Light-induced mass transport in amorphous chalcogenides: Toward surface plasmon-assisted nanolithography and near-field nanoimaging

Two types of amorphous functional materials, based on light-sensitive inorganic compounds like Se and As20Se80 chalcogenide glass (ChG) were investigated with the aim to establish the influence of plasmonic fields, excited by the recording light in nanocomposite layers made of these compounds and gold nanoparticles on their photomechanical response. Both these basic materials are characterized by pronounced photoplastic effect and used for real-time optical recording of optoelectronic elements (based mainly on surface relief gratings) due to high photofluidity and polarization-dependent mass-transport. We have established that mass-transport processes in these ChG can be enhanced in the presence of localized plasmonic fields generated by light if the condition of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is fulfilled. The subjects of special interest are the mass-transport processes at nano-scale stimulated in the nano-composite layers either by uniform or periodically distributed optical fields. It was found that irradiation by light in the presence of SPR really enhanced the efficiency of mass-transport and produced surface nanostructurizations. The variation in the topography follows closely and permanently the underlying near field intensity pattern. Nanostructurization of photosensitive amorphous As20Se80 film by surface plasmon near field irradiation.