Photoinduced dichroism in chalcogenide As2S3 fibers

Photoinduced dichroism was observed and studied in optical fibers made of As₂S₃ semiconductor chalcogenide glass. It was found that the photoinduced dichroism exhibited optical reversibility and dark relaxation, and was accompanied by depolarization of light. The mechanism of the photoinduced dichroism was associated with the interaction between polarized radiation, whose photon energy was less than the band gap, and defect states of the As₂S₃ semiconductor glass oriented by this radiation.