Light-Induced Structural Relaxation and the Photoplastic Effect in Chalcogenide Glasses

摘要

The combination of depth-sensing indentation and band-gap illumination has been used to study the photoplastic effect (the reversible influence of light on the flow stress, hardness, and plasticity) in chalcogenide glasses on a nanoscale. The prominent photoplasticity of thin As-Se films has been revealed through deviations in the shape of load-displacement curves during nanoindentation under light illumination from those ones which have been observed for the material in the darkness. The photoinduced changes in static mechanical properties such as nanohardness and elastic (Young's) modulus have been determined. The highest photoplasticity changes are achieved for As{sub}20Se{sub}80 films while their photodarkening is the lowest.