Formation of features in optical material
First Claim
1. A method of making an article characterized by steps comprising:
- (1) forming a surface pattern in an optical material by a first application of radiant electromagnetic energy that selectively removes a surface layer of said optical material, and(2) subsequently removing at least one additional layer of optical material underlying said surface layer by at least one additional application of radiant electromagnetic energy at a power density below the threshold at which a surface layer is removed from said optical material.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A laser or other source of radiant electromagnetic energy removes optically transparent material (e.g., LiNbO3) to form various structures. To enhance coupling the radiant energy to the optical material, a layer of an ablative absorber (e.g., a metal or organic material) can be used. Alternately, the radiant source can be initially operated above a threshold that causes removal of a surface layer of the optical material. After selectively thus removing a surface layer of the optical material, subsequent sub-threshold applications of radiant energy remove additional optical material due to a change in the underlying material, rendering it more absorptive at the wavelength of the electromagnetic energy. Optical devices, including waveguides, can be formed, as well as isolation grooves, alignment structures, etc.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of making an article characterized by steps comprising:
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(1) forming a surface pattern in an optical material by a first application of radiant electromagnetic energy that selectively removes a surface layer of said optical material, and (2) subsequently removing at least one additional layer of optical material underlying said surface layer by at least one additional application of radiant electromagnetic energy at a power density below the threshold at which a surface layer is removed from said optical material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification