Filamentation-Induced Volume Plasma Grating: Dynamics, Possibilities, and Advantages

Stable propagation of laser filamentation arrays paves new ways for cross-scale manufacturing. Although a single filament or multiple filaments can be used for laser processing in transparent media, sustainable developments of higher throughput and lower energy consumption are always the pursuit. Here, a proof-of-concept approach is proposed in which cross-scale manufacturing of 3D microstructures is realized via an ionization-induced volume plasma grating. The volume plasma grating is generated by the noncollinear interaction of two batches of arrays of multiple filaments. The volume plasma grating cannot only regulate the distribution of multiple filamentation but also promote the intensity inside the filaments. By this approach, 3D microstructures are written by 1D sample translation. In addition, rapid fabrications of volume gratings and terahertz wire grid polarizers (THz WGPs) are demonstrated by laser modification using volume plasma grating. The characteristics of the fabricated THz WGPs are comparable to those of commercial ones. The limitations and future implementations of this approach are discussed.