@article{SchuellerRuhlDinstuehlerSengeretal.2022, author = {Sch{\"u}ller-Ruhl, Aaron and Dinst{\"u}hler, Leonard and Senger, Thorsten and Bergfeld, Stefan and Ingenhag, Christian and Fleischhaker, Robert}, title = {Direct fabrication of arbitrary phase masks in optical glass via ultra-short pulsed laser writing of refractive index modifications}, series = {Applied Physics B}, volume = {128}, journal = {Applied Physics B}, number = {Article number: 208}, editor = {Mackenzie, Jacob}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {1432-0649 (Online)}, doi = {10.1007/s00340-022-07928-2}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {We study the possibility to fabricate an arbitrary phase mask in a one-step laser-writing process inside the volume of an optical glass substrate. We derive the phase mask from a Gerchberg-Saxton-type algorithm as an array and create each individual phase shift using a refractive index modification of variable axial length. We realize the variable axial length by superimposing refractive index modifications induced by an ultra-short pulsed laser at different focusing depth. Each single modification is created by applying 1000 pulses with 15 μJ pulse energy at 100 kHz to a fixed spot of 25 μm diameter and the focus is then shifted axially in steps of 10 μm. With several proof-of-principle examples, we show the feasibility of our method. In particular, we identify the induced refractive index change to about a value of Δn=1.5⋅10-3. We also determine our current limitations by calculating the overlap in the form of a scalar product and we discuss possible future improvements.}, language = {en} }