IP Library › Granted Patent US 7,054,065
Granted Patent B2
US 7,054,065 · App. 10/723,116 · Granted May 30, 2006

Durable silver thin film coating for diffraction gratings

View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,054,065
App. No.
10/723,116
Granted
May 30, 2006
Kind
B2
Abstract

A durable silver film thin film coated non-planar optical element has been developed to replace Gold as a material for fabricating such devices. Such a coating and resultant optical element has an increased efficiency and is resistant to tarnishing, can be easily stripped and re-deposited without modifying underlying grating structure, improves the throughput and power loading of short pulse compressor designs for ultra-fast laser systems, and can be utilized in variety of optical and spectrophotometric systems, particularly high-end spectrometers that require maximized efficiency.

Claims (42)

1. An optical element, comprising:

a non-planar profile substrate,

an adhesion layer, having a predetermined thickness deposited on said non-planar profile,

a layer comprising silver, having a predetermined thickness deposited on said adhesion layer; and

a passivation layer, having a predetermined thickness deposited on said silver layer.

2. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said non-planar profile comprises at least one profile selected from sinusoidal, triangular and rectangular profiles.

3. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said silver layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 1000 to about 10,000 Angstroms.

4. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said adhesion layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 300 angstroms.

5. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said passivation layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 10 angstroms.

6. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said adhesion layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride.

7. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said passivation layer comprises at least material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride.

8. The optical element of claim 1 , wherein said optical element includes a diffraction efficiency of greater than about 90% for a predetermined spectral range.

9. An optical element, comprising:

a diffraction grating,

an adhesion layer having a predetermined thickness deposited on said diffraction grating, wherein said adhesion layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride,

a layer comprising silver having a predetermined thickness deposited on said adhesion layer,

a passivation layer having a predetermined thickness deposited on said silver layer, wherein said passivation layer comprises at least material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride; and

wherein a diffraction efficiency of greater than about 90% is achieved over a predetermined spectral range.

10. The optical element of claim 9 , wherein said diffraction grating comprises at least one profile selected from sinusoidal, triangular and rectangular profiles.

11. The optical element of claim 10 , wherein said silver layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 1000 to about 10,000 angstroms.

12. The optical element of claim 9 , wherein said adhesion layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 300 angstroms.

13. The optical element of claim 9 , wherein said passivation layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 10 angstroms.

14. The optical element of claim 9 , wherein at least one durability layer is deposited on said passivation layer.

15. The optical element of claim 14 , wherein said durability layer comprises at least one nitride selected from the group consisting of: silicon nitride, aluminum nitride, and silicon aluminum nitride.

16. The optical element of claim 15 , wherein said durability layer further comprises an oxinitride layer deposited on said nitride layer.

17. The optical element of claim 15 , wherein said durability layer further comprises a plurality of layers of metal oxides.

18. The optical element of claim 14 , wherein said durability layers deposited on the passivation layer comprise a layer of silicon nitride, a layer of silicon oxinitride, and a layer of silicon dioxide.

19. The optical element of claim of 14 , wherein the durability layers deposited on the passivation layer comprise a layer of silicon aluminum nitride, a layer of silicon oxinitride, and a layer of silicon dioxide.

20. The optical element of claim 14 , wherein the durability layers deposited on the passivation layer comprise a layer of aluminum nitride, a layer of aluminum oxinitride, and a layer of aluminum oxide.

21. The optical element of claim 14 , wherein the durability layers comprise a plurality of layers of metal oxides.

22. The optical element of claim 21 , wherein the durability layers comprise metal oxides selected from the group consisting of: silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, tantalum hafnium oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, zirconium oxide, and mixtures thereof.

23. A method, comprising:

providing a non-planar profile substrate,

depositing an adhesion layer having a predetermined thickness on said non-planar profile, wherein said adhesion layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride,

depositing a layer of silver having a predetermined thickness on said adhesion layer; and

depositing a passivation layer having a predetermined thickness on said silver layer, wherein said passivation layer comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of: nickel, nickel nitride, chromium, chromium nitride, nickel-chromium alloys, silicon-nitride, and nickel-chromium nitride.

24. The method of claim 23 , wherein said adhesion layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 300 angstroms.

25. The method of claim 23 , wherein said passivation layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 3 to about 10 angstroms.

26. The method of claim 23 , wherein at least one durability layer is deposited on said passivation layer.

27. The method of claim 23 , wherein said silver layer comprises a thickness in the range from about 1000 to about 10,000 angstroms.

28. The method of claim 23 , wherein said non-planar profile comprises at least one profile selected from sinusoidal, triangular and rectangular profiles.

29. The method of claim 23 , wherein said non-planar profile includes a diffraction grating.