Wide Spectrum Monitoring The Development And Application Of The Electron Beam Evaporation Of Thin Films

Optical thin films have been playing a more and more important role in the daily life of the humankind. As a result, the manufacturing technology of optical thin films has rapidly evolved in the past few decades. One of the most significant contributions to the evolvement is the development of in-situ optical monitoring technologies. Broadband optical monitoring features in-situ measurement of the transmittance or reflectance of the optical thin film being prepared in a wide spectral range. It allows online spectral analysis and real-time tracing of various optical properties of the target sample, which are both significant advantages compared to traditionally methods such as the turning point method.In this thesis, a broadband optical monitoring (BOM) system has been designed and constructed for an electron beam evaporation system. It features in-situ monitoring of the transmittance spectrum of the target sample and automatic feedback control of the electron beam evaporation system. Due to its modular structure, the BOM system is very extensive and can be adapted to new monitoring methods. Several algorithms of spectral analysis have been implemented for the BOM system to trace the deposition progress of the target sample. And quarter-wave structures have been prepared using the BOM system to verify its capabilities. In addition, the nonlinear optical properties of Si nanocrystals prepared using a SiOx/SiO2 superlattice approach has been investigated.