Photostability of pulsed-laser-deposited As_xTe_100-x (x=40, 50, 60) amorphous thin films.

Summary AsxTe100-x amorphous thin films were fabricated by a pulsed laser deposition technique with the aim of finding photostable layers in as-deposited but preferably in relaxed (annealed) state. Photostability was studied in terms of the films' stability of refractive index and bandgap under nearbandgap light irradiation. As40Te60 and As50Te50 layers were found to be photostable in both as-deposited as well as relaxed states. Moreover, As50Te50 layers present the lowest surface roughness. These characteristics make pulsed-laser-deposited As50Te50 thin films promising for applications in nonlinear optics. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America.