FORMATION OF TRANSPARENT HEAT MIRRORS BY ION PLATING ONTO AMBIENT-TEMPERATURE SUBSTRATES

Transparent conducting oxide films were produced by the reactive ion plating of indium onto glass and plastic substrates at room temperature. The electrical properties of these films were sufficient, with high values of electrical mobility and carrier density, to give a sharp plasma reflectance edge in the near infrared. These properties are ideally suited for the production of the visibly transmitting, IR-reflecting surfaces needed for heat mirror applications. Optimum properties were achieved with careful control of the gas mixture and the amount of substrate bias acquired by the substrate from the radio frequency used for the discharge. Satisfactory films were made using evaporation or planar magnetron-sputtering sources. © 1979.