Photoplastic effects in chalcogenide glasses: A review

TL;DR

This review discusses how light induces changes in the mechanical and structural properties of chalcogenide glasses, emphasizing the role of photoviscous effects in various photoinduced phenomena and applications.

Contribution

It critically analyzes experimental data to identify the photoviscous effect as central to photoinduced changes and details specific photoplastic effects using in situ Raman and nanoindentation studies.

Findings

Photoviscous effect causes athermal viscosity decrease in chalcogenide glasses.

Photoplastic effects can alter shape and surface morphology.

Photoviscous effects underpin many photoinduced phenomena in these materials.

Abstract

A synopsis of the various photoinduced changes of rheological, mechanical and elastic properties is presented in the first part of the article. After a critical appraisal of a large body of experimental data it suggested that the photoviscous effect, that is, the athermal decrease of viscosity of a non-crystalline chalcogenide upon illumination is the key for a plethora of photoinduced effects reported so far in the literature under different names. Morphic effects (shape or surface morphology) may ap-pear either in the presence or absence of external mechanical stimuli leading to the fabrication of a variety of technologically important photoprocessed structures. A few representative examples of photoplastic effects are described, in the second part of the paper, in some detail based on information provided by in situ Raman scattering and nanoindentation experiments.