Ultrafast Bessel beams: advanced tools for laser materials processing

Razvan Stoian (1) , Manoj Bhuyan (1) , Guodong Zhang , Guanghua Cheng (2) , Remy Meyer , François Courvoisier (3)

1 LHC - Laboratoire Hubert Curien [Saint Etienne]
2 Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics
3 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)

Ultrafast Bessel beams demonstrate a significant capacity of structuring transparent materials with a high degree of accuracy and exceptional aspect ratio. The ability to localize energy on the nanometer scale (bypassing the 100-nm milestone) makes them ideal tools for advanced laser nanoscale processing on surfaces and in the bulk. This allows to generate and combine micron and nano-sized features into hybrid structures that show novel functionalities. Their high aspect ratio and the accurate location can equally drive an efficient material modification and processing strategy on large dimensions. We review, here, the main concepts of generating and using Bessel non-diffractive beams and their remarkable features, discuss general characteristics of their interaction with matter in ablation and material modification regimes, and advocate their use for obtaining hybrid micro and nanoscale structures in two and three dimensions (2D and 3D) performing complex functions. Highthroughput applications are indicated. The example list ranges from surface nanostructuring and laser cutting to ultrafast laser welding and the fabrication of 3D photonic systems embedded in the volume.

Keywords: Bessel beams; ultrafast material processing

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]; Optics / Photonic

Razvan Stoian, Manoj Bhuyan, Guodong Zhang, Guanghua Cheng, Remy Meyer, et al.. Ultrafast Bessel beams: advanced tools for laser materials processing. Advanced Optical Technologies, 2018, 7 (3), pp.165. ⟨10.1515/aot-2018-0009⟩. ⟨ujm-01771931⟩