Abstract

The benefits of Ion-Assisted Deposition (IAD) have been well described in the literature for more than a decade. Energetic processes such as IAD, sputtering, and Reactive Ion Plating (RIP) have become much more widely applied to optical thin film production. The rate at which many materials can be deposited with the benefits of IAD is limited by the ion power available. If more ion density could be provided, the rates, and therefore production, could be increased. The electron volts of the ions also needs to be below the level which would damage the coatings. This value appears to be 200-300eV for TiO₂ and probably other metal oxides, although materials such as SiO₂ appear to tolerate higher voltages in the range of 600eV. Therefore, we might desire as high an ion current as possible at less than 300eV. Several commercially available ion sources have been tested by the author for such applications. The experiences and observations of these sources is the topic of this paper.

© 1995 Optical Society of America