Polaritonic materials fabricated and tested with ultrashort-pulse lasers

Using femtosecond laser machining, we have fabricated photonic bandgap materials that influence propagation of phonon-polaritons in ferroelectric crystals. Broadband polaritons were generated with impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS) using an ultrashort laser pulse, and the spatial and temporal evolution of the polaritons were imaged as they propagated through the fabricated structures with polariton real-space imaging. These techniques offer a new approach to optical materials design.