurements, while an estimation of the refractive index changes recorded is provided by applying Kramers-Kronig transformation to the absorption change data. In addition, real time diffraction efficiency measurements were obtained during the formation of the volume damage grating. After the exposure, the growth of the relief grating pattern in time was measured at fixed time intervals and the dependence of the grating depth on the etching time and exposure conditions is presented. The gratings fabricated are examined by atomic and scanning electron microscopies to reveal the relief topology of the structures. Gratings with average depth of 120 nm and excellent surface quality were fabricated by exposing the IOG1 phosphate glass to 36 000 pulses of 208 mJ/cm(2) energy density, followed by developing in the KOH/EDTA agent for 6 min. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.