Low Stress, Densified Fluorides for IR Applications
Recent application work with infrared fluorides has demonstrated a significant advantage for IR applications. Using patented pulsing technology, the Telemark/Saintech ion sources have produced fully densified, index stable and stress control of fluoride compounds. These film properties can be achieved by deposition to unheated substrates. The study was performed in the Telemark applications lab and results were presented recently at the OIC conference in Whistler, Canada. Removal of inherent water peaks, index stabilization and fluoride dissociation has been a challenge during ion assist processing of YbF3, MgF2 and other fluoride compounds. Use of traditional end hall sources has often dissociated the fluorides from the compounds resulting in high stress, unstable index and trapped argon in the films. Ion bombardment of these compounds during growth using the patented “pulsing method” has made these materials available for IR and UV applications. Replacement of ThF4 as a low index material has been a goal of the IR community for years. Advantages for UV applications include excellent transparency well into the UV region.
Please contact Telemark at sales@telemark.com to find out how Telemark Low Pressure, Pulsing Ion Sources can benefit your IR and UV applications.
