Structural properties of Ag–As–S chalcogenide glasses in phase separation region and their application in holographic grating recording

Abstract In this paper we focus on structural properties of As 2 S 3 –Ag glasses in phase separation region (Ag content: 0, 5, 7 at. %) using XRD technique and Raman spectroscopy and report on some application of studied glasses. X-ray diffraction experiments confirm amorphous structure of glasses. Pair distribution functions have been obtained and analyzed, and they have testified about changes in the radius of the first coordination sphere after introduction of silver into As 2 S 3 . The changes of the structure can be observed from obtained Raman spectra of doped As 2 S 3 : Ag. Compositional changes in studied chalcogenide glasses were observed in the evolution of the detected Raman bands. The main effect that is observed at introduction of silver (5, 7 at. %) into nanostructured As 2 S 3 glass is the change of the relative concentration of the main and non-stoichiometric molecular structural units. As 2 S 3 –Ag glasses are promising for application in the photonics and optical data storages. Surface relief holographic diffraction gratings were directly recorded using composite As 2 S 3 : Ag/Se nano-multilayered structures. Diffraction efficiency values in transmission of recorded gratings is ~22%.