X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic investigation of surface chemistry of ternary As–S–Se chalcogenide glasses

Abstract

Chalcogenide glasses belong to an important class of materials, due to their good infrared transmission, and low-phonon energy as compared to other oxide glasses. Structural and chemical variations imposed by glass processing conditions, e.g., film deposition, can lead to changes in the linear and nonlinear optical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been employed to study As–S–Se glasses of differing chemical compositions, in the film and the bulk form, to understand any variations in chemical bond configuration and their electronic structure. The molecular environments of As and Se for As–S–Se samples with varying S/Se ratio (fixed As content) and As content (fixed S/Se ratio) are studied by monitoring the XPS chemical shifts. The surface chemistry of the bulk and thin-film chalcogenide glasses are also compared to determine the effect of glass processing conditions for better chalcogenides for potential waveguide applications.