Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids 355 (2009) 2272–2278

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Spin-coating of Ge23Sb7S70 chalcogenide glass thin films Shanshan Song a, Nathan Carlie b, Julie Boudies b,c, Laeticia Petit b, Kathleen Richardson b, Craig B. Arnold a,* a

Department of Electrical Engineering and Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, United States School of Materials Science and Engineering, COMSET, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States c Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux, CNRS – Université Bordeaux 1, 87 Av. Dr. Schweitzer, 33608 Pessac, France b

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Article history: Received 28 October 2008 Received in revised form 15 July 2009 Available online 26 August 2009 PACS: 42.70.Km 81.05.Kf Keywords: Spin-coating Chalcohalides

a b s t r a c t Thin film Ge23Sb7S70 chalcogenide glass has emerged as an important material system for photonic applications due to its high non-linear refractive index. However, one of the challenges is developing low-cost methods to deposit films of glassy material while retaining glass stoichiometry and high film quality. In this paper, we demonstrate a spin-coating technique for the deposition of such films. The dissolution mechanisms of Ge23Sb7S70 in different solvents are studied in order to select the optimal solvent for film deposition. We show that the use of amine-based solvents allow the deposition of stoichiometric films in contrast to alkaline solutions. Films with low surface roughness (RMS roughness