Femtosecond laser-induced modification of potassium-magnesium silicate glasses: An analysis of structural changes by near edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy

The effects of femtosecond laser pulse irradiation on the glass structure of alkaline silicate glasses were investigated by x-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy using the beamline of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt at the electron synchrotron BESSY II in Berlin (Germany) by analyzing the magnesium K-edge absorption peak for different laser fluences. The application of fluences above the material modification threshold (2.1 J/cm2) leads to a characteristic shift of ∼1.0 eV in the K-edge revealing a reduced (∼3%) mean magnesium bond length to the ligated oxygen ions (Mg-O) along with a reduced average coordination number of the Mg ions.