Production of high efficiency diffractive and refractive optical elements in multicomponent glass by nonlinear photo-ionization followed by thermal development

A method for production of high efficiency refractive diffractive optical elements in a glass for recording phase patterns consisting essentially of the steps of:

• providing a photo-sensitizer free, multi-component glass matrix having photo-thermo-induced crystallization;
• recording a phase hologram in the thermally developed photoionized glass matrix by interference of two or more ultraviolet nanosecond pulsed laser beams to produce photoionization of the glass matrix;
• and
• heating to thermally develop the photoionized glass matrix, thereby modifying the refractive index of the glass matrix and producing high efficiency refractive and diffractive optical elements which, based upon the modification of the refractive index, form phase patterns in the thermally developed photoionized glass matrix.

A method for extending the sensitivity of PTR glass to a wavelength in a range of approximately 355 nm consisting of the steps of:

• selecting a photo-sensitizer free photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass matrix having photo-thermo-induced crystallization;
• exposing the photo-sensitizer free PTR glass matrix to nonlinear excitation with a UV nanosecond pulsed laser source to produce photoionization of the glass matrix;
• and thereafter
• heating to thermally develop the photoionized glass matrix, thereby modifying the refractive index of the glass matrix and producing high efficiency refractive and diffractive optical elements which based upon the modification of the refractive index forms phase patterns in the thermally developed photoionized PTR glass matrix.