Customized Ion Beam Sputtering Coating

Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) is a repeatable coating method that deposits a dense coating on the substrate's surface with low surface roughness and great thermal stability. Complex spectroscopic applications, such as high reflectivity mirrors and ultrafast mirrors, are well suited to IBS technology. Alfa Chemistry can help you customize IBS thin film coatings to your specifications. We utilize IBS deposited optical film coatings to support your various optical applications.

Applications and Benefits of Ion Beam Sputtering Coating

IBS technique has a number of benefits over conventional coating processes, including the ability to precisely regulate the thickness of the dense coating because the coating material is deposited directly onto the substrate by a collimated and mono-energetic ion source. In addition, it enables individual control of ion current density, ion energy, incidence angle control parameters, etc. The IBS technique creates coatings with a dense microstructure, minimal surface roughness, thermal stability, and low thermal displacement.

IBS coatings have been employed in medical, high-power laser, and LIDAR applications. Alfa Chemistry can deposit IBS coatings on a variety of substrates.

• IBS coatings are ideal for laser optical applications because of their high density and low loss features. The laser damage threshold is determined by the substrate type and quality.
• IBS coatings are useful for a range of medical applications, including the creation of broadband dielectric mirrors for medical imaging applications, due to their good environmental stability and low loss qualities.
• IBS coatings are the preferred choice for filters and mirrors in light detection and ranging systems due to their high accuracy.

Alfa Chemistry Customized Optical Coating

Alfa Chemistry uses IBS techniques to construct a variety of coatings and is dedicated to offering customers with the most comprehensive selection of high-precision IBS coating solutions.

• Phase extinction is being used in anti-reflection coatings to diminish Fresnel reflections caused by light traveling through two mediums with different indices of refraction.
• The longer wavelength portion is blocked by short-pass filter coatings, while the shorter wavelength region is allowed to pass.
• The shorter wavelength portion is rejected or blocked by long-pass filter coatings, while the longer wavelength region is allowed to pass through.
• Phase length interference is used in dielectric mirror coatings to achieve reflectivity in a certain wavelength range. Narrowband, broadband, and multiband applications can all benefit from dielectric mirror coatings.
• Dichroic filters are used to distinguish between two distinct wavelength areas.
• Over a certain range of wavelength, dielectric beam splitter coatings are designed to partially reflect and transmit light at a specific ratio.
• Longer and shorter wavelengths are blocked by bandpass filter coatings, which pass through a variety of wavelengths.

Fig 1. (a) Schematic diagram of ion-beam sputtering setup; (b) Schematic layout of damage test system. (Kong P. F, et al. 2019)

Reference

• Kong P. F, et al. (2019). "Relationship between Oxygen Defects and Properties of Scandium Oxide Films Prepared by Ion-Beam Sputtering." Coatings. 9(8): 517.