Adaptive optics are becoming a valuable tool for laser processing, providing enhanced functionality and flexibility for a range of systems. Using a single adaptive element, it is possible to correct for aberrations introduced when focusing inside the workpiece, tailor the focal intensity distribution for the particular fabrication task and/or provide parallelisation to reduce processing times. This is particularly promising for applications using ultrafast lasers for three-dimensional fabrication. We review recent developments in adaptive laser processing, including methods and applications, before discussing prospects for the future.

Atomic defects in wide-bandgap materials, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond, show considerable promise for the development of a new generation of quantum information technologies, but progress has been hampered by the inability to produce and engineer the defects in a controlled manner. Here, we demonstrate an all-optical method for the deterministic writing of individual NV centers at selected locations with high positioning accuracy. Ultrashort pulse laser processing is used to both create and diffuse defects inside the crystal through local annealing. During the laser-annealing process, online fluorescence feedback provides a trigger to stop processing once the NV formation is detected. This method provides a new tool for the optical fabrication of engineered materials and devices for quantum technologies.

A key obstacle to the experimental realization of many photonic quantum-enhanced technologies is the lack of low-loss sources of single photons in pure quantum states. We demonstrate a promising solution: generation of heralded single photons in a silica photonic chip by spontaneous four-wave mixing. A heralding efficiency of 40%, corresponding to a preparation efficiency of 80% accounting for detector performance, is achieved due to efficient coupling of the low-loss source to optical fibers. A single photon purity of 0.86 is measured from the source number statistics without narrow spectral filtering, and confirmed by direct measurement of the joint spectral intensity. We calculate that similar high-heralded-purity output can be obtained from visible to telecom spectral regions using this approach. On-chip silica sources can have immediate application in a wide range of single-photon quantum optics applications which employ silica photonics.

Femtosecond laser fabrication of controlled three dimensional structures deep in the bulk of diamond is facilitated by a dual adaptive optics system. A deformable mirror is used in parallel with a liquid crystal spatial light modulator to compensate the extreme aberrations caused by the refractive index mismatch between the diamond and the objective immersion medium. It is shown that aberration compensation is essential for the generation of controlled micron-scale features at depths greater than 200 μm, and the dual adaptive optics approach demonstrates increased fabrication efficiency relative to experiments using a single adaptive element.

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High quality graphitic wires embedded beneath the surface of single crystal diamond are fabricated using a combination of adaptive ultrashort pulsed laser fabrication, high numerical aperture focusing, and an axial multi-fabrication scheme. Wires are created with micrometer and sub-micrometer dimensions that can follow any three dimensional path within the diamond. The measured conductivities are over an order of magnitude greater than previously reported wires fabricated by ultra-short pulsed lasers. The increased level of graphitization control in this scheme appears particularly important for fabrication of wires parallel to the diamond surface.