Reversible Laser Imprinting of Phase Change Photonic Structures in Integrated Waveguides

Formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) is known as a fast and robust method of functionalization of material surfaces. Of particular interest are LIPSS that manifest as periodic modulation of phase state of the material, as it implies reversibility of phase modification that constitute rewritable LIPSS, and recently was demonstrated for chalcogenide phase change materials (PCMs). Due to remarkable properties of chalcogenide PCMs─nonvolatality, prominent optical contrast and ns switching speed─such novel phase change LIPSS hold potential for exciting applications in all-optical tunable photonics. In this work we explore phase change LIPSS formation in thin films of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) integrated with planar and rib waveguides. We demonstrate that by fine-tuning laser radiation, the morphology of phase change LIPSS can be controlled, including their period and fill factor, and investigate the limitations of multicycle rewriting of the structures. We also demonstrate the formation of phase change LIPSS on a 1D waveguide, which has potential for use as tunable Bragg filters or structures for on-demand light decoupling into the far-field. The presented concept of applying phase change LIPSS offers a promising approach to enable fast and simple tuning in integrated photonic devices.