Printed optics by ultrafast laser nanostructuring of glass

Lead Research Organisation: University of Southampton
Department Name: Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC)

Abstract

The interaction of an ultrashort light pulse with transparent material is an extremely complex phenomenon involving enormous pressures (1 million atmospheres), and extreme temperatures (>3000 K) - the process by which materials are modified under these conditions is still not clear. By understanding and controlling this interaction we can harness ultrashort light pulses enabling nanoscale processing of materials for advanced photonics manufacturing sectors.
In this project we will aim to develop printing technology of optical elements into glass, using ultrafast laser nano-structuring, exploiting tailoring of laser pulse intensity, phase and polarization in space and time domain. The printing technology is based on femtosecond laser induced self-organized sub-wavelength periodic structures referred as nanogratings with features as small as 20 nm. Such a periodic assembly behaves as quartz exhibiting strong birefringence.
Our ultimate goal is to produce a printable anisotropic inorganic material, which combines the benefits of durability and optical quality of inorganic crystals (e.g. quartz) with the manufacturability of liquid crystals. The reach this ambitious goal the following objectives will be pursued:
(i) to create a theoretical framework describing the interaction of ultrafast laser pulses with transparent materials, which includes spatio-temporal effects and coherent interaction between light and electron plasma waves;
(ii) to control spatio-temporal properties of ultrafast laser beam for imprinting highly ordered nano-structures in quartz glass;
(iii) to utilize ultrafast laser imprinted nano-structures for fabrication of advanced photonic devices with unprecedented quality and manufacturability.
Experimental work will cover several aspects of ultrashort lasers glass nano-structuring process. In-situ monitoring of laser-matter interaction will be used as feedback for optimisation ultrafast laser nano-structuring process and will lead to the development of method for spatio-temporal tailoring of ultrafast laser pulses in real time. The experimental and theoretical framework will enable us to understand the fundamental mechanisms at play including the dynamics of laser beam propagation, absorption of light and excitation of the free electron plasma.
The advantages of ultrafast laser printing technique will be exploited to demonstrate novel photonic devices for high resolution optical microscopy, polarization sensitive imaging and high power laser material processing. As ultrafast lasers tend to become industrially accessible in the nearest future, this research, besides its fundamental importance, will dramatically advance the fields of 3D laser direct writing by providing controllable modification of matter with impact on technologies of data storage, integrated and diffractive optics and imaging.

Planned Impact

The proposal has two main thrusts - establishing a comprehensive understanding of light-matter interaction in the ultrafast regime and fabrication of optical elements. The work will benefit stakeholders in both economic and societal contexts. More immediate impact will be achieved in industrial applications such as laser processing (laser manufacturers and users of ultrafast lasers), imaging and microscopy (users of optical elements in new applications). Societal impact will be achieved through the development of polarization sensitive medical imaging with its potential to aid cancer prevention and engaging the public in the fundamental physics of light-matter interaction. We will collaborate with Marine Biological Laboratory, USA to build compact and efficient polarization imaging for biomedical applications including imaging of living cells and tissues. We have also engaged two leading fibre laser companies (SPI Lasers, Fianium) to provide industrial expertise and potential routes to exploitation in both the light-matter interaction thrust (use of Fianium ultrafast lasers), and the fabrication thrust (use of high power laser with novel converters for beam shaping and polarization control).
The work will support the rapid market growth of 10% CAGR of laser-based material processing systems (world market approximately £10bn in 2012, out of global photonics market of £300bn). The main driving force behind the growth of laser-based material processing is demand for higher output power, shorter pulses, higher efficiencies, adaptive sources and lower costs. These requirements are also identified in the Association of Industrial Laser Users' 2012 report "Towards a Strategy for Laser Materials Processing in the UK". The immediate beneficiary in terms of impact will be Fianium. The fundamental understanding of ultrashort pulse laser processing will support their development efforts for new laser systems, taking into account the importance of spatio-temporal control. The framework developed in the programme is specifically focused on interaction of ultra-short light pulses with transparent materials, therefore the industrial applications are primarily in more efficient methods for fabricating optical elements such as converters, waveguides, and new devices and systems in areas such as optical storage. However the framework will also be of importance to applications such as surface structuring and cutting - therefore the impact will extend to a wide range of applications where the UK has manufacturing capability (e.g. aerospace, renewables, medical).
The fabrication of advanced photonic devices using the ultrafast lasers will benefit a range of stakeholders both in photonics manufacturing (e.g. microoptics) and users of photonics technology (e.g. imaging, laser processing, spectroscopy). Utilizing ultrafast laser processing may bring significant economic benefits in terms of improved technical performance (e.g. wider spectral range and higher damage threshold over competing technology such as LCD or quartz) and reducing processing costs allowing manufacturers to produce on demand optical components. This in turn may reduce costs in areas such as stock management, and long distance transport. The immediate beneficiary of the proposed work will be SPI Lasers who will use an optical converters fabricated in the programme to generate novel beam shapes for novel cutting applications such as beveled edge cutting.
In the short term we will explore opportunities to engage the public in laser processing (e.g. for example how lasers are used in the manufacture of smart phones) at University organised outreach events, whilst in the longer term the technology may enable more energy efficient laser processing and whilst the optical elements fabricated may have new applications in areas of societal importance such as new polarimetric imaging methods for medical diagnosis.
 
Description We aimed to develop single-step printing technology of flat optical elements, exploiting control of geometrical phase using ultrafast laser nanostructuring of glass. In particular the ultimate goal was to produce a printable anisotropic inorganic material, which combines the benefits of durability and optical quality of inorganic crystals (e.g. quartz) with the manufacturability of liquid crystals.. However, the applications of birefringent optical elements have been limited to low power laser and specific spectral range down to 400 nm because of the absorption in the UV range by the material. Therefore, finding a fabrication method and material to inscribe birefringent structure with high transmittance and high damage threshold is important to broaden the application range. In this study, ultra-low loss birefringent modification by femtosecond laser irradiation was found inside silica glass. The transmission in the visible and near infrared region was nearly 99 % and higher than 90 % down to 330 nm without refraction loss. The scanning electron microscope observation elucidated the formation of elongated nanopores in the laser focal region, which are responsible for birefringence and low transmission loss. The observed new type of modification, coined as type X, is completely different from the conventional birefringent modification originated from nanoplanes inside silica by fs laser irradiation. We demonstrated several geometrical phase elements including, geometric phase grating or prism, lens and beam converters by inscribing the ultra-low loss birefringent modifications inside silica, and showed that the fabricated flat optics elements can be used with negligible loss from 330 nm to 2000 nm.

High-precision three-dimensional ultrafast laser direct nanostructuring of silica glass resulting in multi-layered space-variant dielectric metasurfaces embedded in volume is demonstrated. Continuous phase profiles of nearly any optical component are achieved solely by the means of geometric phase. Complex designs of half-wave retarders with 90% transmission at 532 nm and >95% transmission at >1 µm, including polarization gratings with efficiency nearing 90% and computer generated holograms with a phase gradient of ~0.8p rad/µm, were fabricated. A vortex half-wave retarder generating a single beam optical vortex with a tunable orbital angular momentum of up to ±100? is shown. The high damage threshold of silica elements enables the simultaneous optical manipulation of a large number of micro-objects using high-power laser beams. Thus, the continuous control of torque without altering the intensity distribution was implemented in optical trapping demonstration with a total of 5 W average power, which is otherwise impossible with alternate beam shaping devices. In principle, the direct-write technique can be extended to any transparent material that supports laser assisted nanostructuring and can be effectively exploited for the integration of printed optics into multi-functional optoelectronic systems.

