Advanced waveguide laser source development using ultrafast laser inscription
Lead Research Organisation:
Heriot-Watt University
Department Name: Sch of Engineering and Physical Science
Abstract
Most laser systems emit a continuous wave of light, but if the laser is designed correctly it can be induced to emit very short pulses of light using a technique known as mode-locking . There is currently a wide spread requirement for compact, mode-locked laser sources in areas ranging from bio-photonics to metrology. The aim of this proposed project is to develop such sources using two innovative technologies: ultrafast laser inscription and carbon nanotubes as described briefly below. The project will utilise the internationally leading expertise in each of these areas at Heriot Watt University and Cambridge University. If successful, the project will result in a paradigm shift in the current technology. Ultrafast lasers are lasers that emit extremely short pulses of light, routinely less than 100 fs. Due to the short durations of such pulses, the peak powers supplied by modern table top systems can often reach the GW regime. By focusing ultrafast laser pulses inside a transparent material, the structure of the material placed at the focus may be permanently altered. If the material is then translated through the focus, three-dimensional structural modifications can be inscribed in the material. The induced structural modification may manifest itself in a variety of ways, examples of which include an increased etch rate or refractive index change. Through careful control of the inscription parameters, the structural changes can be used to directly inscribe photonic components such as optical waveguides (that guide light in an analogous way to the guiding of electrical current by a metal wire) and micro-channels (that can be used to guide fluids or gases). During this project, we will utilise the unprecedented flexibility offered by ultrafast laser inscription to fabricate a number of previously impossible, or hard to fabricate elements for waveguide laser applications.Carbon nanotubes are cylindrical carbon molecules with diameters of typically only a few nanometers and lengths of up to a few cm, they are at the centre of nanotechnology research. In contrast to conventional bulk materials, the electronic and optical properties of carbon nanotubes can be controlled through their physical size and structure. If correctly fabricated carbon nanotubes are placed inside a laser, mode-locking can be induced without the need for complex electronics. A large part of the project will focus on developing carbon nanotubes with the correct properties for waveguide laser mode-locking applications, and on using ultrafast laser inscription to construct a waveguide laser element that will integrate these carbon nanotubes into the final device.
Publications
Barney ER
(2015)
Correlating structure with non-linear optical properties in xAs40Se60·(1-x)As40S60 glasses.
in Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP
Beecher S
(2010)
320 fs pulse generation from an ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide laser mode-locked by a nanotube saturable absorber
in Applied Physics Letters
Beecher S
(2012)
Single Stage Ultrafast Laser Inscription of a Side-Polished Fiber-Like Waveguide Sensor
in IEEE Sensors Journal
Beecher SJ
(2011)
Strain field manipulation in ultrafast laser inscribed BiB3O6 optical waveguides for nonlinear applications.
in Optics letters
Berry P
(2013)
Fabrication and power scaling of a 17 W Cr:ZnSe waveguide laser
in Optical Materials Express
Brown G
(2012)
Ultrafast laser inscription of Bragg-grating waveguides using the multiscan technique.
in Optics letters
Choudhury D
(2012)
Quantum dot enabled thermal imaging of optofluidic devices.
in Lab on a chip
Choudhury D
(2014)
Ultrafast laser inscription: perspectives on future integrated applications
in Laser & Photonics Reviews
Choudhury D
(2013)
Three-dimensional microstructuring of yttrium aluminum garnet crystals for laser active optofluidic applications
in Applied Physics Letters
Demetriou G
(2016)
Nonlinear optical properties of multilayer graphene in the infrared.
in Optics express
Demetriou G
(2021)
Direct observation of an irradiance dependent nonlinear refraction in CVD single layer graphene
in Optics Communications
Demetriou G
(2017)
Nonlinear refractive index of ultrafast laser inscribed waveguides in gallium lanthanum sulphide.
in Applied optics
Fusari F
(2011)
Lasing action at around 1.9 µm from an ultrafast laser inscribed Tm-doped glass waveguide.
in Optics letters
Ghosh S
(2012)
Ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide lattice in glass for direct observation of transverse localization of light
in Applied Physics Letters
Jagannadh V
(2015)
Imaging Flow Cytometry With Femtosecond Laser-Micromachined Glass Microfluidic Channels
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Jagannadh VK
(2016)
Slanted channel microfluidic chip for 3D fluorescence imaging of cells in flow.
in Optics express
Jaque D
(2010)
Ultrafast laser inscription of bistable and reversible waveguides in strontium barium niobate crystals
in Applied Physics Letters
Keloth A
(2018)
Single Cell Isolation Using Optical Tweezers
Keloth A
(2018)
Single Cell Isolation Using Optical Tweezers
in Micromachines
Lancaster A
(2015)
Mid-infrared laser emission from Fe:ZnSe cladding waveguides
in Applied Physics Letters
Macdonald J
(2015)
Ultrabroad Mid-Infrared Tunable Cr:ZnSe Channel Waveguide Laser
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Macdonald J
(2013)
Compact mid-infrared Cr:ZnSe channel waveguide laser
in Applied Physics Letters
Macdonald JR
(2014)
Compact Cr:ZnS channel waveguide laser operating at 2,333 nm.
in Optics express
Macdonald JR
(2013)
Efficient mid-infrared Cr:ZnSe channel waveguide laser operating at 2486 nm.
in Optics letters
Macdonald JR
(2010)
Ultrafast laser inscription of near-infrared waveguides in polycrystalline ZnSe.
in Optics letters
MacKenzie M
(2019)
Femtosecond laser fabrication of silver nanostructures on glass for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.
in Scientific reports
Martínez De Mendívil J
(2015)
Fluorescence imaging of lattice re-distribution on step-index direct laser written Nd:YAG waveguide lasers
in Journal of Applied Physics
Martínez J
(2015)
3D laser-written silica glass step-index high-contrast waveguides for the 3.5 µm mid-infrared range.
in Optics letters
Mary R
(2012)
Compact, highly efficient ytterbium doped bismuthate glass waveguide laser.
in Optics letters
Mary R
(2014)
Applications of Fiber Lasers for the Development of Compact Photonic Devices
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Mary R.
