ABSTRACT
Holographic UV mirrors were recorded in a volume of photothermorefractive glass. This photosensitive silicate glass doped with silver, cerium, and fluorine is transparent in the near-UV, visible, and near-IR spectral regions, and its induced refractive-index change reaches 10(-3). UV radiation of a He-Cd laser at 325 nm was used for Bragg grating recording with a spatial frequency of approximately 9200 mm(-1). The absolute diffraction efficiency of the recorded mirror reached 12.6% at 325 nm and did not deteriorate under the long-time effects of optical irradiation and heating up 400 degrees C.
ABSTRACT
Photosensitive silicate glasses doped with silver, cerium, fluorine, and bromine were fabricated at the Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers. Bragg diffractive gratings were recorded in the volume of these glasses with a photothermorefractive process (exposure to UV radiation of a He-Cd laser at 325 nm is followed by thermal development at 520 degrees C). Absolute diffraction efficiency of as much as 93% was observed for 1-mm-thick gratings with spatial frequencies up to 2500 mm(-1). No decreasing of diffraction efficiency was detected at low spatial frequencies. Original glasses were transparent (absorption coefficient less than 1 cm(-1)) from 350 to 4100 nm. Induced losses in exposed and developed glass decreased from 0.3 to 0.03 cm(-1) between 400 and 700 nm, respectively, and did not exceed 0.01-0.02 cm(-1) in the IR region from 700 to 2500 nm. Additional losses caused by parasitic structures recorded in the photosensitive medium were studied.