Shaping light fields in both space and time provides new degrees of freedom to manipulate light-matter interaction on the ultrafast timescale. Through this exploitation of the light field, a greater appreciation of spatio-temporal couplings in focusing has been gained, shedding light on previously unexplored parameters of the femtosecond light pulse, including pulse front tilt and wavefront rotation. Here, we directly investigate the effect of major spatio-temporal couplings on light-matter interaction and reveal unambiguously that in transparent media, pulse front tilt gives rise to the directional asymmetry of the ultrafast laser writing. We demonstrate that the laser pulse with a tilted intensity front deposits energy more efficiently when writing along the tilt than when writing against, producing either an isotropic damage-like or a birefringent nanograting structure. The directional asymmetry in the ultrafast laser writing is qualitatively described in terms of the interaction of a void trapped within the focal volume by the gradient force from the tilted intensity front and the thermocapillary force caused by the gradient of temperature. The observed instantaneous transition from the damage-like to nanograting modification after a finite writing length in a transparent dielectric is phenomenologically described in terms of the first-order phase transition.
We demonstrated femto- and picosecond laser assisted nanostructuring of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). The laser-induced periodic sub-wavelength structures exhibit the dichroism and giant form birefringence giving extra dimensions to the polarization sensitive image recording.

We have demonstrated a single beam generated optical vortices of topological charge up to 100 with tunable orbital angular momentum. The continuous control of torque without altering the intensity distribution was implemented in optical trapping.

Polarization spatio-temporal coupling reveals new degree of freedom in ultrafast laser material processing. Control of modification in fused silica is demonstrated with the use of prism compressors and polarization azimuth of ultrashort pulse laser beam.

We have demonstrated space variant polarization and phase converters imprinted by femtosecond laser nanostructuring in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film. Giant birefringence of imprinted structures allows fabrication of microoptic element arrays.

A scheme for directly exciting the radially-polarized TM01 mode in a fiber laser using directly printed polarisation converter was reported. Preliminary results for cladding-pumped ytterbium-doped and thulium-doped fiber lasers were discussed along with prospects for scaling to high power levels.

We have demonstrated direct-write laser nanostructuring of semiconductor thin-films and transparent dielectrics resulting in space-variant anisotropic materials. The continuous phase profile of nearly any optical component can be achieved solely by the means of geometric phase.

We have demonstrated a direct-write ultrafast laser nanostructuring of silica glass as a method capable of fabricating circular gratings (CG) for symmetric simultaneous spatio-temporal focusing (SSTF). We demonstrate the use of a CG and axicon combination that maintains a symmetric SSTF with variable spatial-temporal control via the position of the axicon that can stretch the input beam in the region around the focus of a lens. In this case, the spatial chirp has cylindrical symmetry, thus eliminating directional dependence observed in laser writing [5,6]. The scheme also improves the beam profile at the focus removing pulse front tilt asymmetry. We envision that this development will be beneficial for the laser material processing community, biology and medicine where nonlinear microscopy is one of the major characterization tools.

We have demonstrated liquid crystal alignment on ultrafast laser nanostructured ITO coated glass.

The puzzles of non-reciprocity and anisotropic photosensitivity in ultrafast laser material processing were revealed. Non-paraxial polarization spatio-temporal coupling was demonstrated as a new degree of freedom in light-matter interaction.

Two hundred years after Malus' discovery of optical anisotropy, the study of polarization-driven optical effects is as active as ever, generating interest in new phenomena and potential applications. However, in ultrafast optics, the influence of polarization is frequently overlooked being considered as either detrimental or negligible. We demonstrated that spatio-temporal couplings, which are inherent for ultrafast laser systems with chirped-pulse amplification, accumulate in multi-pulse irradiation and lead to a strongly anisotropic light-matter interaction. Our results identify angular dispersion in the focus as the origin for the polarization dependence in modification, yielding an increase in modification strength. With tight focusing (NA = ~0.4), this non-paraxial effect leads to a manifestation of spatio-temporal couplings in photo-induced modification. We devise a practical way to control the polarization dependence and exploit it as a new degree of freedom in tailoring laser-induced modification in transparent material. A near-focus, non-paraxial field structure analysis of an optical beam provides insight on the origin of the polarization dependent modification. However, single pulse non-paraxial corrected calculations are not sufficient to explain the phenomena confirming the experimental observations and exemplifying the need for multi-pulse analysis.We compared a femtosecond laser induced modification in silica matrices with three different degrees of porosity. In single pulse regime, the decrease of substrate density from fused silica to high-silica porous glass and to silica aerogel glass results in tenfold increase of laser affected region with the formation of a symmetric cavity surrounded by the compressed silica shell with pearl like structures. The maximum retardance value achieved in porous glass is twofold higher than in fused silica, and tenfold greater than in aerogel. The polarization sensitive structuring in porous glass by two pulses of ultrafast laser irradiation is demonstrated, as well as no observable stress is generated at any conditions.

