Enabling rotary atomic layer deposition for optical applications

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been proven as an excellent method for depositing high-quality optical coatings due to its outstanding film quality and precise process control. Unfortunately, batch ALD requires time-consuming purge steps, which leads to low deposition rates and highly time-intensive processes for complex multilayer coatings. Recently, rotary ALD has been proposed for optical applications. In this, to the best of our knowledge, novel concept, each process step takes place in a separate part of the reactor divided by pressure and nitrogen curtains. To be coated, substrates are rotated through these zones. During each rotation, an ALD cycle is completed, and the deposition rate depends primarily on the rotation speed. In this work, the performance of a novel rotary ALD coating tool for optical applications is investigated and characterized with S i O ₂ and T a ₂ O ₅ layers. Low absorption levels of <3.1p p m and <6.0p p m are demonstrated at 1064 nm for around 186.2 nm thick single layers of T a ₂ O ₅ and 1032 nm S i O ₂, respectively. Growth rates up to 0.18 nm/s on fused silica substrates were achieved. Furthermore, excellent non-uniformity is also demonstrated, with values reaching as low as ±0.53% and ±1.07% over an area of 135×60m m for T a ₂ O ₅ and S i O ₂, respectively.