Laser ablation of AsxSe100−x chalcogenide glasses: Plume investigations

Slab waveguides based on chalcogenide amorphous films with good adherence and controlled composition can be obtained using pulsed laser deposition allowing to design and to manufacture complex optical functions on waveguides within a small and compact chip. The aim of this work is to characterize the ejection plume obtained by laser ablation of AsxSe100−x samples in order to get some insight on the process involved for optimizing the pulsed laser deposition process. The dynamics of the plume has been systematically investigated by ICCD camera fast imaging and space- and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy for samples of various compositions.