(2012)
Q-switched modelocking using carbon nanotubes in an ultrafast laser inscribed ytterbium doped bismuthate glass waveguide laser
in Optics InfoBase Conference Papers
McCarthy J
(2013)
Spectrally tailored mid-infrared super-continuum generation in a buried waveguide spanning 1750 nm to 5000 nm for atmospheric transmission
in Applied Physics Letters
McDaniel S
(2017)
Operation of Ho:YAG ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide lasers.
in Applied optics
McDaniel SA
(2016)
Power scaling of ultrafast laser inscribed waveguide lasers in chromium and iron doped zinc selenide.
in Optics express
Ramsay E
(2010)
Laser Action From an Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Nd-Doped Silicate Glass Waveguide
in IEEE Photonics Technology Letters
Rodenas A
(2011)
Direct laser writing of near-IR step-index buried channel waveguides in rare earth doped YAG.
in Optics letters
Rodenas A.
(2011)
Direct laser writing of near-IR step-index buried channel waveguides in rare earth doped YAG
in OPTICS LETTERS
Rodríguez-Sevilla P
(2016)
Determining the 3D orientation of optically trapped upconverting nanorods by in situ single-particle polarized spectroscopy
in Nanoscale
Ródenas A
(2012)
Three-dimensional mid-infrared photonic circuits in chalcogenide glass.
in Optics letters
Sabapathy Tamilarasan
(2014)
Controlling the cross-section of waveguides inscribed on bulk chalcogenide glasses using fast laser
in OPTOELECTRONICS AND ADVANCED MATERIALS-RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
Tan Y
(2014)
Self-Q-switched waveguide laser based on femtosecond laser inscribed Nd:Cr:YVO(4) crystal.
in Optics letters
Tan Y
(2014)
Q-switched Nd:YAG channel waveguide laser through evanescent field interaction with surface coated graphene
in Applied Physics Letters
Thomson RR
(2012)
Ultrafast laser inscription of a 121-waveguide fan-out for astrophotonics.
in Optics letters
Thorburn F
(2017)
5.9 GHz graphene based q-switched modelocked mid-infrared monolithic waveguide laser.
in Optics express
Yingying Ren
(2015)
7.8-GHz Graphene-Based 2-µm Monolithic Waveguide Laser
in IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
Description | We have developed very compact lasers which delivers high power and short pulses. We have fabricated these lasers by using another laser source. We have used the laser like a writing pen. We have focussed a short pulse laser inside the laser material to fabric waveguides which are equivalent to optical fibres. But in this case we do not require complex fibre towers and clean room facilities. Photofluidic biophotonice devices were developed for cell sorting and cell manipulation for therapeutic applications. The single cell separator has been developed. |
Exploitation Route | The technology was transferred to a spinout called Optoscribe www.optoscribe.com The company is now valued at £7M |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Security and Diplomacy |
URL | http://www.nlo.hw.ac.uk |
Description | Technology was transferred to a spinout company Optoscribe www.optoscribe.com The company is now valued at £7M |
First Year Of Impact | 2009 |
Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Healthcare,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Impact Types | Economic |
Description | UKIERI |
Amount | £415,117 (GBP) |
Organisation | UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2007 |
End | 02/2012 |
Description | UKIERI |
Amount | £145,704 (GBP) |
Organisation | UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 12/2007 |
End | 12/2012 |
Description | Development of LN3+doped fluoride glasses and nano-glass ceramics for compact visible and white light laser applications |
Organisation | European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) |
Department | Physics Department |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Development of novel visible laser sources |
Collaborator Contribution | Development of novel laser materials |
Impact | The collaboration is ongoing. We have presented results in the national and international conferences. We expect to publish some papers in international journals soon. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | Ultrafast Laser Inscription (ULI) Collaboration |
Organisation | Shandong University |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have developed wavegiude lasers by ULI. |
Collaborator Contribution | They have developed novel laser and nonlinear optical materials. |
Impact | We have jointly published 9 papers in internationally reputed journals. |
Start Year | 2010 |
Description | Ultrashort Pulse Laser Waveguide Inscription in Glasses for Integrated Optics |
Organisation | Indian Institute of Science Bangalore |
Department | Department of Instrumentation |
Country | India |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Novel linear, nonlinear and laser materials were developed by two collaborators IISc Bengaluru and SV University. We have undertaken optical studies on these materials to develop integrated photonic devices. |
Collaborator Contribution | Main role for the collaborators to develop novel linear, nonlinear and laser materials. |
Impact | So far we've published 4 journal photonics and a number of presentation |
Start Year | 2007 |
Company Name | Optoscribe |
Description | Optoscribe designs and manufactures waveguide components, including fiber cable for high-density transmission of light signals. |
Year Established | 2010 |
Impact | New product developed by the company resulted in largest bandwidth ever transmitted by a single optical fibre. |
Website | http://www.optoscribe.com |