Product Code: ICA11_N101

Femtosecond Laser Micro/Nanomachining of Glass Materials for Optofluidic Applications and Beyond
Authors:
Ya Cheng, Shanghai Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Peoples Republic of China
Fei He, Shanghai Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Peoples Republic of China
Yang Liao, Shanghai Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Peoples Republic of China
Zhizhan Xu, Shanghai Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shanghai Peoples Republic of China
Koji Sugioka, RIKEN-Advanced Science Institute; Saitama Japan
Katsumi Midorikawa, RIKEN-Advanced Science Institute; Saitama Japan
Presented at ICALEO 2011

We report on the fabrication of various types of micro- and nano-scale functional structures, such as micro-optical, microfluidic, and microelectronic components, in glass materials using femtosecond laser micro/nanomachining. We show that high-aspect-ratio microfluidic channels (e. g., channels with lengths above 10 mm and diameters less than 10 microns) with perfectly circular cross sections can be directly embedded in fused silica, and micro-optical lenses with a capability of focusing a collimated laser beam to a nearly-diffraction-limited spot can be fabricated on the fused silica substrate for constructing integrated optofluidic micro-systems. Furthermore, femtosecond laser micromachining allows for fabrication of nanofluidic channels buried in glass with a width significantly less than 100 nm. Besides microfluidic and micro-optical structures, we show that microelectrodes can also be formed in dielectric materials (e. g., glass and crystals), which facilitates incorporating electro-optical functions into photonic and optofluidic micro-systems. Thus, femtosecond laser micromachining will open up a broad spectrum of opportunities in the optofluidic and optoelectronic applications.