Optical, structural, and mechanical properties of silicon oxynitride films prepared by pulsed magnetron sputtering.

Silicon oxynitride films were deposited by reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering. The optical, structural, and mechanical properties of silicon oxynitride films with different nitrogen proportions were analyzed via spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Twyman-Green interferometer, and nanoindentation. The refractive indices of the silicon oxynitride films were adjusted from 1.487 to 1.956 with the increase in nitrogen proportions. The surface roughness decreased from 1.33 to 0.97 nm with the increase in nitrogen proportions. The residual stress of the silicon oxynitride films was higher than for pure silicon nitride and silicon dioxide films. The hardness and Young's modulus increased from 13.51 to 19.74 GPa and 110.41 to 140.49 GPa with the increase in nitrogen proportions, respectively. The hardness and Young's modulus of antireflection coatings using silicon oxynitride film were 13.64 GPa and 102.11 GPa, respectively. Silicon oxynitride film could be used to improve the hardness of antireflective coatings.

Optical properties and residual stress in Nb-Si composite films prepared by magnetron cosputtering.

This paper investigates Nb-Si metal composite films with various proportions of niobium in comparison to pure Nb films. Films were prepared by two-target RF-DC magnetron cosputtering deposition. The optical properties and residual stress were analyzed. A composition of Nb(0.74)Si(0.26) was chosen toward the design and fabrication of solar absorbing coatings having a high absorption in a broad wavelength range, a low residual stress, and suitable optical constants. The layer thicknesses and absorption characteristics of the Nb-Si composite films adhere more closely to the design than other coatings made of dielectric film materials.

Optical constants of electrochromic films and contrast ratio of reflective electrochromic devices.

This study investigates the optical constants of WO3 electrochromic films and NiO ion-storage films in bleached and colored states and that of a Ta2O5 film used as an ion conductor. These thin films were all prepared by electron-beam evaporation and characterized using a spectroscopic ellipsometer. The spectra obtained using a spectrophotometer and those calculated from the optical constants agreed closely. An all-solid thin-film reflective electrochromic device was fabricated and discussed. Its mean contrast ratio of reflectance in the range of 400-700 nm was 37.91.

Optical properties and residual stress in aluminum nitride films prepared by alternating-current dual reactive magnetron sputtering.

Aluminum nitride films were deposited by alternating-current dual reactive magnetron sputtering. The influence of different nitrogen flow and working pressures at a sputtering power of 5 kW on the refractive index, extinction coefficient, crystalline structure, residual stress, and surface roughness of aluminum nitride films was discussed. The aluminum nitride film would have high refractive index, low extinction coefficient and small residual stress at suitable nitrogen flow rate and low working pressure.

Effect of thermal annealing on the optical properties and residual stress of graded-index-like films deposited by radio-frequency ion-beam sputtering.

Composite films of Ta-Si oxide and graded-index-like films have been realized by using radio-frequency ion-beam sputtering. The influence of thermal annealing on the optical properties and residual stress of single-layer composite films and graded-index-like films has been studied. The residual stress and optical properties of both types of films were more stable than that of the notch filters fabricated from a series of discrete quarter-wave layers made by alternatively stacking high and low index materials after annealing.

Enhancement of adhesion between antireflection coating and cellulose triacetate by surface pretreatment using argon-helium plasma.

The adhesion of optical thin films on cellulose triacetate (TAC) was enhanced with surface pretreatment by argon-helium plasma. The optical properties, water contact angle, surface morphology, and thin film adhesion of TAC substrate that had been treated with different plasma gases were also investigated. An antireflection coating adhered well to TAC with an appropriate interface layer.

Residual stress in Ta2O5-SiO2 composite thin-film rugate filters prepared by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering.

Ta-Si oxide composite thin-film rugate filters were prepared by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering and their residual stress and substrate deflections were measured. The residual stress and substrate deflection of these composite film rugate filters were less than that of notch filters made from a series of discrete quarter-wave layers with alternate high and low indices because of the smooth modulation of composition and no interface structure of the rugate filter.

Measurement of stress in aluminum film coated on a flexible substrate by the shadow moiré method.

This investigation proposes the use of the shadow moiré method (SMM) to measure stress in a thin film that is coated on a flexible substrate. The technique defines the profile of the sample by contour lines without the application of an external force, and the radius of curvature is calculated from these contour lines. The SMM is insensitive to environmental noise and has the same advantages as the interference method, such as being nondestructive and easy to use. For Al film with a thickness of 120 nm coated on a polyimide substrate by a DC magnetron sputtering system (800 W, room temperature), the stress is 0.45 +/- 0.042 GPa.

Residual stress in obliquely deposited MgF2 thin films.

MgF(2) films with a columnar microstructure are obliquely deposited on glass substrates by resistive heating evaporation. The columnar angles of the films increases with the deposition angle. Anisotropic stress does not develop in the films with tilted columns. The residual stresses in the films depend on the deposition and columnar angles in a columnar microstructure.

TiO2--Ta2O5 composite thin films deposited by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering.

TiO2--Ta2O5 composite films were prepared by a radio frequency ion-beam sputtering deposition process, and the refractive indices and extinction coefficients of the composite films were found to be between those of the TiO2 and Ta2O5 films. The structure of the as-deposited films was amorphous, and the surface roughness was approximately 0.1 nm. The residual stress of the composite films was less than that of pure TiO2 film. The structure of the composite films after annealing was amorphous, with low surface roughness and slightly increased residual stress. The film containing 6.3% TiO2 displayed better properties than either the pure TiO2 or the pure Ta2O5 film.

Rugate filter made with composite thin films by ion-beam sputtering.

Composite films of Ta-Si oxide with refractive indices that varied from 1.48 to 2.15 were realized by using rf ion-beam sputtering. All the composite films were amorphous and had a surface roughness of less than 0.3 nm. The inhomogeneity of the composite was discussed, and a rugate filter was designed and fabricated by automatic computer control.