Creation of tailored features by laser heating of Nd0.2La0.8BGeO5 glass

The creation of tailored micron-size structures by a simple method has been demonstrated in Nd0.2La0.8BGeO5 glass. Polycrystalline lines and dots are produced in predetermined regions of the glass by selective heating with 800 nm radiation from a Ti-Sapphire laser. The X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy results indicate that Nd3+ enters the crystal structure substitutionally. The glass crystallizes congruently with the crystalline spot diameter increasing ∝ time1/3, while the crystal structure remains same as of LaBGeO5.