Thermally resistant waveguides fabricated in Nd:YAG ceramics by crossing femtosecond damage filaments

Abstract

We report on femtosecond laser writing of channel waveguides in Nd3+ ion doped YAG ceramics by multiple inscriptions of damage filaments. Waveguiding between filaments was found to resist annealing temperatures as high as 1500°C. Microluminescence imaging experiments have been carried out to elucidate the potential application of the obtained waveguides as integrated laser sources as well as to elucidate the waveguiding mechanisms.