Abstract
Optical Y-junction power splitters owe their inherent broadband spectral behavior to their design. However, depending on the fabrication technique employed, asymmetries in the junction might arise, perturbing its performance; this is the case in femtosecond laser written Y-junctions where one arm is typically written over the top of the other. In this letter, the spectral behavior of Y-junctions fabricated in fused silica by the femtosecond laser direct writing technique was analyzed and optimized for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The junction arms output power balance as well as the corresponding spectral flatness between 1300 and 1600 nm is substantially increased by the implementation of an initial separation between the arms at the junction diverging point, enabling the manufacturing of balanced broadband Y-junctions.

Abstract
Femtosecond laser direct writing is a three dimensional fabrication technique that can be applied to produce integrated optical components with high spatial resolution or microfluidic channels when combined with HF etching. The same fabrication technique can thus be employed to produce monolithic optofluidic devices for sensing applications. One of the most common sensing schemes involves evanescent optical interaction; therefore, the channel must meet some requirements regarding surface roughness, which will depend on the laser writing conditions, as described in this paper. However, of more significance is the distance between waveguiding medium and microfluidic channel that must be accurately defined. This control can be achieved by monitoring the etching reaction of a waveguide grating written a few microns from the channel, as introduced in this paper. In addition to its function as an etching monitor, the grating can also be used as a coarse refractive index sensor device.

Abstract
A study on the influence of titanium on the diffusion kinetics of erbium in lithium niobate is presented. An empirical linear relation between the diffusion coefficient of erbium and the initial film thickness of titanium was obtained from secondary ion mass spectrometry data. An improvement in the diffusion coefficient by a factor of two was measured for a 200-nm titanium film. Furthermore, the erbium and titanium codiffusion process not only enhances the diffusion of erbium, leading to smaller diffusion time, but also improves the device visibility for further fabrication procedures. This letter is envisioned to clarify in a quantitative way the process of simultaneous codiffusion of erbium and titanium ions into lithium niobate, which has been studied by several authors; nevertheless, no definitive conclusion can be found in the literature.

Abstract
Micromachining with femtosecond laser can be exploited to fabricate optical components and microfluidic channels in fused silica, due to internal modification of the glass properties that is induced by the laser beam. In this paper, we refer to the formation of microfluidic channels, where an optimization of the fabrication procedure was conducted by examining etch rate and surface roughness as a function of the irradiation conditions. Microfluidic channels with high and uniform aspect ratio and with smooth sidewalls were obtained, and such structures were successfully integrated with optical components. The obtained results set the foundations towards the development of new optofluidic devices.

Abstract
1xN (N=2, 3, 4) MMI power splitters were fabricated in a fused silica substrate by laser direct writing, using a focused 515 nm amplified femtosecond laser beam, and characterized at 1550 nm. To accomplish this, several low loss waveguides were fabricated side by side to form a multimode waveguide with the output in a polished facet of the substrate, while a single low loss waveguide was fabricated to inject light in the centre of the multimode waveguide. The performance of the fabricated devices was optimized by testing three different designs.

Abstract
The principle of all-optical logical operations utilizing the unique nonlinear optical properties of a protein was demonstrated by a logic gate constructed from an integrated optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a passive structure, covered by a bacteriorhodopsin (bR) adlayer as the active element. Logical operations were based on a reversible change of the refractive index of the bR adlayer over one or both arms of the interferometer. Depending on the operating point of the interferometer, we demonstrated binary and ternary logical modes of operation. Using an ultrafast transition of the bR photocycle (BR-K), we achieved high-speed (nanosecond) logical switching. This is the fastest operation of a protein-based integrated optical logic gate that has been demonstrated so far. The results are expected to have important implications for finding novel, alternative solutions in all-optical data processing research.