Abstract

Chalcogenide glasses (ChG) have been shown to be very promising candidates for optical information storage and infrared communication systems [1]. The high photosensitivity of these materials in the visible (near bandgap for ChG) spectral band allows the fabrication of various photoinduced structures for integrated optical circuits [2]. The characterization of the light-induced complex refractive index changes (Δn) in ChG and the realization of new applications represent the goal of the present work. Namely, we report, we believe for the first time, the dynamic separation of different photoexcitation modes in ChG, and the holographic fabrication of one (1D) and two (2D) dimensional microlens networks. We study the ChG film refractive index (n), absorption (α) and thickness (d) photomodulation processes, both in steady state and in transient excitation regimes. We use dynamic holography [3] and Z-scan techniques [4] for this study. These techniques provide important information concerning both the dynamical and the steady-state excitation behavior of our ChG films. Different physical and photochemical mechanisms are responsible for the complex behavior of ChG [3] and their understanding and control is an important challenge for the possible applications.

© 1997 Optical Society of America