Vector beams, beams with a non-uniform state of polarization, have become an indispensable tool in many areas of science and technology. Harnessing topological light properties paves the way to control and manipulate light-matter interactions at different levels, from the quantum to macroscopic physics. We generated tabletop extreme ultraviolet (EUV) vector beams driven by high-order harmonic generation (HHG). Our experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that HHG imprints the polarization state of the fundamental (infrared) beam, ranging from radial to azimuthal, into the higher frequency radiation. Our numerical simulations also demonstrate that the generated high-order harmonic beams can be synthesized into attosecond vector beams in the EUV/soft x-ray regime. Our proposal overcomes the state-of-the-art-limitations for the generation of vector beams far from the visible domain and could be applied in fields such as diffractive imaging, EUV lithography, or ultrafast control of magnetic properties.

High-precision three-dimensional ultrafast laser direct nanostructuring of silica glass resulting in multi-layered space-variant dielectric metasurfaces embedded in volume is demonstrated. Continuous phase profiles of nearly any optical component are achieved solely by the means of geometric phase. Complex designs of half-wave retarders with 90% transmission at 532 nm and >95% transmission at >1 µm, including polarization gratings with efficiency nearing 90% and computer generated holograms with a phase gradient of ~0.8p rad/µm, were fabricated. A vortex half-wave retarder generating a single beam optical vortex with a tunable orbital angular momentum of up to ±100? is shown. The high damage threshold of silica elements enables the simultaneous optical manipulation of a large number of micro-objects using high-power laser beams. Thus, the continuous control of torque without altering the intensity distribution was implemented in optical trapping demonstration with a total of 5 W average power, which is otherwise impossible with alternate beam shaping devices. In principle, the direct-write technique can be extended to any transparent material that supports laser assisted nanostructuring and can be effectively exploited for the integration of printed optics into multi-functional optoelectronic systems.

Shaping light fields in both space and time provides new degrees of freedom to manipulate light-matter interaction on the ultrafast timescale. Through this exploitation of the light field, a greater appreciation of spatio-temporal couplings in focusing has been gained, shedding light on previously unexplored parameters of the femtosecond light pulse, including pulse front tilt and wavefront rotation. Here, we directly investigate the effect of major spatio-temporal couplings on light-matter interaction and reveal unambiguously that in transparent media, pulse front tilt gives rise to the directional asymmetry of the ultrafast laser writing. We demonstrate that the laser pulse with a tilted intensity front deposits energy more efficiently when writing along the tilt than when writing against, producing either an isotropic damage-like or a birefringent nanograting structure. The directional asymmetry in the ultrafast laser writing is qualitatively described in terms of the interaction of a void trapped within the focal volume by the gradient force from the tilted intensity front and the thermocapillary force caused by the gradient of temperature. The observed instantaneous transition from the damage-like to nanograting modification after a finite writing length in a transparent dielectric is phenomenologically described in terms of the first-order phase transition.

A method is proposed for efficient laser modification of fused silica and sapphire by means of a burst of femtosecond pulses having time separation in the range 10-3000 ps. Modification enhancement with the pulse separation increase in the burst was observed on the tens picoseconds scale. It is proposed that accumulated transient tensile strain in the excitation region plays a crucial role in modification by a sub-nanosecond burst.

