Reactive ion plating of optical films

Abstract

High quality dielectric films are required today for many interference optical applications and for planar wave guides in integrated optics. Many inorganic compounds, which are difficult to deposit by conventional techniques in form of well-adherent, dense, hard and stable low-loss films, are now routinely synthesized by reactive gas discharge plasma processes. A survey over such PVD coating technologies, particularly reactive ion plating, and on the resulting film properties is given in this paper.