Laser micro-fabrication of concave, low-roughness features in silica
Abstract
We describe a micro-fabrication method to create concave features with ultra-low surface roughness in silica, either on the end facets of optical fibers or on flat substrates. The machining uses a single focused CO2 laser pulse. Parameters are chosen such that material is removed by thermal evaporation while simultaneously producing excellent surface quality by surface tension-induced movement in a low-viscosity melt layer. A surface roughness {\sigma}~0.2nm is regularly obtained. The concave depressions are near-spherical close to the center with radii of curvature between 20 and 2000{\mu}m. The method allows the fabrication of low-scatter micro-optical devices such as mirror substrates for high-finesse cavities or negative lenses on the tip of optical fibers, extending the range of micro-optical components.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1109.5047,
title = {Laser micro-fabrication of concave, low-roughness features in silica},
author = {David Hunger and Christian Deutsch and Russell J. Barbour and Richard J. Warburton and Jakob Reichel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1109.5047},
year = {2011}
}