title: Large refractive index change in silicone-based and non-silicone-based hydrogel polymers induced by femtosecond laser micro-machining.
abstract: A Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser with a pulse energy of 1.3 nJ at a 93 MHz repetition rate has been used to micro-machine optical gratings inside several silicone-based and non-silicone-based hydrogel polymers. By measuring the diffraction efficiency of the gratings at 632.8 nm, we find as large as 0.06+/- 0.005 average refractive index change within the irradiated area.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Jay F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kunzler
authors.forename: Wayne H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Knox