Kinetics of CW laser-induced crystallization and oxidation 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 kinetics of crystallization and oxidation are traced via the time dependence of optical reflectivity and temperature, T, of the irradiated zone. For Sb₂Se₃, transformations start abruptly when T attains a critical value, T_c, independently of the laser beam power. These T_c values are comparable to the ones observed under furnace annealing conditions.