Reversible photostructural change in melt-quenched As2S3 glass

Reversible phtodarkening and photostructural change accomplished by repeated cycles of band-gap illumination and annealing have been observed in melt-quenched As₂S₃ glass for the first time. The magnitudes of photo-induced shift of optical absorption edge as well as the fraction of photo-expansion observed in melt-quenched As₂S₃ glass coincide quantitatively with those observed in well-annealed evaporated As₂S₃ glass. The experimental data involving results of crystalline As₂S₃ demonstrate that the reversible photostructural change is “unique” to amorphous state and is not affected by the difference in disordered structure originated from preparation technique.