Ultrafast laser writing quill effect in low loss waveguide fabrication regime

TL;DR

This paper reveals the quill effect in low-loss ultrafast laser written waveguides using advanced microscopy, showing its impact on polarization properties and beam-splitting ratios in photonic components.

Contribution

First demonstration of the quill effect in low-loss waveguide regimes using adaptive third harmonic microscopy, linking it to device properties.

Findings

Quill effect observed in LLW regime with microscopy.

Influences on polarization-related properties in fused silica.

Impact on beam-splitting ratio in borosilicate glass.

Abstract

Quill effect, one of the intriguing phenomena in ultrafast laser writing, to our knowledge, has not been studied in low-loss-waveguide (LLW) writing regime yet, probably due to its invisibility under conventional white-light microscope in that regime. In this report, with help of adaptive third harmonic generation microscopy we reveal the quill effect in LLW writing regime and study its influences on the properties of written photonic integrated components in term of polarization-related properties in fused silica and beam-splitting ratio of three-waveguide-coupler in borosilicate glass.