Photochemical Deposition of Transparent Low Refractive Index SiO2 Topcoat for Laser Head at Room Temperature

Abstract

ABSTRACTA transparent, low refractive index SiO 2 film was photo-chemically laminated on a glass slab laser head by the Xe2* excimer lamp in the atmosphere of NF3 and O2 mixed gas at room temperature; which made it possible to inhibit the decrease in the laser output power caused by the evanescent wave leakage.The transparent SiO2 film of 260nm thickness was laminated on the non-heated substrate by the lamp irradiation for one hour. The hardness of the film before annealing was 3 by Mohs’ Scale of Hardness, and its hardness improved to 5 after annealing at 250 degrees centigrade for one hour. The refractive index of the film was 1.42, being lower than the index of silica glass that is 1.46. Furthermore, the transmittance in the visible region increased by 2% with it s antireflection coating.