Ultrafast Laser 3D Nanolithography of Fiber-Integrated Silica Microdevices
Dezhi Zhu, Shangben Jiang, Changrui Liao, Lei Xu, Ying Wang, Dejun Liu, Weijia Bao, Famei Wang, Haoqiang Huang, Xiaoyu Weng, Liwei Liu, Junle Qu, Yiping Wang
Abstract
Fiber-integrated micro/nanostructures play a crucial role in modern industry, mainly owing to their compact size, high sensitivity, and resistance to electromagnetic interference. However, the three-dimensional manufacturing of fiber-tip functional structures beyond organic polymers remains challenging. It is essential to construct fiber-integrated inorganic silica with designed functional nanostructures for microsystem applications. Here, we develop a strategy for the 3D nanolithography of fiber-integrated silica from hybrid organic-inorganic materials by ultrafast laser-induced multiphoton absorption. Without silica nanoparticles and polymer additives, the acrylate-functionalized precursors can be locally cross-linked through a nonlinear effect. Followed by annealing at low temperature, the as-printed micro/nanostructures are transformed to high-quality silica with sub-100 nm resolution. Silica microcantilever probes and microtoroid resonators are directly integrated onto the optical fiber, showing strong thermal stability and quality factors. This work provides a promising strategy for fabricating desired fiber-tip silica micro/nanostructures, which is helpful for the development of integrated functional device applications.