Solution-processing of thick chalcogenide-chalcogenide and metal-chalcogenide structures by spin-coating and multilayer lamination

This paper presents a new technique for fabricating thick (>10 mu m) chalcogenide multilayer structures. Films of arbitrary thicknesses are readily achieved through spin-coating, lamination and baking. For homogeneous systems, layer interfaces can be effectively removed by annealing above T-g. Alternatively, heterogeneous multilayer films can be realized by introducing layers of different chalcogenide materials or metals. In particular, photo-induced Ag dissolution is verified in a laminated multilayer film, with a refractive index increase greater than 0.2. The work presented here has great implications for chalcogenide deposition with potential applications in data storage, IR detection and IR beam combining. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America