The field of surface nanostructuring is growing rapidlywith the need to search for more advanced fabrication solutions. The major challenge is the lack of appropriate combination of time/costefficient techniques and medium possessing the advantages of both flexibility and tunable optical properties. Here we demonstrate directwrite femtosecond laser nanostructuring of indium-tin-oxide thin film where the deep-subwavelength ripples with periodicity of down to 120 nm are realized originating the form birefringence (|?n| ˜ 0.2), which is 2 orders of magnitude higher than the commonly observed in uniaxial crystals or femtosecond laser nanostructured fused quartz. The demonstrated nanoripples with its continuously controlled space-variant orientation lead to the high density two-dimensional printing of flat optical elements. The technique can be extended to any highly transparent films that support laser-induced periodic surface structures, and can be effectively exploited for the integration of polarization sensitive modifications into multidimensional optical
data storage.

A femto- and picosecond laser assisted periodic nanostructuring of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was demonstrated. The grating structure with the subwavelength modulation of refractive index shows form birefringence (?n ˜ -0.6) which is two orders of magnitude higher than commonly observed in uniaxial crystals and femtosecond laser nanostructured silica glass. The laser-induced giant birefringence and dichroism in a-Si:H film introduce extra dimensions to the polarization sensitive laser writing with applications that include data storage, security marking, and flat optics.


We have demonstrated potential implementations of laser-induced periodic thin-film structures as the geometric phase manipulating elements including polarization gratings, Fourier holograms, microlenses, and optical vortex microconverters. The direct-write ultrafast laser nanostruc-turing is a high precision, flexible, and time efficient technique. Through nonlinear light-matter interaction, the subwavelength resolution is ensured providing the possibility of reaching phase gradients higher than 1 rad µm-1. As a result, the applicability to any material that supports laser-induced periodic structures including high-index semiconductors and lossless dielectrics deposited on any substrate with different textures could revolutionize the fields of integrated flat optics and pro-vide new methods of manufacturing. The overall fabrication process of the millimeter-sized elements being on the time scale of minutes could facilitate innovative solutions in fields such as security marking, data storage, solar cells, sensors, and detectors.

Form birefringence induced by ultrafast laser direct writing in GeO2 glass was systematically investigated. It is shown that the pulse energy for maximum retardance in GeO2 glass is ˜65% lower than in fused silica. The induced retardance by laser scanning is two times higher than that by stationary irradiation under the same processing conditions. The optimum pulse duration for maximum retardance in GeO2 glass lies within sub-picosecond region, i.e., typically around 500 fs, while in fused silica it is in the picosecond regime at around 1-2 ps. A reversed polarization dependence of retardance at low pulse densities and low pulse repetition rates is observed in GeO2 glass. As a result, two optical applications including a radial polarization vortex converter and a computer-generated hologram are demonstrated in GeO2 glass by spatial manipulation of the optical axis of the locally induced form birefringence. The microengineering of optical properties of GeO2 glass by ultrafast laser direct writing may lead to new applications in near-/mid-infrared optics.

We have demonstrate a comprehensive modification study of silica glass, crystalline silicon, and amorphous silicon film, irradiated by tightly focused cylindrical vector beams with azimuthal and radial polarizations. The evidence of the longitudinal field associated with radial polarization is revealed by second harmonic generation in z-cut lithium niobate crystal. Despite the lower threshold of ring-shaped modification of silicon materials, the modification in the center of single pulse radially polarized beam is not observed. The phenomenon is interpreted in terms of the enhanced reflection of longitudinal component at the interface with high-index contrast, demonstrating that the longitudinal component is inefficient for the flat surface modification. Enhanced interaction of the longitudinal light field with silicon nanopillar structures produced by the first pulse of double-pulse irradiation is also demonstrated.

