Polarimetry analysis and optical contrast of Sb2S3 phase change material

Phase-change materials (PCMs) are the cornerstone for the development of reconfigurable and programmable photonic devices. Sb2S3 has been recently proposed as an interesting PCM due to its low-losses in the visible and near-IR. Here, we report the use of imaging polarimetry and spectroscopic ellipsometry to reveal and directly measure the optical properties of Sb(2)S(3 )both in crystalline and amorphous states obtained upon crystallization by annealing in the air of chemical bath deposited amorphous Sb2S3. The Mueller Matrix polarimetric analysis reveals the strong anisotropy of the Sb(2)S(3)crystallites which crystallize in radial spherulitic domains in contrast to the optical isotropy of the amorphous films. A refractive index contrast of Delta n = 0.5 is demonstrated while maintaining low-losses at telecommunications C-band, i.e., lambda = 1550nm. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement