The Influencing Factors for the Thickness of Silica Sol-Gel Film by the Dip Coating Process

Abstract

The porous sol-gel silica thin films were prepared on silicon substrate by the dip coating process. The surface roughness and microstructure of the film was measured by optical microscopy and AFM .Coating thickness and refractive index were measured by ellipsometry method. Influence of withdrawal speed and concentration of colloid was investigated for the thickness of silica. The relation of the thickness and withdrawal speed was fitted by the linear and power functions, and the results were analyzed and compared. It was found that the films with the same thickness prepared by different concentrations of colloid have different refractive indexes. The experimental results indicated that the thickness and refractive index of the film can be controlled by changing the withdrawal speed and colloid concentration.