Optical and structural properties of YF 3 thin films prepared by ion-assisted deposition or ion beam sputtering techniques

Abstract

The properties of materials in thin films are strongly dependent on the coating techniques and on the technological parameters. We have investigated about some optical and structural properties of YF3 thin films prepared using different energetic techniques: ion assisted deposition (IAD) and ion beam sputtering (IBS). The properties of the thin films obtained by these energetic processes are compared to the properties obtained by classical electron beam evaporation. In classical evaporation, the optical properties in the visible range depend on the temperature of the deposition and on the incidence of the vapor flux. The optical properties are correlated with the density of the films measured by Rutherford backscattering. In the case of IAD, the influence on optical properties, both in the visible and in the infrared range, of some technological parameters (pressure, ion energy and ion density) are illustrated. The refractive index and the extinction coefficient have been obtained by spectrophotometry. Furthermore, we show that IBS may lead to YF3 layers of high density.