Article abstract
Nature Photonics 2, 99 - 104 (2008)
Published online: 13 January 2008 | doi:10.1038/nphoton.2007.276
Subject Categories: Fundamental optical physics | Ultrafast photonics
Non-reciprocal ultrafast laser writing
Weijia Yang1, Peter G. Kazansky1 & Yuri P. Svirko2
Abstract
Photosensitivity is a material property that is relevant to many phenomena and applications, from photosynthesis and photography to optical data storage and ultrafast laser writing. It was commonly thought that, in a homogeneous medium, photosensitivity and the corresponding light-induced material modifications do not change on reversing the direction of light propagation. Here we demonstrate that when the direction of the femtosecond laser beam is reversed from the +z to –z direction, the structures written in LiNbO3 crystal when translating the beam along the +y and –y directions are mirrored. In a non-centrosymmetric medium, modification of the material can therefore differ for light propagating in opposite directions. This is the first evidence of a new optical phenomenon of non-reciprocal photosensitivity. We interpret this effect in terms of light pressure and associated heat flow, resulting in a temperature gradient in homogeneous media without inversion symmetry under uniform intense irradiation.
- Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
- Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Joensuu, FI-80101, Finland
Correspondence to: Peter G. Kazansky1 e-mail: pgk@orc.soton.ac.uk
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