Clemens Ottermann

Properties and Characterization of Dielectric Thin Films

The properties of thin films are strongly influenced by the deposition parameters and conditions, i.e., they are strongly related to the coating technologies described in Chap. 3. Variations are possible, for example in mechanical characteristics, in colour, in film thickness, etc. To efficiently produce coatings for a certain application it is necessary to know the parameters that influence a desired film property during the deposition process. For reactive evaporation, as described in Sect. 3.1.2, these are: substrate temperature, deposition rate, oxygen partial pressure and total pressure. For films produced by the sol—gel technique, as described in Sect. 3.3, the relevant parameters are: composition of solution, drawing speed, interaction with the surrounding atmosphere during drawing and with the substrate during densification.