Unveiling second harmonic generation from femtosecond-laser microstructured Nd:YAG crystal

[EN]In this work we apply second harmonic microscopy to the analysis of damage tracks inscribed by femtosecond laser irradiation in a Nd:YAG crystal. While second harmonic generation is not expected in the bulk of this centrosymmetric material, the 2D and 3D images obtained via second harmonic micro...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Sevilla Sierra, Nuria, Vázquez de Aldana, Javier R., Romero Vázquez, Carolina, Mateos, Xavier, López Quintas, Ignacio
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2024
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repository:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/159507
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/159507
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Laser beams
Nonlinear parametric processes
Solid state lasers
Three dimensional imaging
Ultrafast lasers
Description
Summary:[EN]In this work we apply second harmonic microscopy to the analysis of damage tracks inscribed by femtosecond laser irradiation in a Nd:YAG crystal. While second harmonic generation is not expected in the bulk of this centrosymmetric material, the 2D and 3D images obtained via second harmonic microscopy show that the induced micro-modification of the crystal structure leads to a localized generation of the nonlinear signal. The nature of this modification and its dependence on irradiation and detection parameters is discussed. These findings demonstrate the capability of second harmonic microscopy for the morphological analysis of written structures in Nd:YAG and open the door for the design and fabrication of new nonlinear structures to be integrated in novel photonic devices.