Preparation and characterization of coatings with a high reflectivity on planar substrates and inside silica tubes

摘要

The paper presents results on preparation and characterization of highly reflective coatings on planar substrates and inside silica tubes. Coatings are designed for a maximum reflectivity at a wavelength of 550 nm and consist of several pairs of oxide layers. Each pair is composed of one layer with a high refractive index and one layer with a low refractive index with a refractive-index contrast of about 1.1. The layers were prepared by the sol-gel method. High-index layers were applied from a sol based on titanium butoxide while a sol of tetramethoxysilane was use for low-index layers. The sols were deposited onto silica slides or onto walls of silica tubes by using the dip-coating technique. Applied gel layers were thermally treated at temperatures up to 450 ℃ in order to obtain densified layers with thicknesses 50-100 nm. Coatings with one to five pairs of layers were fabricated. Prepared coatings were characterized by transmission and reflection spectrometry in a wavelength range from 190 to-1100 nm, by contact profilometry, and by spectral ellipsometry. Thicknesses and refractive indices of coatings were determined from these measurements. For normal light incidence a reflectivity higher than 99% in a wavelength range of 500-650 nm was measured by transmission spectrometry on coatings prepared from four or five pairs of layers. Similar reflectivity values were determined for angles of incidence of 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees by using reflection spectrometry. Transmission spectra measured on the coated tubes which show interference bands are also presented in the paper.