Through thick and thin: our work with chalcogenide materials, thin films and devices

Hewak, D.W. (2008) Through thick and thin: our work with chalcogenide materials, thin films and devices. 6th International Workshop on Nanophotonics, Taipei, Taiwan. 11 Mar 2008.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Interest in chalcogenide materials has, over the last decade, increased significantly as glasses, crystals and alloys find new life in a wide range of modern devices. Many of these applications require chalcogenide films, from nanometer to millimeter thicknesses, to exploit the functionality of this material family; however there are other geometries, notably optical fibre, microspheres, nanoparticles and nanowires which are of great interest. Our own research in this field has concentrated on amorphous chalcogenides formed with new compositions based on gallium and/or germanium sulphides. Through modification of this relatively unknown family of chalcogenides, new compositions with new and desirable properties were synthesized. These glass forming groups offer an alternative to the better known arsenic- or selenium- or tellurium- based glasses, providing lower toxicity, higher melting temperatures as well as the ability to be modified with a wide range of dopants including rare earths, transition and precious metals. The exploitation of chalcogenide materials has evolved over the last two or three decades from a simple infrared transmitting bulk glass into a multifunctional optoelectronic material for the future. We hope that with this talk you will see our own small role in this evolution and share in our excitement for these materials in the future.

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