Photo-Induced Mass Transport in Thin Films of Amorphous As2S3

In this report direct photo-induced formation of surface relief gratings (SRG) in thin layers of arsenic sulfide (As2S3) are shown. This anisotropic light-induced mass transfer phenomenon has been discussed with the special attention focused on the polarization and intensity of the corresponding light. The experimental setup for the SRG recording is straight-forward consisting of ~10 μm optical slit through which an unfocused beam of light is projected on the surface of sample. The evolution of surface relief in dependence from the recording time and polarization has been investigated in detail. The processes of SRG formation and mass transfer which are based on the photo-induced plasticity have discussed.