CW LASER-INDUCED TRANSFORMATION OF THIN SB, SE AND SB2SE3 FILMS IN AIR

Thin films of Sb, Se and Sb2Se3 are deposited onto glass and irradiated by a CW Ar+ laser beam. The variation of the optical reflectivity and temperature of the irradiated zone of the films are measured as a function of the laser beam power P and time t. It turns out that the main parameter, correlated with a given transformation, is the temperature T of the film. In all three cases, the transformation starts abruptly when T attains a critical temperature, Tc, independently of the value of P. For Sb films, Tc compares with the melting temperature of the oxide. For Sb2Se3, Tc's are equal to the crystallization and oxidation temperatures measured by others under furnace processing. © 1990.