Low loss waveguides in pulsed laser deposited arsenic sulfide chalcogenide films

Linear and nonlinear optical constants of pulsed laser deposited (PLD) arsenic sulfide films are presented. It is shown that these constants are generally in good agreement with the results for films obtained by other deposition methods. Effects of annealing and exposure on optical constants of these films are investigated in some detail. Photo-induced effects such as photodarkening, which are present in films prepared by other deposition methods are also observed in the PLD films. Possibility of using photodarkening for fabrication of waveguiding as well as diffractive devices is also discussed. Large nonlinearities found in these films make them promising candidates for ultrafast all-optical switching. As-deposited PLD films were used to fabricate photo-induced channel waveguides with losses lower than 0.3 dB cm −1 .