| Ultrafast lasers are characterized by ultra-high peak power pulses (Gigawatt/mm2 or even Terawatt/mm2 with table-top, commercial systems) leading to a radically different laser-matter interaction than conventional lasers: in particular, non-linear absorption phenomenon like multi-photons processes are observed opening new and exciting opportunities to tailor the matter in its intimate structure with spatial resolution smaller than the laser wavelength itself and noticeably, in three dimensions.
The first part of this talk will discuss the effect of low-energy pulses emitted by these lasers on silica glass from the viewpoint of structural and physical properties modifications. The second part will show how these laser-induced modifications can be used to manufacture novel types of micro-devices that integrate multiple functionalities in a single monolith. As an illustration, we will present various microsystems that perform opto- fluidics and opto- mechanical functions as well as examples of three dimensional flexures.
|
| Dr. Yves Bellouard is Associate Professor in Micro-/Nano- Scale Engineering at the Mechanical Engineering Department of Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. He received a BS in Theoretical Physics and a MS in Applied Physics from Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2000. Before joining Eindhoven University of Technology in May 2005, he was Research Scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York for about four years where he started working on femtosecond laser processing of glass materials. Recently, he received an ERC Starting Grant and a JSPS Fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
His current research interests are on new paradigm for system integration at the micro/nano- scale, in particular laser-based methods to tailor material properties for achieving higher level of functional integration in micro-devices.
|
