LASER ABLATION OF SILICONE RUBBER FOR FABRICATING SiO2 THIN FILMS

Authors deposited SiO2 thin films at RT by 193-nm ArF excimer laser ablation of silicone rubber in O atmosphere. (Si-O)n chains were selectively ejected from silicone rubber targets by ablation in high laser fluence at about 10 J/cm2. O gas worked to oxidize the ejected (Si-O)n chains to form SiO2 thin films at the gas pressure of 4.4 x 10-2 torr, in addition to reducing the isolated C mixed into the films. The transmittance of the 400-nm-thick films was 95% at a 500 nm wavelength. The refractive index of the films was defined as 1.4 to 1.5. 10 refs.