Self-assembled nanostructures created by femtosecond laser irradiation have been demonstrated in alkali-free aluminoborosilicate glass. The growth of the induced retardance associated with the nanograting formation is three orders of magnitude slower than in silica glass and is observed only within a narrow range of pulse energies. However, the strength of retardance asymptotically approaches the value typically measured in pure silica glass, which is attractive for practical applications. A similar intensity threshold for nanograting formation of about 1 TW/cm2 is observed for all glasses studied. The radially polarized vortex beam micro-converter designed as a space-variant quarter-wave retarder for the near-infrared spectral range is imprinted in commercial Schott AF32 glass.
Exploitation Route The discovery of low-loss ultrafast laser nanostructuring enables printing flat optics in glass and will be developed further by our commercial partners from Altechna Ltd for production of polarization converters and Microsoft for cloud data storage.
Sectors Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
 
Description The technology of ultra-loss geometric phase and polarization shaping by ultrafast laser writing in silica glass was patented as Drevinskas, R., Kazansky, P.G. & Cerkauskaite, A. Nanostructured optical element, method for fabrication and uses thereof, UK patent PCT/GB2019/050375, published as WO/2019/158910 (2019): https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2019158910&_cid=P21-K5S2X0-46828-1. The patent was licensed to Altechna Ltd, which commercialised our invention in successful products: https://www.altechna.com/products/s-waveplate-radial-polarization-converter/ https://wophotonics.com/products/s-waveplate/ https://www.altechna.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/operation-manual--130701.pdf https://www.osa-opn.org/home/newsroom/2020/february/laser_writing_light_s_new_wave/ https://www.newsbreak.com/news/1502908364384/ultralow-loss-geometric-phase-and-polarization-shaping-by-ultrafast-laser-writing-in-silica-glass https://www.electrooptics.com/product/focus/flattening-curve https://bioengineer.org/laser-writing-enables-practical-flat-optics-and-data-storage-in-glass/ https://phys.org/news/2020-02-laser-enables-flat-optics-storage.html
Sector Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural,Economic
 
Description ENIGMA
Amount € 2,500,000 (EUR)
Organisation European Research Council (ERC) 
Sector Public
Country Belgium
Start 01/2019 
End 01/2024
 
Description Collaboration with Joensuu University 
Organisation University of Eastern Finland
Country Finland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Performed experiments.
Collaborator Contribution Provided theoretical support.
Impact Non-reciprocal ultrafast laser writing. Nature Photonics Vol 2, 99-104, 2008.
 
Description Collaboration with Kyoto University 
Organisation University of Kyoto
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Our side generated the idea for the experiment to be taken.
Collaborator Contribution The group at Kyoto University provided access to unique experimental facilities.
Impact "Quill" writing with ultrashort light pulses in transparent materials Appl. Phys. Lett. 90, 151120 (2007); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.2722240
 
Description High harmonic vector beams generation 
Organisation Colorado School of Mines
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Fabricated polarization convertor for vector beam generation.
Collaborator Contribution Carried out experiments on high harmonic generation.
Impact Carlos Hernández-García, Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter G Kazansky, Charles G Durfee, "Extreme ultraviolet vector beams driven by infrared lasers", Optica, Vol. 4, pp.520-526 (2017). Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter G Kazansky, Charles G Durfee, Íñigo J Sola, Carlos Hernández-García, "Generation of extreme ultraviolet vector beams from infrared laser pulses", CLEO Europe, Munich 25-29 June 2017, CF.8.3 Carlos Hernández-García, Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter Kazansky, Charles Durfee, Íñigo Sola, "Extreme ultraviolet vector beams driven by multicycle infrared laser pulses", CLEO, San Jose 14-19 May 2017, STu1l.1 (Invited).
Start Year 2015
 
