Preparation and characterization of germanium oxysulfide glassy films for optics

Homogeneous amorphous films in the GeS2–GeO2 system have been deposited by a rf sputtering technique. Optical characterizations have shown that the cut-off wavelength and the linear indices increase with an increase in the S/O ratio. Raman spectroscopy indicates the presence of new modes that can be assigned to intermediate germanium oxysulfide structural units. Photo-sensitivity of the oxysulfide films has been demonstrated for irradiation near the band-gap. Diffraction gratings inscribed using 488 nm exposure displayed a limited diffraction efficiency (≤3%) that weakens with a corresponding decrease in the glass S/O ratio.