Effect of SiO2 protective layer on the femtosecond laser-induced damage of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer high-reflective coatings

Two kinds of HfO2/SiO2 800 nm high-reflective (HR) coatings, with and without SiO2 protective layer were deposited by electron beam evaporation. Laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDT) were measured for all samples with femtosecond laser pulses. The surface morphologies and the depth information of all samples were observed by Leica optical microscopy and WYKO surface profiler, respectively. It is found that SiO2 protective layer had no positive effect on improving the LIDT of HR coating. A simple model including the conduction band electron production via multiphoton ionization and impact ionization is used to explain this phenomenon. Theoretical calculations show that the damage occurs first in the SiO2 protective layer for HfO2/SiO2 HR coating with SiO2 protective layer. The relation of LIDT for two kinds of HfO2/SiO2 HR coatings in calculation agrees with the experiment result. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influences of oxygen partial pressure on structure and related properties of ZrO2 thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation deposition

ZrO2 thin films were prepared by electron beam evaporation at different oxygen partial pressures. The influences of oxygen partial pressure on structure and related properties of ZrO2 thin films were studied. Transmittance, thermal absorption, structure and residual stress of ZrO2 thin films were measured by spectrophotometer, surface thermal lensing technique (STL), X-ray diffraction and optical interferometer, respectively. The results showed that the structure and related properties varied progressively with the increase of oxygen partial pressure. The refractive indices and the packing densities of the thin films decreased when the oxygen partial pressure increased. The tetragonal phase fraction in the thin films decreased gradually as oxygen partial pressure increased. The residual stress of film deposited at base pressure was high compressive stress, the value decreased with the increase of oxygen partial pressure, and the residual stress became tensile with the further increase of oxygen pressure, which was corresponding to the evolution of packing densities and variation of interplanar distances. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Laser-induced damage of Ti O2 Si O2 high reflector at 1064 nm

A high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) TiO2/SiO2 high reflector (HR) at 1064 nm is deposited by e-beam evaporation. The HR is characterized by optical properties, surface, and cross section structure. LIDT is tested at 1064 nm with a 12 ns laser pulse in the one-on-one mode. Raman technique and scanning electron Microscope are used to analyze the laser-induced modification of HR. The possible damage mechanism is discussed. It is found that the LIDT of HR is influenced by the nanometer precursor in the surface, the intrinsic absorption of film material, the compactness of the cross section and surface structure, and the homogeneity of TiO2 layer. Three typical damage morphologies such as flat-bottom pit, delamination, and plasma scald determine well the nanometer defect initiation mechanism. The laser-induced crystallization consists well with the thermal damage nature of HR. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.

Al2O3/SiO2 films prepared by electron-beam evaporation as UV antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC

Al2O3/SiO2 films have been deposited as UV antireflection coatings on 4H-SiC by electron-beam evaporation and characterized by reflection spectrum, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The reflectance of the Al2O3/SiO2 films is 0.33% and 10 times lower than that of a thermally grown SiO2 single layer at 276 nm. The films are amorphous in microstructure and characterize good adhesion to 4H-SiC substrate. XPS results indicate an abrupt interface between evaporated SiO2 and 4H-SiC substrate free of Si-suboxides. These results make the possibility for 4H-SiC based high performance UV optoelectronic devices with Al2O3/SiO2 films as antireflection coatings. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 thin films deposited by electron-beam evaporation: Optical properties, structure and residual stresses

This paper describes the preparation and the characterization Of Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 thin films produced by electric-beam evaporation method. The optical properties, microstructure, surface morphology and the residual stress of the deposited films were investigated by optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning probe microscope and optical interferometer. It is shown that the optical transmission spectra of all the YSZ thin films are similar with those of ZrO2 thin film, possessing high transparency in the visible and near-infrared regions. The refractive index of the samples decreases with increasing of Y2O3 content. The crystalline structure of pure ZrO2 films is a mixture of tetragonal phase and monoclinic phase, however, Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 thin films only exhibit the cubic phase independently of how much the added Y2O3 content is. The surface morphology spectrum indicates that all thin films present a crystalline columnar texture with columnar grains perpendicular to the substrate and with a predominantly open microporosity. The residual stress of films transforms tensile from compressive with the increasing Of Y2O3 molar content, which corresponds to the evolutions of the structure and packing densities. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High temperature annealing effect on structure, optical property and laser-induced damage threshold of Ta2O5 films

