Photoinduced Singlemode Waveguide in Optical Fluoride Glasses Using Plasma Filaments

Permanent structure of photoinduced singlemode waveguide in optical fluoride glasses was demonstrated using the self-channeled plasma filament excited by a femtosecond (110 fs) Ti:sapphire laser ($λ_p$ = 800 nm). The photoinduced refractive index modification in ZBLAN glasses reached a length of approximately 10 - 15 mm from the input surface of the optical glass with the diameters ranging from 5 to 8 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ at input intensities more than l.0 ${\times}$ $10^{12}$ W/$\textrm{cm}^2$. The graded refractive index profiles were fabricated to be a symmetric form from the center of an optical fluoride glass and a maximum value of refractive index change (ㅿn) was measured to be l.3${\times}$$10^{-2}$. The beam profile of the output beam transmitted through the modified region showed that the photoinduced refractive index modification produced a permanent structure of singlemode waveguide.