In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems
Abstract Ultrafast laser three-dimensional writing has made breakthroughs in manufacturing technologies. However, it remains rarely adopted for semiconductor technologies due to in-chip propagation nonlinearities causing a lack of controllability for intense infrared light. To solve this problem, pl...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61983-9 |
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| Summary: | Abstract Ultrafast laser three-dimensional writing has made breakthroughs in manufacturing technologies. However, it remains rarely adopted for semiconductor technologies due to in-chip propagation nonlinearities causing a lack of controllability for intense infrared light. To solve this problem, plasma-optics concepts are promising since ultrashort laser pulses, even if inappropriate for direct writing, can readily inject high-density free-carriers inside semiconductors. To achieve highly localized and reliable processing, we create plasma seeds with tightly focused pre-ionizing femtosecond pulses. We show how critical density conditions can be used for extremely confined energy deposition with a synchronized writing irradiation and create ~ 1-µm-sized isotropic modifications inside silicon. Drastic improvement is also found on the material change controllability leading to unique demonstrations including rewritable optical memories (>100 writing/erasure cycles) and graded-index functionalities. By solving its controllability issues with critical plasma seeds, we show the potential of ultrafast laser writing for flexible fabrication of reconfigurable monolithic silicon-based optical devices. |
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| ISSN: | 2041-1723 |