Ta2O5 films were deposited by conventional electron beam evaporation method and then annealed in air at different temperature from 873 to 1273 K. It was found that the film structure changed from amorphous phase to hexagonal phase when annealed at 1073 K, then transformed to orthorhombic phase after annealed at 1273 K. The transmittance was improved after annealed at 873 K, and it decreased as the annealing temperature increased further. The total integrated scattering (TIS) tests and AFM results showed that both scattering and root mean square (RMS) roughness of films increased with the annealing temperature increasing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the film obtained better stoichiometry and the O/Ta ratio increased to 2.50 after annealing. It was found that the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) increased to the maximum when annealed at 873 K, while it decreased when the annealing temperature increased further. Detailed damaged models dominated by different parameters during annealing were discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Impact of organic contamination on laser-induced damage threshold of high reflectance coatings in vacuum

The influence of organic contamination in vacuum on the laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) of coatings is studied. TiO2/SiO2 dielectric mirrors with high reflection at 1064 nm are deposited by the electron beam evaporation method. The LIDTs of mirrors are measured in vacuum and atmosphere, respectively. It is found that the contamination in vacuum is easily attracted to optical surfaces because of the low pressure and becomes the source of damage. LIDTs of mirrors have a little change in vacuum compared with in atmosphere when the organic contamination is wiped off. The results indicate that organic contamination is a significant reason to decrease the LIDT. N-2 molecules in vacuum can reduce the influence of the organic contaminations and prtectect high reflectance coatings. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of ZrO2 in HfO2 on reflectance of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer at 248 nm prepared by electron-beam evaporation

Influence of ZrO2 in HfO2 on the reflectance of HfO2/SiO2 multilayer at 248 nm was investigated. Two kinds of HfO2 with different ZrO2 content were chosen as high refractive index material and the same kind of SiO2 as low refractive index material to prepare the mirrors by electron-beam evaporation. The impurities in two kinds of HfO2 starting coating materials and in their corresponding single layer thin films were determined through glow discharge mass spectrum (GDMS) technology and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) equipment, respectively. It showed that between the two kinds of HfO2, either the bulk materials or their corresponding films, the difference of ZrO2 was much larger than that of the other impurities such as Ti and Fe. It is the Zr element that affects the property of thin films. Both in theoretical and in experimental, the mirror prepared with the HfO2 starting material containing more Zr content has a lower reflectance. Because the extinction coefficient of zirconia is relatively high in UV region, it can be treated as one kind of absorbing defects to influence the optical property of the mirrors. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of deposition rates on laser damage threshold of TiO2/SiO2 high reflectors

TiO2 single layers and TiO2/SiO2 high reflectors (HR) are prepared by electron beam evaporation at different TiO2 deposition rates. It is found that the changes of properties of TiO2 films with the increase of rate, such as the increase of refractive index and extinction coefficient and the decrease of physical thickness, lead to the spectrum shift and reflectivity bandwidth broadening of HR together with the increase of absorption and decrease of laser-induced damage threshold. The damages are found of different morphologies: a shallow pit to a seriously delaminated and deep crater, and the different amorphous-to-anatase-to-rutile phase transition processes detected by Raman study. The frequency shift of Raman vibration mode correlates with the strain in. film. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis reveals that impurities and non-stoichiometric defects are two absorption initiations resulting to the laser-induced transformation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Investigation on thermal stability of TiO2 films for application at high temperature

The thermal stability of electron beam deposited TiO2 monolayers and TiO2/SiO2 high reflectors (HR) during 300 to 1100 degrees C annealing is studied. It is found that the optical loss of film increases with the increase in annealing temperature, due to the phase change, crystallisation and deoxidising of film. Scattering loss dominates the optical property degradation of film below 900 degrees C, while the absorption is another factor at 1100 degrees C. The increase in refractive index and decrease in physical thickness of TiO2 layer shift the spectra of HR above 900 degrees C. The possible crack mechanism on the surface of HR during annealing is discussed. Guidance for application on high temperature stable optical coatings is given.

