Photoinduced surface relief modulation in amorphous chalcogenide thin films during holographic recording

Abstract

In this report the study of direct holographic recording of the surface relief gratings on amorphous chalcogenide thin (0.5–10 μm) films is presented in view of the light polarization state. Recording was performed on As2S3 by 532 nm wavelength laser light. Because of direct surface relief formation, its efficiency may also depend on the softening temperature of the film material, which was studied using additional incoherent laser light for extra illumination during holographic recording. The results have shown that the efficiency of surface relief formation is many times higher in the case of extra illumination by additional incoherent light during recording. The mechanism of the direct recording of surface relief on amorphous chalcogenide films based on the photoinduced plasticity is discussed. Keywords: amorphous chalcogenide films, holographic recording, softening temperature, surface relief, polarization