Fabrication of photonic devices directly written in glass using femtosecond user pulses

We show that permanent optical waveguides can be formed in glasses by photoinduced refractive index change with an ultrashort pulse laser. Waveguides are written by translating the glass sample along the optical axis of a strongly focused laser beam. Both straight and curved waveguides are written in a silicate glass using 800 nm Femtosecond laser pulses. The utility of the Femtosecond writing technique is demonstrated by fabricating optical devices. Y coupler was fabricated in a silica glass using femtosecond laser pulses. Waveguide propagation characteristics and optical losses are also determined.