Optical field-induced surface-relief micropatterning of amorphous chalcogenide thin films

Abstract

The study of direct recording of the surface relief gratings on amorphous chalcogenide thin (2.5 to 5 μm films is presented by three different recording setups. Recording was performed on As2S3 by 532-nm wavelength laser light. Additionally, the evolution of a surface relief in dependence from the recording time and polarization has been investigated in detail and for the first time, the mass transfer process has been explained from the point of view of the photoinduced birefringence. The role of photoinduced plasticity in the formation of surface relief in amorphous chalcogenides during holographic recording has been discussed.