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Ultrafast manipulation of self-assembled form birefringence in glass

Ultrafast manipulation of self-assembled form birefringence in glass
Ultrafast manipulation of self-assembled form birefringence in glass
Ultrashort pulse lasers have allowed probing of molecular dynamics in real time on the femtosecond time scale, with exotic behavior ranging from alignment of molecules and clusters, structural deformation, phase transitions on solid, and electron localization in magnetic materials. A recent progress in high power ultrashort pulse lasers has opened new frontiers in physics and technology of light-matter interactions from X-ray generation, nuclear fusion, laser surgery, integrated and fiber optics, optical data storage, to 3D micro- and nano-structuring. An intriguing phenomenon that currently attracts a lot of interest is the self-assembly of periodic nanostructures in the direction perpendicular to the light polarization. Uniaxial birefringence observed after femtosecond laser irradiation of silica glass has been explained by induced nanogratings and referred as self-assembled form birefringence. Self organization process has been interpreted in terms of the interference of electron plasma waves resulting in electron concentration modulation, followed by freezing of the interference pattern by structural change in glass. However, the mechanism including dynamics of self-organized nanostructures formation is still not fully understood. Recently, a double-pulse pump-probe configuration was used to enhance ablation in fused silica and silicon. In similar experiments molecular ensembles with an oriented angular momentum were produced. Here, we describe the ultrafast writing dynamics of form birefringence produced by self-organized nanogratings in double pulse experiments. Rewritable five-dimensional (5D) optical data storage using self-assembled form birefringence was demonstrated.
nonlinear optics, self-assembly, nanostructures, silica
1521-4095
4039-4043
Shimotsuma, Yasuhiko
0664279b-def2-41d4-a5ec-207ce02013a7
Sakakura, Masaaki
3bb15bbd-d590-4cba-ab5a-862dc7acd054
Kazansky, Peter G.
a5d123ec-8ea8-408c-8963-4a6d921fd76c
Beresna, Martynas
a6dc062e-93c6-46a5-aeb3-8de332cdec7b
Qiu, Jiarong
befa87a1-4795-4e67-b74f-81239eee689c
Miura, Kiyotaka
5dbc9159-ace0-4dd9-b18d-36f87ae78c47
Hirao, Kazuyuki
5cc5061d-6217-49ae-bc92-ff5b72b9c6c2
Shimotsuma, Yasuhiko
0664279b-def2-41d4-a5ec-207ce02013a7
Sakakura, Masaaki
3bb15bbd-d590-4cba-ab5a-862dc7acd054
Kazansky, Peter G.
a5d123ec-8ea8-408c-8963-4a6d921fd76c
Beresna, Martynas
a6dc062e-93c6-46a5-aeb3-8de332cdec7b
Qiu, Jiarong
befa87a1-4795-4e67-b74f-81239eee689c
Miura, Kiyotaka
5dbc9159-ace0-4dd9-b18d-36f87ae78c47
Hirao, Kazuyuki
5cc5061d-6217-49ae-bc92-ff5b72b9c6c2

Shimotsuma, Yasuhiko, Sakakura, Masaaki, Kazansky, Peter G., Beresna, Martynas, Qiu, Jiarong, Miura, Kiyotaka and Hirao, Kazuyuki (2010) Ultrafast manipulation of self-assembled form birefringence in glass. Advanced Materials, 22 (36), 4039-4043. (doi:10.1002/adma.201000921).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Ultrashort pulse lasers have allowed probing of molecular dynamics in real time on the femtosecond time scale, with exotic behavior ranging from alignment of molecules and clusters, structural deformation, phase transitions on solid, and electron localization in magnetic materials. A recent progress in high power ultrashort pulse lasers has opened new frontiers in physics and technology of light-matter interactions from X-ray generation, nuclear fusion, laser surgery, integrated and fiber optics, optical data storage, to 3D micro- and nano-structuring. An intriguing phenomenon that currently attracts a lot of interest is the self-assembly of periodic nanostructures in the direction perpendicular to the light polarization. Uniaxial birefringence observed after femtosecond laser irradiation of silica glass has been explained by induced nanogratings and referred as self-assembled form birefringence. Self organization process has been interpreted in terms of the interference of electron plasma waves resulting in electron concentration modulation, followed by freezing of the interference pattern by structural change in glass. However, the mechanism including dynamics of self-organized nanostructures formation is still not fully understood. Recently, a double-pulse pump-probe configuration was used to enhance ablation in fused silica and silicon. In similar experiments molecular ensembles with an oriented angular momentum were produced. Here, we describe the ultrafast writing dynamics of form birefringence produced by self-organized nanogratings in double pulse experiments. Rewritable five-dimensional (5D) optical data storage using self-assembled form birefringence was demonstrated.

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More information

Published date: September 2010
Keywords: nonlinear optics, self-assembly, nanostructures, silica
Organisations: Optoelectronics Research Centre

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 174665
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/174665
ISSN: 1521-4095
PURE UUID: 1bf78296-2f5c-4cca-8f24-051f493d406e

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Date deposited: 15 Feb 2011 16:11
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:34

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Contributors

Author: Yasuhiko Shimotsuma
Author: Masaaki Sakakura
Author: Peter G. Kazansky
Author: Martynas Beresna
Author: Jiarong Qiu
Author: Kiyotaka Miura
Author: Kazuyuki Hirao

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