LASER WRITING OF β-BaB2O4 CRYSTAL WAVEGUIDES IN OXIDE GLASS
In this work we demonstrate the use of pulsed laser radiation for direct writing of β-BaB2O4 crystal waveguides in 47,5BaO-5Al2O3-47,5B2O3 glass (hereafter mol.%). β-BaB2O4 crystals have significant second-order optical nonlinearity and have excellent optical transparency in the visible and near-IR ranges. The waveguiding properties of extended crystal tracks of β-BaB2O4 were evaluated. In comparison with lanthanum borogermanate (LBG) glass, the writing of crystal waveguides in barium aluminoborate (BAB) glass can be performed at significantly lower pulse energy and higher scanning speed of the laser beam.