High throughput direct writing of a mesoscale binary optical element by femtosecond long focal depth beams

Abstract

Bessel beams have multiple applications owing to their propagation-invariant properties, including particle trapping, optical coherence tomography, and material processing. However, traditional Bessel-beam shaping techniques require bulky components, which limits the development of miniaturized optical systems for integration with other devices. Here, we report a novel femtosecond laser direct writing strategy for fabricating mesoscale (from submicrometer to subcentimeter) binary optical elements with microscale resolution. This strategy utilizes femtosecond beams with a long focal depth to increase throughput while reducing the constraints on critical sample positioning. As a demonstration, we manufactured and characterized a 2.2 mm diameter binary axicon. The experimentally measured quasi-Bessel beam intensity distribution and the numerical results were remarkably consistent, demonstrating a suitable tradeoff between the overall size, efficiency, and structural fidelity. Furthermore, a compact Bessel lens containing binary axicons was constructed and successfully used for femtosecond laser mask-less ablation of periodic grating-type surface plasmon polariton excitation units. The demonstrated approach shows significant potential for fabricating customizable integrated optical components.

Keywords

• femtosecond laser direct writing
• spatial light modulator
• binary optical element
• mesoscale
• bessel beam