Deposition of MgF2 thin films for antireflection coating by using thermionic vacuum arc (TVA)

In this study, optical and surface properties of MgF2 thin films produced by thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) technique have been investigated. By means of this technique the MgF2 thin film produced by condensing the plasma of anode material generated by using TVA under high vacuum conditions on the glass. The optical properties have been investigated by using Filmetrics F20 and UV/VIS spectrometer. For surface properties of produced thin films EDS, SEM and AFM have been used. Our analysis shows that MgF2 thin films produced by using TVA are proper single and multi layer anti-reflective (AR) coating and TVA technique brings very important advantages for ophthalmic glass coating and industrial applications optical purposes. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.