Abstract
The potential of ultrafast laser machining for the design of integrated optical devices in ULE (R) glass, a material known for its low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), is addressed. This was done through laser direct writing and characterization of optical waveguides and through the fabrication of 3D cavities inside the glass by following laser irradiation with chemical etching. Type I optical waveguides were produced and their internal loss mechanisms at 1550 nm were studied. Coupling losses lower than 0.2 dB cm-1 were obtained within a wide processing window. However, propagation loss lower than 4.2-4.3 dB cm-1 could not be realized, unlike in other glasses, due to laser-induced photodarkening. Selective-induced etching was observed over a large processing window and found to be maximum when irradiating the glass with a fs-laser beam linearly polarised orthogonally to the scanning direction, akin to what is observed in fused silica laser-machined microfluidic channels. In fact, the etching selectivity and surface roughness of laser-machined ULE (R) glass was found to be similar to that of fused silica, allowing some of the already reported microfluidic and optofluidic devices to be replicated in this low CTE glass. An example of a 3D cavity with planar-spherically convex interfaces is given. Due to the thermal properties of ULE (R) glass, these cavities can be employed as interferometers for wavelength and/or temperature referencing.

Abstract
This work addresses the fabrication of straight silica-core liquid-cladding suspended waveguides inside a microfluidic channel through fs-laser micromachining. These structures enable the reconfiguration of the waveguide's mode profile and enhance the evanescent interaction between light and analyte. Further, their geometry resembles a tapered optical fiber with the added advantage of being monolithically integrated within a microfluidic platform. The fabrication process includes an additional post-processing thermal treatment responsible for smoothening the waveguide surface and reshaping it into a circular cross-section. Suspended waveguides with a minimum core diameter of 3.8 mu m were fabricated. Their insertion losses can be tuned and are mainly affected by mode mismatch between the coupling and suspended waveguides. The transmission spectrum was studied and it was numerically confirmed that it consists of interference between the guided LP01 mode and uncoupled light and of modal interference between the LP01 and LP02 modes.

Abstract
The potential of evanescent Mach-Zehnder interferometers, embedded in Eagle2000 substrates, as refractive index sensors was assessed. For that, femtosecond laser direct writing and wet etching were used to fabricate and expose the sensing arm at the surface of the glass substrate, while keeping the reference arm buried. From the analysis of the structures' spectral response, we found that the wavelength shift of the different order peaks increased greatly for refractive indices nearing that of the glass, indicating a greater overlap between the guided mode's evanescent field and the external medium. Therefore, a maximum sensitivity of 10271 nm/RIU was obtained at a refractive index of 1.491. The sensitivity in the refractive index range of water-based solutions was, on the other hand, limited to 446 +/- 39 nm/RIU. Due to the geometry of the device, applications with films deposited at the surface of the substrate and PDMS based microfluidic channels can be explored.

Abstract
Optical waveguides were fabricated at the surface of Eagle2000 glass substrates, using femtosecond laser direct writing and wet etching, and their potential as intensity-modulated refractometers was assessed. Through the analysis of their broadband spectral response to different refractive index oils, we observed that mode mismatch is present when the guided mode reaches the surface of the substrate and interacts with the external medium, thus enabling the use of such optical waveguides in refractive index sensing. Refractive indices equal to or greater than that of the substrate also induced a coupling mechanism that was shown not to be suitable in these devices. The device's wavelength of operation was found to be tunable by controlling the distance between the surface and the center of the optical waveguide. However, the sensitivity was seen to diminish by increasing the latter, being nonexistent for distances greater than 5.5 mu m. In this study, the maximum sensitivity values were found for a surface to core center distance between 1 and 2 mu m, in the biological range, and 2.5 to 3 mu m, for a refractive index nearing that of the substrate. Accordingly, maximum sensitivities of approximate to 25 dB/RIU and approximate to 1200 dB/RIU were found between 1.300 < n(D)(25)degrees(C) < 1.400 and 1.490 < n(D)(25)degrees(C) < 1.500, respectively.

Abstract
Low loss optical waveguides are the key component for the fabrication of more complex integrated optics devices. In most works related to femtosecond laser written waveguides, the values presented give results at a single wavelength or in a narrow wavelength band; but some applications in optical sensing, for example, would benefit from waveguides having good propagation properties in a larger wavelength range. This paper presents results that allow one to gain insight into the major loss mechanisms present in laser written waveguides in two different types of glasses (fused silica and Eagle 2000 glass) and the dependence of those on the fabrication parameters. Finally, an example of application of broadband operating waveguides is given.