Photosensitivity of pulsed laser deposited Ge-Sb-Se thin films

Pulsed laser deposition was used to prepare amorphous thin films from (GeSe2)100-x (Sb2Se3)x system, where x is varying from 0 to 60. Fabricated films present a good morphology with no cracks nor breaks and relatively low roughness. To study their photosensitivity under irradiation with energy close to band gap, a comparison of their optical properties (refractive index and band gap energy) before and after irradiation is performed in both, as-deposited and annealed states. In linear regime, annealed films seem to be photostable when x≥30. In nonlinear regime, highest photoinduced threshold intensity values were found for films with x = 10, 16.7 and x = 30, 40. Thus, the highest photostability in both, linear and nonlinear regimes of irradiation, was observed for layers with x = 30 and 40. Finally, the structure of the films is discussed based on Raman scattering spectroscopy results.

[1]  Taylor Pc,et al.  Absence of photodarkening in bulk, glassy As2S , 1987 .

[2]  Steve Madden,et al.  Rebonding of Se to As and Ge in Ge33As12Se55 films upon thermal annealing: Evidence from x-ray photoelectron spectra investigations , 2007 .

[3]  K. P. Huy,et al.  Kerr spatial solitons in chalcogenide waveguides , 2009, CLEO/Europe - EQEC 2009 - European Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and the European Quantum Electronics Conference.

[4]  Michael A. Paesler,et al.  Reversible photodarkening of amorphous arsenic chalcogens , 1991 .

[5]  Jai Singh,et al.  A model for the photostructural changes in amorphous chalcogenides , 1998 .

[6]  Mathieu Chauvet,et al.  Structure, nonlinear properties, and photosensitivity of (GeSe_2)_100-x(Sb_2Se_3)_x glasses , 2014 .

[7]  E. Vateva.  Giant photo-and thermo-induced effects in chalcogenides , 2007 .

[8]  B. Luther-Davies,et al.  On the properties and stability of thermally evaporated Ge–As–Se thin films , 2009 .

[9]  A. Wright,et al.  A comparison of the structures of vapour-deposited and bulk arsenic sulphide glasses , 1977 .

[10]  Abdolnasser Zakery,et al.  Optical properties and applications of chalcogenide glasses: a review , 2003 .

[11]  Guorong Chen,et al.  A photo-stable chalcogenide glass. , 2008, Optics express.

[12]  V. Tikhomirov,et al.  The anisotropic photorefractive effect in bulk As2S3 glass induced by polarized subgap laser light , 1995 .

[13]  Virginie Nazabal,et al.  Optical waveguide based on amorphous Er3+-doped Ga-Ge-Sb-S(Se) pulsed laser deposited thin films , 2010 .

[14]  Stephen R. Elliott,et al.  Photoinduced effects and metastability in amorphous semiconductors and insulators , 1995 .

[15]  Virginie Nazabal,et al.  Sputtering and Pulsed Laser Deposition for Near‐ and Mid‐Infrared Applications: A Comparative Study of Ge25Sb10S65 and Ge25Sb10Se65 Amorphous Thin Films , 2011 .

[16]  E. Sleeckx,et al.  Thermally and photo-induced irreversible changes in the optical properties of amorphous GexSe100-x films , 1996 .

[17]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Analytical model for the optical functions of amorphous semiconductors from the near-infrared to ultraviolet: Applications in thin film photovoltaics , 2002, Journal of Applied Physics.

[18]  Xiang Shen,et al.  Optical and structural properties of Ge–Sb–Se thin films fabricated by sputtering and thermal evaporation , 2013 .

[19]  G. Cody.  Chapter 2 The Optical Absorption Edge of a-Si: H , 1984 .

[20]  Coexistence of fast photodarkening and slow photobleaching in Ge19As21Se60 thin films. , 2012, Optics express.

[21]  J. Tauc,et al.  Absorption edge and internal electric fields in amorphous semiconductors , 1970 .

[22]  Robert W. Eason,et al.  Pulsed laser deposition of Ga‐La‐S chalcogenide glass thin film optical waveguides , 1993 .

[23]  K. Tanaka,et al.  Reversible photostructural change: Mechanisms, properties and applications , 1980 .

[24]  Virginie Nazabal,et al.  Photoinduced phenomena in amorphous As4Se3 pulsed laser deposited thin films studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry , 2009 .

[25]  Emmanuel Rinnert,et al.  RF sputtered amorphous chalcogenide thin films for surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy , 2013 .

[26]  Maria Mitkova,et al.  Thermal and photodiffusion of Ag in S-rich Ge-S amorphous films , 2004 .

[27]  T. Wágner,et al.  Photo‐Induced Phenomena in Amorphous and Glassy Chalcogenides , 2007 .

[28]  Xueqiong Su,et al.  The dependence of photosensitivity on composition for thin films of GexAsySe1–x–y chalcogenide glasses , 2013 .

[29]  S. Ovshinsky.  Reversible Electrical Switching Phenomena in Disordered Structures , 1968 .

[30]  Alain Villeneuve,et al.  As 2 S 3 photosensitivity by two-photon absorption: holographic gratings and self-written channel waveguides , 1998 .

[31]  V. Nazabal,et al.  Photosensitivity of pulsed laser deposited Ge20As20Se60 and Ge10As30Se60 amorphous thin films , 2013 .

[32]  A. Masuda,et al.  Influence of Pb incorporation on light-induced phenomena in amorphous Ge100−x−yPbxSy thin films , 1997 .

[33]  A. Moreac,et al.  Photo-stability of pulsed laser deposited Ge(x)As(y)Se(100-x-y) amorphous thin films. , 2010, Optics express.

[34]  Petr Nemec,et al.  Thin chalcogenide films prepared by pulsed laser deposition – new amorphous materials applicable in optoelectronics and chemical sensors , 2006 .