Laser-induced microplasma as a tool for microstructuring transparent media*

We have studied the properties of laser-induced microplasma (LIMP) emerging in the ablation of a strongly light-absorbing target in the regime of confinement of spatial plasma expansion. The LIMP particle temperature is shown to be higher in this case than in the free expansion. It is found that the amplitude of the pressure pulse in the regime of spatial LIMP confinement is an order of magnitude higher than in the open surface case. The feasibility of writing microstructures on transparent dielectrics with the use of LIMP is demonstrated: microlens arrays and different diffraction elements are made.