Influence of coating technology and thermal annealing on the optical performance of AR coatings in iodine-filled absorption cells.

ABSTRACT

In this contribution, we investigate the properties of antireflective coatings on iodine-filled absorption cell windows. These coatings are subject to high temperatures during the cell production process and are in direct contact with the absorption medium, which influences their optical performance. We tested the thermal resistance of TiO2- and Ta2O5- based coatings produced using conventional electron beam evaporation (e-beam) and ion-assisted deposition (PIAD). We prepared a set of iodine-filled absorption cells that were used to test the coatings' resistance to iodine vapors. We show that the choice of coating materials, coating methods, and a well-chosen bakeout procedure can mitigate any unwanted effects, such as temperature-induced spectral shifts and optical losses inhomogeneities or settling of the absorption medium in the coating.