Sub-micrometer soft lithography of a bulk chalcogenide glass

We demonstrate, for the first time, time-and cost-effective replication of sub-micrometer features from a soft PDMS mold onto a bulk chalcogenide glass over a large surface area. A periodic array of submicrometer lines (diffraction grating) with period 625 nm, amplitude 45 nm and surface roughness 3 nm was imprinted onto the surface of the chalcogenide AsSe2 bulk glass at temperature 225 degrees C, i.e. 5 degrees C below the softening point of the glass. Sub-micrometer soft lithography into chalcogenide bulk glasses shows good reliability, reproducibility and promise for feasible fabrication of various dispersive optical elements, antireflection surfaces, 2D photonic structures and nano-structured surfaces for enhanced photonic properties and chemical sensing.