Micron and Sub-Micron Gratings on Glass by UV Laser Ablation

ArF excimer laser ablation is applied for the generation of surface relief gratings on various glass materials. At the laser wavelength of 193 nm even highly transparent borosilicate glasses exhibit sufficient absorption for the fabrication of precise, crack free ablation patterns. Gratings with periods down to 3 μm are created in a line by line process by projecting a laser illuminated slit onto the glass surface. Micron- and sub-micron-periodic gratings are made by projecting a transmission grating using a Schwarzschild objective. Such gratings can be applied for surface functionalization or diffractive marking.