The structural, optical and morphological properties of CaF2 thin films by using Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA)

Abstract

In this study, calcium fluoride (CaF2) thin films have been prepared by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) technique on glass substrates. In this technique CaF2 thin films are produced by condensing the plasma of anode material generated in the WA setup under high vacuum conditions on glass substrates. Crystal structures as well as optical and surface properties of CaF2 antireflective (AR) coated thin films were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that amorphous CaF2 thin films were formed. Optical and surface properties of CaF2 films have been studied based on optical transmittance, reflectance, refractive index and atomic force microscopy imaging (AFM). Our results also show that CaF2 coated samples exhibit lower reflectance (R). From our optical studies, we have observed that CaF2 thin films have high AR properties. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.