Ion assisted deposition (IAD) is a well known technique to improve the properties of thermally evaporated thin films. A wide range of materials and completed layer systems have already been investigated. Because of the low total ion current and the small beam size of the commercial available ion sources, the useful substrate area is strongly limited. With a newly developed advanced plasma source (APS) we have overcome these problems. A total ion current of up to 5 A with excellent uniformity over a large area substrate holder (approximately equals 1 m²) has been achieved. The plasma source is installed in conventional box coating system. Besides plasma-IAD the APS is also useful for plasma-CVD processes like plasma polymerization. The principle of operation of the plasma assisted processes with the APS is described. Results of dielectric materials and completed layer systems like shift free edge filters and AR-coatings are presented. In particular, in case of organic substrate materials, the advantages of the APS are outstanding. Scratch resistant layers in combination with AR- coatings and hydrophobic surface layers onto organic substrates are successfully introduced in production.

Date Published: 4 November 1994
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 2253, Optical Interference Coatings, (4 November 1994);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2253:
Optical Interference Coatings
Florin Abeles, Editor(s)