Description High harmonic vector beams generation 
Organisation University of Salamanca
Country Spain 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Fabricated polarization convertor for vector beam generation.
Collaborator Contribution Carried out experiments on high harmonic generation.
Impact Carlos Hernández-García, Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter G Kazansky, Charles G Durfee, "Extreme ultraviolet vector beams driven by infrared lasers", Optica, Vol. 4, pp.520-526 (2017). Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter G Kazansky, Charles G Durfee, Íñigo J Sola, Carlos Hernández-García, "Generation of extreme ultraviolet vector beams from infrared laser pulses", CLEO Europe, Munich 25-29 June 2017, CF.8.3 Carlos Hernández-García, Alex Turpin, Julio San Román, Antonio Picón, Rokas Drevinskas, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Peter Kazansky, Charles Durfee, Íñigo Sola, "Extreme ultraviolet vector beams driven by multicycle infrared laser pulses", CLEO, San Jose 14-19 May 2017, STu1l.1 (Invited).
Start Year 2015
 
Description Ultrafast laser writing in amorphous silicon thin films 
Organisation Moscow State University
Department Physics Department
Country Russian Federation 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Carried out writing experiments.
Collaborator Contribution Supplied and characterised amorphous silicon thin films.
Impact R. Drevinskas, M. Beresna, M. Gecevicius, M. Khenkin, A.G. Kazanskii, I.Matulaitiene, G.Niaura, O.I.Konkov, E.I.Terukov, Y.P.Svirko, and P. G. Kazansky, "Giant birefringence and dichroism induced by ultrafast laser pulses in hydrogenated amorphous silicon," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 106(17) pp.171106 (2015). R. Drevinskas, M. Beresna, J. Zhang, A. G. Kazanskii, and P. G. Kazansky, "Ultrafast Laser-Induced Metasurfaces for Geometric Phase Manipulation," Adv. Opt. Mater. 5, (2017) R. Drevinskas, M. Beresna, M. Gecevicius, M. Khenkin, A. G. Kazanskii, O. I. Konkov, and P. G. Kazansky, "Polarization sensitive printing by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in amorphous silicon," in Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), 2015 Conference on (IEEE, 2015), pp. 1-2R. Drevinskas, M. Beresna, M. Gecevicius, M. Khenkin, A. G. Kazanskii, O. I. Konkov, Y. P. Svirko, and P. G. Kazansky, "Femtosecond laser printed microoptics in hydrogenated amorphous silicon," European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics-European Quantum Electronics Conference Munich 21-25 June 2015, CK-14-4.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Ultrafast laser writing in glass 
Organisation Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia
Country Russian Federation 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Ultrafast laser writing
Collaborator Contribution Glass samples fabrication and characterisation.
Impact P.G. Kazansky, M. Sakakura, R. Drevinskas, A. Cerkauskaite, L. Wang, A. G. Okhrimchuk, S. S. Fedotov, S. V. Lotarev, and V. N. Sigaev, "Discovering New Properties and Applications of Ultrafast Laser Writing: From Spatio-Temporal Control to Polarization Shaping and Geometrical Phase Optics in Nanostructured Transparent Materials", International Workshop on Frontiers in Lasers and Applications (FLA 2018), Okinawa, 16-19 April 2018 (Invited). A.G. Okhrimchuk, S.S. Fedotov, and P.G. Kazansky, "Direct laser writing with a sub-nanosecond burst of femtosecond pulses exploiting excitation of deformation wave," JSAP-OSA Joint Symposia, Nagoya, 18-21 Sept., 2018 (Invited). P. G. Kazansky, M. Beresna, R. Drevinskas, A. Patel, A. Cerkauskaite, S. V. Lotarev, A. G. Okhrimchuk, and V. N. Sigaev, "Ultrafast laser nanostructuring of glass: From printed flat optics to eternal data storage," in International Congress on Glass (ICG'16), Shanghai, 2016, I69 (Invited). P. G. Kazansky, M. Beresna, R. Drevinskas, A. Patel, A. Cerkauskaite, F. Zhang, S. V. Lotarev, A. G. Okhrimchuk, and V. N. Sigaev, "Advancing the art of ultrafast laser writing," in Glass & Optical Materials Division Meeting of the American Ceramic Society (GOMD 2016), Madison, 2016 (Invited). S. S. Fedotov, R. Drevinskas, S.V. Lotarev, A.S. Lipatiev, M. Beresna, A. Cerkauskaite, V.N. Sigaev, and P.G. Kazansky, "Direct writing of birefringent elements by ultrafast laser nanostructuring in multicomponent glass," Appl. Phys. Lett. 2016 Vol.108, pp.071905 (2016). Andrei Okhrimchuk, Sergey Fedotov, Ivan Glebov, Vladimir Sigaev, Peter Kazansky, "Single shot laser writing with sub-nanosecond and nanosecond bursts of femtosecond pulses", Scientific reports, Vol. 7,16563 (2017).
Start Year 2014
 
