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ANTIREFLECTION

Anti reflection (AR) coatings are essential in the optical and ophthalmic industries. They usually consist of low-high refractive index multilayers, such as SiO2 -ZrO2 or SiO2-TiO2. Older evaporation technologies have been used for many years to deposit these layers. But the thickness precision determines the effectiveness of the AR. Thickness variation in conventional evaporation us usually around 10-15% (taking into account both non-uniformity across substrates and run to run reproducibility). With film thicknesses of around 100 nm each, that can amount to 15 nm. This greatly reduces Anti Reflection. In addition, evaporation is a line of sight technology and substrates have to be placed in a carrousel high above the evaporative source. In contrast, ALD provides 1% reproducibility and uniformity across a large batch of stacked substrates enhancing Anti Reflection and reducing cost. In addition, both sides of components can be coated at the same time.

ALD is suitable for many applications in Semiconductors and nanoelectronics including Gate Dielectrics, Gate Electrodes, Diffusion Barriers, and DRAM | Dynamic Random Access Memory. In the optical fields, ALD can be applied to Optical Dielectric Multilayer Structures / Filters, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), Photonic Crystals and static Photonic Band Tuning, Transparent Conductors and Transparent Conducting Electrodes, TFEL or Thin Film Electroluminesence, Solar Cells, OLED Humidity Barrier, Precision Optics Coatings and Photonic Crystal Structures and Lasers. ALD is also applied to MEMS (micro electromechanical systems and Hydrophic & Anti-Stiction Layers in MEMS Devices. There are also applications of ALD in wear resistence, in coatings for blade edges and Nanocomposite Tungsten Disulphide solid lubricants. ALD is also used in nanostructures such as nanotubes & nanowires, and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) tips. Other common applications of ALD are Catalysis & Catalyst Supports, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrodes, Nano Glue, Biocompatible Coatings for medical instruments Ferromagnetic Transition Metals & Nanotubes and Internal Tube Liners and Inert Inner Linings.