Deuteron irradiation induced changes in amorphous AsSe films

Optical parameters of amorphous AsSe layers have been found to be sensitive to relatively low energy (40-180 keV) deuteron irradiation. The changes of the optical absorption edge and the refractive index behave almost similar to the known effects of laser illumination at comparable exposition energies, including the presence of irreversible and reversible components but the thermal erasure of the deuteron-induced changes differs in time constants and activation energies and results also in the effusion of implanted deuterons. The possible mechanism of changes is discussed, which implies the prevalent role of electron processes in structural transformations at the stage of irradiation.