Description Ultrafat laser writing in ITO thin films 
Organisation Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Country Israel 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Supply and characterisation of ITO thin films
Collaborator Contribution Ultrafast laser printing including geometrical phase elements.
Impact Asi Solodar, Ausra Cerkauskaite, Rakas Drevinskas, Peter G Kazansky, Ibrahim Abdulhalim, "Liquid crystal alignment on ultrafast laser nanostructured ITO coated glass",CLEO Europe, Munich 25-29 June 2017, CE.6.4. Ausra Cerkauskaite, Rokas Drevinskas, Asi Solodar, Ibrahim Abdulhalim, Peter G Kazansky, "Form-birefringence in ITO thin films engineered by ultrafast laser nanostructuring", ASC Photonics, Viol. 4, pp. 2944-2951 (2017).
Start Year 2015
 
Title NANOSTRUCTURED OPTICAL ELEMENT, METHOD FOR FABRICATION AND USES THEREOF 
Description An optical element for modifying an incident laser beam propagated through the optical element from an input face to an output face via a geometric phase birefringent effect, the optical element comprising: a substrate of a transparent amorphous material with an input face and an opposite output face; and a structural modification in a volume of the substrate between the input face and output face comprising a plurality of randomly positioned nanostructures; wherein each nanostructure has a oblate spheroidal shape with an elliptical cross section in a plane parallel to the input face, the elliptical cross- section having a minor axis substantially not larger than 30 nm and a major axis greater than the minor axis, and each nanostructure having a length in a direction perpendicular to the input face which is substantially not larger than 100 nm. 
IP Reference WO2019158910 
Protection Patent application published
Year Protection Granted 2019
Licensed Commercial In Confidence
Impact The patent method enables production of low-loss geometrical phase optics in glass. Discovered low-loss ultrafast laser nanostructuring opens prospect of high-density 5D optical memory in glass.
 
Description "The Future Starts Here" in Victoria and Albert Museum, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Eternal copies of Hawking's Brief History of Time and UDHR exhibited at "The Future Starts Here" in Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 6 Oct 2018 - 4 Nov 2018
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-future-starts-here
 
Description 5D Memory Crystal with milestones in physics preserved for eternity to celebrate 50th anniversary the European Physical Society presented by Institute of Physics, 19 November 2018, London 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Institute of Physics CEO presented @EuroPhysSoc with the "Superman memory crystal" - a 5D data crystal made of nanostructured glass - to celebrate their 50th anniversary. It's tiny, has a virtually unlimited data-storage capacity and lasts forever!
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://twitter.com/5dmemorycrystal?lang=en
 
Description 5D storage crystal joins Tesla Roadster on incredible space journey 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact The successful launch of the new rocket, the Falcon Heavy, by SpaceX from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida into a Mars orbit around the Sun, has captured the world's imagination and attention mainly because of its power but also because of its payload.

Famously aboard the spacecraft is a Tesla Roadster, owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, but joining the bright red sports car on its journey around our solar system is the Arch Library (https://archmission.org/) , created using 5D optical storage technology developed by Professor Peter Kazansky and his team at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://optics.org/news/9/2/10
 
Description Memory crystal featured on BBC's "The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age" 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Research on 5D data storage is being led by the ORC's Professor Peter Kazanksy, who has developed a method of writing thousands of layers of data in a single monolithic glass disc using a precise femtosecond laser.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL https://www.5dmemorycrystal.com/events/params/post/1637718/memory-crystal-featured-on-bbcs-the-secre...