In this work, we report a model for accurately calculating the focal volumes corresponding to astigmatic elliptical beams used in fs-laser waveguide writing. The model is based on the use of the ABCD matrix formalism for the propagation of a Gaussian beam. The code includes the effects of propagation on the astigmatic elliptical beam, and the effects of beam truncation and diffraction at the entrance pupil of the focusing objective due to beam clipping when overfilling the pupil. The results predict that for a given astigmatism value and propagation distance it is possible to efficiently suppress the astigmatic focus closer to the surface. This explains previous experimental results where single structure waveguides with controllable aspect-ratio were fabricated using astigmatic-elliptical beams. Furthermore, we investigate the respective roles of astigmatism and beam propagation, as well as the strong impact of truncation and diffraction effects caused by clipping the beam at the pupil of the focusing optics. Finally, based on the results from our model, we present some practical considerations in terms of beam propagation and phase wrapping constraints. © Springer-Verlag 2011.

This work was partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under TEC2008-01183 project. A.R. acknowledges a I3P-CSIC postdoctoral contract (co-funded by the European Social Fund). A.F. acknowledges a grant under Project TEC 2006-04538.

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