Particulars of Femtosecond Laser Modification of Antimony-Silicate Glass

The particulars of the effect of focused femtosecond laser pulses on antimony silicate glass with the composition 25Sb 2 O 3 ∙75SiO 2 % (molar content) in thermal and athermal regimes were studied. It was found that in contrast to quartz, alkali silicate, and some borosilicate glasses the birefringence of the form characteristic for the formation of nanogratings does not arise in the laser-modified zones of the studied glass. Weak birefringence with slow axis parallel to the polarization plane of the writing laser beam, accompanied by precipitation of crystalline phases, seemingly including the cubic modification of Sb 2 O 3 , arises in the modified zones under irradiation by 10 6 pulses with energy > 100 nJ and repetition frequency 10 and 200 kHz.