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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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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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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| author | Andong Wang Amlan Das Vladimir Yu Fedorov Pol Sopeña Stelios Tzortzakis David Grojo |
| author_facet | Andong Wang Amlan Das Vladimir Yu Fedorov Pol Sopeña Stelios Tzortzakis David Grojo |
| author_sort | Andong Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a78140d433f04951a2ec05b2a565260a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a78140d433f04951a2ec05b2a565260a2025-08-20T03:43:00ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-61983-9In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systemsAndong Wang0Amlan Das1Vladimir Yu Fedorov2Pol Sopeña3Stelios Tzortzakis4David Grojo5Aix Marseille University, CNRS, LP3 UMR7341Aix Marseille University, CNRS, LP3 UMR7341Science Program, Texas A&M University at QatarAix Marseille University, CNRS, LP3 UMR7341Science Program, Texas A&M University at QatarAix Marseille University, CNRS, LP3 UMR7341Abstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61983-9 |
| spellingShingle | Andong Wang Amlan Das Vladimir Yu Fedorov Pol Sopeña Stelios Tzortzakis David Grojo In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems Nature Communications |
| title | In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| title_full | In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| title_fullStr | In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| title_short | In-chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| title_sort | in chip critical plasma seeds for laser writing of reconfigurable silicon photonics systems |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61983-9 |
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