On the anisotropy of stress-distribution induced in glasses and crystals by non-ablative femtosecond laser exposure

TL;DR

This paper investigates how femtosecond laser exposure induces stress anisotropy in glasses and crystals, revealing the dependence on polarization and introducing a rapid analysis method for stress visualization.

Contribution

It introduces a new methodology for analyzing and visualizing laser-induced stress anisotropy, highlighting the influence of polarization states in non-ablative femtosecond laser modifications.

Findings

Stress anisotropy depends on laser polarization.

Radial and azimuthal polarization can produce nearly isotropic stress states.

The methodology enables rapid assessment of stress distribution.

Abstract

Femtosecond laser exposure in the non-ablative regime induces a variety of bulk structural modifications, in which anisotropy may depend on the polarization of the writing beam. In this work, we investigate the correlation between polarization state and stress anisotropy. In particular, we introduce a methodology that allows for rapid analysis and visualization of laser-induced stress anisotropy in glasses and crystals. Using radial and azimuthal polarization, we also demonstrate stress states that are nearly isotropic.