Recent advances in reactive low-voltage ion-plating deposition

Abstract

Because of the improvement of several thin film properties and the relative ease of transference into a production environment, reactive low voltage ion plating (RLVIP) has found its way into industry at several optics and thin film manufacturers. In this review of recent accomplishments achieved with this process at our laboratory as well as at other institutions we will first recall the underlying principles of operation and some of the improved properties typical of thin films made by RLVIP. Then follow examples of applications exploiting these significant improvements, including coatings for surface smoothing, antireflection coatings for the 2 - 5 pm wavelengths range, non-shifting edge filters and thin film polarizers, narrow band reflectors (laser protection filters), and laser mirrors. The paper concludes with a brief account of the advantages - and disadvantages - of this process compared with conventional electron beam evaporation and deposition processes employing a directed ion beam.