Femtosecond-written volume Bragg gratings in fluoride glasses

We report on what we believe are the first volume Bragg gratings written inside bulk multicomponent fluoride glasses. The gratings inscribed with tightly focused infrared (IR)-femtosecond pulses in combination with the phase-mask technique exhibit refractive index modulations of up to 5×10^−4 with reflectivities up to 90% at a wavelength near 2.8 µm. Such highly compact and narrowband filters could have a significant impact on numerous high-end applications from the UV to the mid-IR.