Ultrafast Laser Studies of Photonic Materials and Structures

脉冲宽度为几百飞秒或更短的超快激光器近年来已成为研究的有力工具。它们既是探测光子材料和器件中超快过程的光源，又是开发高度集成的小型化光子器件的工具。理解超快激光与光子材料和结构之间的相互作用对于它们的应用是极其重要的。 在本研究中，我们将探讨飞秒激光探测的光子材料和结构及其独特的光学性质。研究的光子材料包括纤维状和块状的玻璃以及有机和聚合物材料。研究的光子结构是利用飞秒激光器制作的光子微/纳米结构，包括体波导中的微通道和波导、微结构光纤和光子带隙结构。该研究将集中在以下几个方面：（1）超快激光与光子材料的相互作用，以独特的努力，以实现在飞秒激光烧蚀过程中的组成和形态的变化的同时监测。(2)飞秒激光揭示光子材料和结构的新光学性质。(3)光子微/纳米结构的超快激光制造，包括用于监测环境参数的微结构光纤、用于流体诊断的光流体设备以及作为各种光子设备和系统的构建块的光子晶体。从这项研究中获得的知识将在光学传感，信号处理，电信和生物医学工程中具有潜在的应用，并使加拿大在这些领域的工业受益

Ultrafast lasers with pulse widths of a few hundred femtoseconds or less have emerged as powerful tools for research in recent years. They are both the light sources to probe ultrafast processes in photonic materials and components and the tools to develop miniaturized photonic devices with high degree of integration. Understanding the interactions between ultrafast lasers and photonic materials and structures are extremely important for their applications. In this study, we will investigate photonic materials and structures probed by femtosecond lasers and their unique optical properties. The photonic materials to be studied include glasses in the forms of fiber and block as well as organic and polymer materials. The photonic structures to be investigated are the photonic micro-/nano-structures fabricated by femtosecond lasers, which include microchannels and waveguides in bulk dielectrics, microstructured optical fibers, and photonic bandgap structures. The study will focus on the following areas: (1) Ultrafast laser interaction with photonic materials with a unique effort to achieve simultaneous monitoring of changes in the composition and morphology during femtosecond laser ablation. (2) Novel optical properties of photonic materials and structures revealed by femtosecond lasers. (3) Ultrafast laser fabrication of photonic micro-/nano-structures, including microstructured optical fibers for monitoring environmental parameters, optofluidic devices for fluid diagnostics, and photonic crystals as a building block for a variety of photonic devices and systems. The knowledge acquired from this research will have potential applications in optical sensing, signal processing, telecommunication and biomedical engineering, and benefit Canadian industries in these fields