We describe a new coating method `laminar flow coating' (LFC) technique developed to obtain highly reflective (HR) laser damage resistant sol-gel multidielectric coatings. Such coatings are used in high-power lasers for inertial confinement fusion experiments (ICF). This technique uses substrates in an upside-down position and a travelling wave of coating solution is laminary transported under the substrate surface with a tubular dispense unit. This creates a thin-film coating by the solvent evaporation. Satisfactory results have been obtained onto 20 cm square glass substrates regarding the optical performances, the thickness uniformity, the edge-effects and the laser damage resistance. This deposition technique combines the advantages of both classical techniques: the substrate non-exclusive geometry such as in dip- coating and the small solution consumption such as in spin-coating. The association of sol-gel colloidal suspensions and LFC coating process has been demonstrated as a promising way to produce cheap specific optical coatings.

Date Published: 24 June 1993
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 1848, 24th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium Proceedings -- Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1992, (24 June 1993); doi: 10.1117/12.147406

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1848:
24th Annual Boulder Damage Symposium Proceedings -- Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials: 1992
Harold E. Bennett; Lloyd L. Chase; Arthur H. Guenther; Brian Emerson Newnam; M. J. Soileau, Editor(s)