Femtosecond laser writing of metallic nanostructures using silver photo-reduction

We report on fabrication of silver nanostructures using femtosecond laser lithography in silver-containing polymers. Various metallic structures were fabricated using tightly focused femtosecond laser beam having circular and linear polarization. Fine gratings consisting of ripple patterns were fabricated using linear polarization, and nanorings having size below the diffraction limit were fabricated using circular polarization. This approach offers a promising route for realization of plasmonic nanostructures on flexible substrates.