Photoinduced direct surface relief formation in amorphous As40S15Se45 films

The surface relief grating formation in As40S15Se45 films under He–Ne laser wave-length λ = 0.6328 μm light influence was examined. The obtained experimental results showed the strong dependence of photoinduced surface relief depth on illumination dose and film thickness during holographic recording from film side as well as from glass substrate side. The surface relief grating profile over the thickness range 0.13 < d < 6 μm was examined by AFM after exposure doses of E1 = 104 J/cm2 and E2 = 5 × 104 J/cm2. The obtained results suggest that the whole illuminated depth of the film, where the laser light intensity is sufficiently strong, takes part in the photoinduced mass motion process.