Morphology and waveguiding properties of ultrafast-laser-inscribed type-II waveguides in IG2

Abstract

Ultrafast-laser-inscribed type-II waveguides inside the chalcogenide glass IG2 and the morphology of the inscribed tracks are presented for the first time to our knowledge. Self-organized periodic structures induced by the ultrafast laser in the tracks are characterized. The near-infrared waveguiding properties are studied for various pulse energies, durations, repetition rates, and polarization states, as well as different separations between the two written tracks. A propagation loss of ∼ 2.3 dB/cm is demonstrated in a type-II waveguide formed in IG2.