Ultrafast laser-induced birefringence in various porosity silica glasses: from fused silica to aerogel.

We compare a femtosecond laser induced modification in silica matrices with three different degrees of porosity. In single pulse regime, the decrease of substrate density from fused silica to high-silica porous glass and to silica aerogel glass results in tenfold increase of laser affected region with the formation of a symmetric cavity surrounded by the compressed silica shell with pearl like structures. In multi-pulse regime, if the cavity produced by the first pulse is relatively large, the subsequent pulses do not cause further modifications.