Have a unique sample/batch you want to have coated? A small series of custom coating runs? Look no further! We can offer you a coating service for the specific need you have in mind and, together with you, can find the best possible solution for your future needs as well.
Currently available:
Reactive Ion Beam Sputtering used in Optical Coating Deposition.
Currently, we have following coating resources readily at hand to help you out:
Reactive Ion Beam Sputtering
IBS NAVIGATOR 700 (Cutting Edge Coatings GmbH) is an optical coater designed for automatic coating of planar glass substrates. The system utilizes broadband optical monitoring (BBM) through monitoring glass or layers can be deposited using time control. The main deposition method is reactive sputtering of metallic targets in O2 atmosphere (~4E-4mbar). The system is also equipped with a secondary ion source for ion assisted deposition and sample cleaning/preparation.
The system is mainly reserved for transparent coating materials (i.e. no metal deposition), as the possibility of cross-contamination and increased losses in coatings are to be kept in minimum.
Coating Materials: SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Ta2O5, SiNx, AlNx, (TiNx, TaNx) Assist source gases: H2, O2, N2, Ar
Typical substrates: Fused silica, Quartz, BK7, Si, GaAs, LBO, Nd:YAG, Sapphire
Typical coatings: Laser mirrors on lenses, Anti-reflection (AR) coatings, High-reflection (HR) mirrors, Laser diode coatings (AR/HR), Passband/Stopband filters, Polarizing coatings
Electron Beam Evaporation of Dielectrics
The dielectric evaporator at TAU is a custom-made electron beam evaporator that uses Telemark’s electron source and Intellemetrics’ quartz monitoring for depositing thin film materials. System includes O2 inlet for reactive backing pressure and halogen lamps for sample heating (~< 250 °C). The thin film deposition is controlled manually by the operator.
The system is mainly used for depositing oxides and other transparent materials (dielectrics), but there isn’t that strict list of unallowed materials. The main limitation for depositing materials not currently listed below, is the rather high base pressure (~1E-5 mbar) that rules out i.e. most metallic materials. The manual nature of the system also prevents more complicated designs.
Coating Materials: SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Ta2O5, SiO, MgF2, (Si, Bi2O3, ZrO2) Reactive backing gas: O2
Typical substrates: Fused silica, Quartz, BK7, Si, GaAs Typical coatings: Single-layer films, Anti-reflection (AR) coatings, Material tests
Electron Beam Evaporation of Metals
The metal evaporator is in practice the sibling of the dielectric coater mentioned above and is used for electron beam evaporation of various metals. It is equipped with two different sample holder systems: one stationary with angle adjustment and a second with continuous rotation and angle adjustment. The sample area is limited and the system is also manually operated, so we mainly do metallization only in special cases, where dielectrics don’t provide any suitable option.
Coating Materials: Au, Ti, Pt, Ni, Ge, Cr, (Ag, Al)
Typical substrates: Fused silica, Quartz, BK7, Si, GaAs Typical coatings: Metal contacts, Metallic mirrors, Material tests
Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition
TAU hosts two Plasmalab 80+ Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition systems (PECVDs) (Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology) that are used for thin film growths and plasma treatments. Normal process temperature is 300 °C and the operatable range is from room temperature to 350 °C. The systems are dedicated for SiNx and SiO2 growths, respectively. Both systems are capable of depositing both materials and materials can also be used intermixed if necessary.
The systems don’t have separate load locks and loading the samples takes place on the heated process table in atmosphere. Pump down cycles to base pressure are relatively fast (~ 2 min) and the growth rates are 0.3-1.2 nm/s, enabling fast growth of several hundred nanometers thick layers. Film growth is controlled with setting time, so there is no active thickness monitoring involved.
Coating Materials: SiO2, SiNx, SiOxNx Process gases: N2, N2:SiH4 2%, N2O, NH3
Typical substrates: Fused silica, Quartz, BK7, Si, GaAs Typical coatings: Single-layer films, Hard masks, Anti-reflection (AR) coatings, Passivation layers, Insulating layers
Other
We are also constantly developing our capabilities, so even if your favored method is not mentioned here, feel free to ask how we could be of service. We’ll gladly guide you to the right service provider, in case we are not the one you’re looking for.
