Three-dimensional imaging of direct-written photonic structures

Third-harmonic generation microscopy has been used to analyze the morphology of photonic structures created using the femtosecond laser direct-write technique. Three-dimensional waveguide arrays and waveguide-Bragg gratings written in fused-silica and doped phosphate glass were investigated. A sensorless adaptive-optical system was used to correct the optical aberrations occurring in the sample and microscope system, which had a lateral resolution of less than 500 nm. This nondestructive testing method creates volume reconstructions of photonic devices and reveals details invisible to other linear microscopy and index profilometry techniques.