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DESIGN, DEPOSITON TECHNOLOGY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THIN OPTICAL COATINGS FOR SPECIAL APPLICATIONS
Oulehla, Jindřich ; Kozák,, Martin (referee) ; Žídek,, Karel (referee) ; Sobola, Dinara (advisor)
The physical phenomena resulting from thin film optics have been known for several centuries. The oldest discovery which can be considered as modern day thin film optics is what is now called the Newton rings. The explanation of this phenomenon is quite simple, it is the interference of light on a thin film. However in the time of its discovery, due to the level of knowledge of optics, its explanation wasn’t possible for the next hundred and fifty years. The works of Augustin Jean Fresnel have been particularly important for the field of optics. He combined the results Young’s double slit experiment with Huygens’ ideas of light propagation into one theory – the theory of diffraction. The Frenel’s laws which govern the propagation of amplitude and phase of light reflected or transmitted over a boundary are essential. These laws along with the discoveries of his contemporaries (i.e. Siméon Denis Poisson) and followers (especially James Clerk Maxwell) are the foundations of thin film optics. Optical thin film technology went through rapid development in the 1930’s. Even though the principles of sputtering come from approx. half of the nineteenth century and the principles of vacuum evaporation come from the turn of the nineteenth century, these techniques were not considered useful production techniques especially because of the lack of usable pumping systems. It was the research in the area of diffusion pumps (and oils) in the 1930’s which made these techniques useful. Since then there has been a great technological development of these techniques, particularly towards the end of the last century. During the same period new requirements for the optical thin film properties have appeared. Not only were they required to perform well in the area of reflectance and transmittance but also to be able to withstand high intensity laser radiation. There is still a wide range of scientific and technological opportunities in the field of optical thin film production not only in the form of finding new materials or novel coating techniques but also in the usage of standardized technology for special and unique applications.
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