Photoinduced surface deposition of metallic silver in Ag-As-S glasses: Effect of addition of other elements

The effect of the addition of several elements (Cu, Au, Tl, and Se) on the phenomenon of photoinduced surface deposition (PSD) of metallic Ag has been investigated using an Ag45As15S40 bulk glass as the host sample to examine enhancement of the PSD effect, especially the formation of Ag nuclei in the PSD process. The addition of a small amount of Au (between 0.1 and 0.5 wt%, and between 0.037 and 0.185 at.%) was found to increase the nucleus density by at least two orders of magnitude. A latent image consisting of a large number of Ag nuclei has been successfully obtained using a sample with 0.5 wt% Au. We suggest that the incorporated Au atoms form Au clusters in the Ag-As-S network structure of the host glass, and that the Au clusters can enhance the formation of Ag nuclei. On the other hand, the addition of Cu and Se had a negative effect on the PSD phenomenon and no change was observed on the addition of Tl.