Systematical changes in diffraction efficiencies through Ag-photodoping into amorphous GeSe thin films

It is well known that the phenomenon of Ag-photodoping into amorphous (a-) chalcogenide film depends on film thickness (d). Herein, we report that the effects of Ag-photodoping into a-GeSe thin films exhibit a systematical change dependent on d using a holographic exposure (HeCd laser) and the measurement of diffraction efficiency (η) in real time. The η-kinetics of Ag-photodoping in the sample structure of an a-GeSe/Ag/p-type Si substrate is divided into two steps. A photodarkening-dominant process related to the generation of valence-alternation pairs (VAPs) in the chalcogenide explains the first step while a doping-dominant process accounts for the second step. In particular, we confirmed that the d-dependencies of the η-kinetics are classified into 3 groups: (A) d < 2dP; (B) 2dP ⩽ d < 4dP; (C) d > 4dP, where dP indicates the penetration depth of the HeCd laser. In group A, the Ag-doping process occurs simultaneously with the darkening process. In group C, the η-kinetics results from the darkening process only. Contrarily, in group B, the η-kinetics exhibits a sharp distinction between the photodarkening process and the Ag-doping process, and in particular, ηM increases almost linearly with an increase in d.