Herein we present results on the femtosecond laser direct writing and optical characterization studies of two dimensional gratings in fused silica, GE 124, and Foturan™ glasses. Varieties of structures were achieved with varying input energy and spatial orientation of the samples. Various characterization techniques including fluorescence spectroscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and laser confocal microscopy were employed to analyze the structural and physical modifications at the focal volume resulting in change of refractive index. Diffraction efficiencies of ∼9-12% were observed from the grating structures. A broad-band emission was observed in the laser-modified region of the Foturan glass. The obtained results are analyzed in the light of recent work in similar glasses and exploring the applications of such structures in the fields of photonics. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.