Femtosecond Laser Micromachining of Fabry-Pérot Interferometers for Magnetic Field Sensing

Fs-laser micromachining is a high precision fabrication technique that can be used to write novel three-dimensional structures, depending on the nature of light-matter interaction. In fused silica, the material modification can lead to (i) an increase of the refractive index around the focal volume, resulting in the formation of optical circuits, or (ii) an enhancement of the etch rate of the laser-affected zones relative to the pristine material, leading to a selective and anisotropic etching reaction that enables fabrication of microfluidic systems. Here, both effects are combined to fabricate a Fabry-Perot interferometer, where optical waveguides and microfluidic channels are integrated monolithically in a fused silica chip. By filling the channel with a magnetic fluid whose refractive index changes with an external magnetic field, the device can be used as a magnetic field sensor. A linear sensitivity of -0.12 nm/mT is obtained in the 5.0±0.5 to 33.0±0.5 mT range, with the field being applied parallel to the light propagation direction.