Low-repetition rate femtosecond laser writing of optical waveguides in water-white glass slides.

Energy dose ranges for fabrication of subsurface and ablated ridge waveguides were defined using a low repetition rate femtosecond laser. The waveguides were written along the width of water-white glass slides. The buried waveguides written between 0.23 and 0.62  μJ/μm energy dose show strong guidance at 633 nm, reaching in the best cases propagation losses of 0.7 dB/cm. Meanwhile, the ridge waveguides were fabricated between 2.04 and 31.9  μJ/μm, with a best case of 3.1 dB/cm. Outcomes of this study are promising for use in the manufacturing of sensing devices.