Fluorescence Spectroscopy Of Colour Centres Generated In Phosphate Glasses After Exposure To Femtosecond Laser Pulses

A confocal fluorescence microscopy setup was used to observe, in situ, spectral changes in phosphate glasses which were modified using 0.3uJ of tightly focused 800nm, 130fs laser pulses. On 488nm excitation, the modified glass shows a broad fluorescence centred at roughly 600nm, which decays with prolonged exposure to the 488nm light. The decay behaviour is dependent on the 488nm power, with a faster decay rate for higher powers.