Manipulating glass for photonics

✍ Scribed by Fokine, Michael

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 255 KB
• Volume: 206
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0031-8965
• DOI: 10.1002/pssa.200881289

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A generalized concept for local manipulation of three‐dimensional glass materials is described. The basic principle is to use means to deposit energy into the material to enable localized and selective changes in the bond structure of the glass matrix, causing a localized modification of the thermal equilibrium properties of the material. The different regions of the glass will then behave differently when the sample is subsequently heated homogeneously. If the difference in the thermal dynamics between modified and un‐modified regions is significant, thermal treatment of the material can result in a self‐organizing structure. The aim here is to provide a generalized concept of differential systems and self‐organizing structures, using chemical composition Bragg gratings as an example. In this case, differential diffusion results in self‐organizing structures consisting of a variation of the chemical composition, with compositional features smaller than 250 nm. (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)