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Plasma ion-assisted deposition with an advanced plasma source was investigated to produce narrow-bandpass filters in the near-infrared spectral range for telecommunication applications. The multilayer coatings were qualified by the optical performance, the vacuum-to-air behavior, the temperature stability, and the film stress. TiO(2)/SiO(2) and Ta(2) O(5)/SiO (2) material combinations were used and compared. The coating system produced low absorbing multilayers with a very low coefficient of expansion and low stress. The coefficient of expansion was in the low 10(-6) °C range, and film stress values in the range between 1 and 2 × 10(8) N/m(2) were obtained. TiO(2)/SiO(2) was the preferred material combination. The optical monitoring system allowed the production of bandpass filters with a performance close to that of the theoretical values.

Thermal evaporation is commonly used for the production of optical coatings. The well-known thermal evaporation is the most frequently used process for the production of optical coatings. The low packing density of thermally evaporated films implies optical constants and mechanical properties which are inferior to those of the bulk materials. In this paper a range of ion based coating technologies, such as ion-assisted deposition (IAD), ion plating (IP), arc discharge evaporation, and plasma IAD are described. For the investigations of the plasma-IAD process, we used a newly developed advanced plasma source (APS) with special features. The properties of dielectric layers deposited with plasma IAD will be presented in comparison to conventional thermally evaporated films. In particular, the results of scratch resistant layers in combination with antireflection coatings on organic substrates will be shown.

The performance of a box coater with double rotating substrate holders in combination with direct optical monitoring was investigated. The reproducibility and uniformity results of a multilayer system with tight specifications will be presented.