Laser-induced optical anisotropy in self-supporting amorphous GeSe2 films

A comprehensive study of laser induced optical anisotropy in amorphous GeSe2 films is presented. This anisotropic structure of the amorphous network can be reoriented reversibly by changing the incident-beam polarisation. A model is constructed that accounts for experimental findings, in particular for the logarithmic time development of the laser-induced anisotropy.