Excimer laser ablation of polymers and glasses for grating fabrication

In this paper we describe studies carried out related to grating formation for optoelectronics applications using 248 nm and 193 nm excimer lasers. These include basic studies of UV laser induced incubation and ablation of various glasses, and an evaluation of laser-induced-periodic-surface-structures (LIPSS) and UV holographic techniques based on a phase mask for forming gratings on polymers and in fibres. Modelling and experiments show that the use of excimer laser illuminated phase masks in a contact printing mode or Talbot reimaging arrangement provide a particularly effective approach to forming submicron period gratings.