Solution-processing of thick chalcogenidechalcogenide and metal-chalcogenide structures by spin-coating and multilayer lamination

This paper presents a new technique for fabricating thick (>10μm) chalcogenide multilayer structures. Films of arbitrary thicknesses are readily achieved through spin-coating, lamination and baking. For homogeneous systems, layer interfaces can be effectively removed by annealing above T_g. Alternatively, heterogeneous multilayer films can be realized by introducing layers of different chalcogenide materials or metals. In particular, photo-induced Ag dissolution is verified in a laminated multilayer film, with a refractive index increase greater than 0.2. The work presented here has great implications for chalcogenide deposition with potential applications in data storage, IR detection and IR beam combining.