title: Femtosecond laser fabrication of nanostructures in silica glass.
abstract: A femtosecond laser beam focused inside fused silica and other glasses can modify the refractive index of the glass. Chemical etching and atomic-force microscope studies show that the modified region can have a sharp-tipped cone-shaped structure with a tip diameter as small as 100 nm. Placing the structure near the bottom surface of a silica glass sample and applying a selective chemical etch to the bottom surface produces clean, circular, submicrometer-diameter holes. Holes spaced as close to one another as 1.4 microm are demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Microstructural Sciences, Natural Research Council, Building M-23A, Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada. rod.taylor@nrc.ca
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hnatovsky
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Simova
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Bhardwaj
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Corkum