Analyzing the mechanisms of ion beam assisted chemical vapor deposition

Using an ion beam as a plasma source for chemical vapor deposition shows promise in coating large surface areas with a single run. Shelemin et al. investigated the chemical and physical reactions during an ion beam-assisted chemical vapor deposition, or IBA-CVD, of hybrid optical coatings.

These organic-inorganic coatings are of special interest in the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses and other optic components. The soft polymeric lens substrate, in combination with the hard mineral layers of the typical antireflective coating, results in a difference in mechanical properties and thermal expansion coefficients.

The lenses may exhibit cracks, delamination, and deterioration of optical performance resulting from the mismatch. A hybrid coating mitigates these issues. The authors believe their work makes a two-fold impact by addressing practical applications and by increasing comprehension of the process itself.

“The work on understanding the mechanisms within the IBA-CVD process advances the area of plasma physics and plasma processing of materials,” said author Artem Shelemin.

This investigation was the first of a series of works centered on the IBA-CVD process.

“There are still further questions that we believe should be answered in relation to the gas phase interactions,” said author Ludvik Martinu. “The individual role of electrons, ions, and energetic neutrals in the gas phase processes, energetic and kinetic aspects of the film growth on different substrates, and understanding of the reactions and process pathways when other, possibly more complex, precursor molecules are used.”

Source: “Ion beam assisted chemical vapor deposition of hybrid coatings – Process diagnostics and mechanisms,” by Artem Shelemin, Oleg Zabeida, Jolanta-Ewa Klemberg-Sapieha, and Ludvik Martinu, Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology: A (2021). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1116/6.0001291 .

This paper is part of the Functional Coatings collection. Learn more about the collection here .