A solid-phase microextraction fiber coated with diglycidyloxycalix[4]arene yields very high extraction selectivity and sensitivity during the analysis of chlorobenzenes in soil

A novel fiber coated with novel sol-gel (5,11,17,23-tetra-tert-butyl-25,27-dihydroxy-26,28-diglycidyloxycalix[4]arene/hydroxy-terminated silicone oil; diglycidyloxy-C[4]/OH-TSO) was prepared for use with headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography (GC) and electron capture detection (ECD), which was applied in order to determine nine chlorobenzenes in soil matrices. Due to the improved fiber preparation, which increases the percentage of calixarene in the coating, the new calixarene fiber exhibits very high extraction selectivity and sensitivity to chlorine-substituted compounds. Various parameters affecting the extraction efficiency were optimized in order to maximize the sensitivity during the chlorobenzene analysis. Interferences from different soil matrices with different characteristics were investigated, and the amount extracted was strongly influenced by the matrix. Therefore, a standard addition protocol was performed on the real soil samples. The linear ranges of detection for the chlorobenzenes tested covered three orders of magnitude, and correlation coefficients > 0.9976 and relative standard deviations (RSD) < 8% were observed. The detection limits were found at sub-ng/g of soil levels, which were about an order of magnitude lower than those given by the commercial poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) coating for most of the compounds. The recoveries ranged from 64 to 109.6% for each analyte in the real kaleyard soil matrix when different concentration levels were determined over the linear range, which confirmed the reliability and feasibility of the HS-SPME/GC-ECD approach using the fiber coated with diglycidyloxy-C[4]/OH-TSO for the ultratrace analysis of chlorobenzenes in complex matrices.

Formation of high reflective Ni/Ag/Ti/Au contact on p-GaN

A metallization scheme of Ni/Ag/Ti/Au has been developed for obtaining high reflective contacts on p-type GaN. In order to find optimal conditions to get a high reflectivity, we studied samples with various Ni thicknesses, annealing temperatures and annealing times. By annealing at 500 degrees C for 5 min in an O-2 ambient, a reflectivity as high as 94% was obtained from Ni/Ag/Ti/Au (1/120/120/50 nm). The effects of Ti layers on the suppression of Ag agglomeration were investigated by using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). From AES depth profiles, it is clear that Ti acts as a diffusion barrier to prevent Au atoms from diffusing into the Ag layer, which is important in the formation of high reflectivity.

Smart universal multiple-valued logic gates by transferring single electrons

This paper proposes smart universal multiple-valued (MV) logic gates by transferring single electrons (SEs). The logic gates are based on MOSFET based SE turnstiles that can accurately transfer SEs with high speed at high temperature. The number of electrons transferred per cycle by the SE turnstile is a quantized function of its gate voltage, and this characteristic is fully exploited to compactly finish MV logic operations. First, we build arbitrary MV literal gates by using pairs of SE turnstiles. Then, we propose universal MV logic-to-value conversion gates and MV analog-digital conversion circuits. We propose a SPICE model to describe the behavior of the MOSFET based SE turnstile. We simulate the performances of the proposed gates. The MV logic gates have small number of transistors and low power dissipations.

Positive magnetoresistance in In0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As quantum well

Magnetotransport measurements have been carried out on In0.53Ga0.17As/In0.52Al0.48 As quantum wells in a temperature range between 1.5 and 77 K. We have observed a large positive magnetoresistance in the low magnetic field range, but saturating in high magnetic fields. The magnetoresistance results from two occupied subbands in the two-dimensional electron gas. With the intersubband scattering considered, we obtained the subband mobility by analyzing the positive magnetoresistance. It is found that the second subband mobility is larger than that of the first due to the existence of the intersubband scattering.

Design, fabrication and characterization of a high-performance microring resonator in silicon-on-insulator

A high-performance microring resonator in a silicon-on-insulator rib waveguide is realized by using the electron beam lithography followed by inductively coupled plasma etching. The design and the experimental realization of this device are presented in detail. In addition to improving relevant processes to minimize propagation loss, the coupling efficiency between the ring and the bus is carefully chosen to approach a critical coupling for high performance operating. We have measured a quality factor of 21,200 and an extinction ratio of 12.5dB at a resonant wavelength of 1549.32nm. Meanwhile, a low propagation loss of 0.89dB/mm in a curved waveguide with a bending radius of 40 mu m is demonstrated as well.