METHOD AND STRUCTURE OF OPTICAL THIN FILM USING CRYSTALLIZED NANO-POROUS MATERIAL

• US 20130170044A1
• Filed: 01/04/2013
• Published: 07/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Raydex Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Raydex Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Mont, Frank W., Xi, JIngqun
• Application Number:
  US13/734,469
• Publication Number:
  US 20130170044A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 359/580
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/10 Optical coatings produced by application to, or surface treatment of, optical elements G02B1/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2207/107 Porous materials, e.g. for reducing the refractive index
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/0221 the surface having an irregular structure G02B5/0226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/70 Nanostructure

Abstract

Techniques for an optical filter having robust crystallized nano-porous layers are disclosed herein. According to at least one embodiment, the optical filter includes a light-transmitting substrate and an optical coating. The optical coating is deposited on the light-transmitting substrate. The optical coating includes at least one crystallized nano-feature layer. The at least one crystallized nano-feature layer is deposited using high temperature oblique angle deposition and has a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the light-transmitting substrate.

Claims

6-1. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the optical coating includes a plurality of thin film layers, the plurality of thin film layers includes the at least one crystallized nano-feature layer;

and

wherein each thin film layer of the plurality of thin film layers has a refractive index, and the refractive indices of the plurality of thin film layers decreases with a distance between the light-transmitting substrate and corresponding thin film increases.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a light-transmitting substrate; and

an optical coating deposited on top of the light-transmitting substrate, the optical coating including a plurality of pairs of alternating thin film layers;

wherein at least one thin film layer of each pair of alternating thin film layers is a crystallized nano-feature layer deposited using high temperature oblique angle deposition; and

wherein each pair of alternating thin film layers has two thin film layers that have different refractive indices.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each pair of alternating thin film layers includes a crystallized nano-feature layer and a dense thin film.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each pair of alternating thin film layers includes two crystallized nano-feature layers that have two different porosities.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each pair of alternating thin film layers includes two crystallized nano-feature layers, one of the two crystallized nano-feature layers includes a material that is different from another material of the other layer.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each pair of alternating thin film layers includes a crystallized nano-feature layer and a non-crystallized nano-feature layer.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a light-transmitting substrate; and

an optical coating deposited on the light-transmitting substrate, the optical coating including a crystallized nano-feature layer;

wherein the crystallized nano-feature layer is deposited by a process including;

generating a material flux by a deposition system having a nominal flux direction toward a substrate, wherein a tilt angle between the nominal flux direction and a plane normal vector of the substrate is substantially larger than zero,

depositing material on the substrate by the material flux to grow nano-porous features, and

heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature such that the nano-porous features at least partially crystallize on the substrate.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the heating comprises:

heating the substrate to a predetermined temperature such that the nano-porous features crystallize on the substrate.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the generating, depositing, and heating are conducted simultaneously.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the process further includes:

rotating the substrate.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the material flux includes SiO2, SiO, TiO2, MgF2, Al2O3, BaF2, CaF2, Si, Si3N4, GaN, AlN, InN, AlGaN, GaInN, ITO, SnO2, In2O3, TiNbO, ZnO, ZrO2, Ge, GaAs, AlAs, AlGaAs, ZnSe, PMMA, or acrylic glass.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the deposition system is a thermal evaporation system, an electron-beam evaporation system, sputtering system, or a pulsed laser deposition system.