Excimer-laser-induced densification in binary silica glasses

We report that the rate of excimer-laser-induced densification is a strong function of composition in the binary metal-oxide-silica system. The pulsed excimer-laser-induced densification rate is shown to increase with metal-oxide content. A good correlation was found between the densification rate and the relative softness of the glass, as indicated by the annealing temperature. The densification rate for all the glasses was also found to be a strong function of the excimer-laser wavelength in the order 157nm>193nm >248nm .