Photonic integrated circuits through femtosecond laser waveguide writing in glass

¹ Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IFN-CNR), Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
² Ephos Inc., 333 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA

^* roberto.osellame@cnr.it

Abstract

Integrated photonics is increasingly pivotal across various fields due to its inherent stability, scalability, and compactness. In the landscape of integrated photonic platforms, femtosecond laser writing is a novel microfabrication technique that is swiftly emerging as a strong contender to established photolithographybased methods. This paper presents a primer on the femtosecond laser writing process and explores its capabilities for creating versatile and reprogrammable processors. Furthermore, we examine the application of this technology to the realization of integrated devices designed to leverage the distinctive features of this technology for critical areas such as quantum information processing and astrophotonics.