Plasma-assisted deposition of metal fluoride coatings and modeling the extinction coefficient of as-deposited single layers.

We realized metal fluoride coatings with a high packing density and a low extinction coefficient by plasma (ion)-assisted deposition. The densification can be performed by different types of plasma sources, e.g., by a Leybold LION source and a Leybold APSpro, respectively. But the as-deposited coatings show a characteristic absorption behavior, whereas the absorption losses can be reduced in a postdeposition UV treatment step. We show experimental results of the plasma-assisted metal fluorides before and after the UV treatment and present a new model that allows us to describe and calculate the characteristic absorption losses of LaF3, MgF2, and AlF3.