Synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system based nano-patterning technology

•Designed the architecture of a synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system.•Patterned perfectly aligned periodic nano-holes' array in transparent materials.•The system can replicate any image, pattern, or character in transparent materials.•The system is useful to form optical memory, color marking, micro/nano-structuring.

This paper demonstrates the design and development of a synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system and its applications in nano-patterning of transparent materials. Due to synchronization, we are able to control the location of each irradiated laser pulse in any kind of substrate. The control over the scanning speed and scanning step of the laser beam enables us to pattern periodic micro/nano-metric holes, voids, and/or lines in various materials. Using the synchronized laser system, we pattern synchronized nano-holes on the surface of and inside various transparent materials including fused silica glass and polymethyl methacrylate to replicate any image or pattern on the surface of or inside (transparent) materials. We also investigate the application areas of the proposed synchronized femtosecond laser pulse switching system in a diverse field of science and technology, especially in optical memory, color marking, and synchronized micro/nano-scale patterning of materials.

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