Plasma ion-assisted deposition: A promising technique for optical coatings

Abstract

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.

Low-energy ion-assisted control of interfacial structures in metallic multilayers

“…Examples include highpressure RF diode and magnetron sputtering techniques [44][45][46][47]. These methods utilize a negative bias voltage applied to the substrate to attract ions from plasma to the growth surface.…”

Hybrid antireflective coating with plasma-etched nanostructure

“…The organic material 2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine (melamine) and silica were deposited in a plasma-ion assisted deposition (plasma-IAD) chamber APS904 (Leybold-Optics) [20]. Melamine was evaporated thermally by a filament from a boat.…”

Comparative study of ultraviolet-infrared cutoff filters prepared by reactive electron-beam deposition and reactive ion-assisted deposition

“…However, EBD SiO 2 films are very porous even when high substrate temperatures are used during deposition. 5,6 Also, EBD TiO 2 films show absorption losses due to thermal dissociation. 7,8 To gain oxide films of good stoichiometry, a constant high oxygen partial pressure and high substrate temperatures in the presence of a constant low deposition rate are needed.…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8] The use of an additional ion gun to produce the energetic ion flux allows operation at a lower pressure and thus is compatible with the EBD process. The energetic ion flux and accelerating potential can be controlled independently.…”

“…1,2 SiO 2 and TiO 2 thin films have been prepared by several techniques. [3][4][5][6][7][8] One of the widely used techniques is electron-beam deposition ͑EBD͒ because of its stability and controllability and its ability to provide a high deposition rate, uniform coverage, and a clean environment. However, EBD SiO 2 films are very porous even when high substrate temperatures are used during deposition.…”