Mechanism of photoinduced changes in the optical constants in chalcogenide glass based on As-Se

A model of multicharge centers is proposed. Multicharge local centers are due to negatively charged As atoms in a twin coordination and positively charged Se atoms in a triple coordination. The change in the charge state of these centers because of capture of the light-generated non-equilibrium charge carriers depends on the temperature. Within the framework of this model, three reversing components of the permanent optical memory and the behavior of the low-temperature components at temperatures above the erasure temperature are discussed. The model agrees with experiments on the partial erasure by laser radiation during a change in its intensity or in the specimen temperature.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 48–52, December, 1978.