Femtosecond laser induced phenomena in various glasses and their applications

Femtosecond lasers are the perfect laser sources for materials processing when high accuracy and small scale structures are required. Due to the ultra short interaction time and the high peak power, the process is generally characterised by the absence of thermal diffusion and, consequently molten layers. Various induced structures have been observed in glasses after the femtosecond laser irradiation. Here, we report on space selective valence state manipulation of active ions, precipitation control of gold nanoparticles inside transparent materials by a femtosecond laser and heat treatment in the femtosecond laser irradiated glasses. The mechanisms causing the observed phenomena are also discussed.