One-step fabrication of optical materials by laser ablation of organic liquid

Summary form only given. Fused silica is an important material for optics and optoelectronics because of its excellent properties of transparency in a wide wavelength range and strong damage resistivity for laser irradiation. But these properties make it difficult to fabricate fused silica. The standard method to fabricate fused silica with a pattern below 100 /spl mu/m is lithography, which is a several-steps process. Although conventional excimer-laser ablation was established as a dry etch method, the fluence of ablation thresholds is too high. For example, 248-nm nanosecond-KrF-laser ablation needs the fluence higher than 20 J/cm/sup 2/. We developed a one-step technique to fabricate a well-defined micro-sized pattern of lines and spaces in fused silica, using laser induced backside wet etching.