Rapid fabrication of optical volume gratings in Foturan glass by femtosecond laser micromachining

We report on rapid fabrication of optical volume gratings in Foturan glass using a modulated femtosecond laser focused with cylindrical lenses. An optical volume grating with an area of 2 mm x3 mm and similar to 2 mm thickness can be achieved within 10 min by use of this method. Optical micrography confirms the volume nature of the gratings and shows that they consist of 10 mu m-thickness planes with a period of 15 mu m. The diffraction efficiency is examined to be similar to 56%. The limitations and future implementations of the fabricated volume gratings are discussed.