PROTON RESONANT SCATTERING FOR OXYGEN STOICHIOMETRY OF REACTIVELY EVAPORATED ZRO2-X FILMS

Electron-beam evaporated zirconium oxide films are suitable materials for optical coatings operating at visible and infrared wavelengths. The optical properties of these films are related to the microstructure and the crystallographic phase composition, which depend on the oxygen partial pressure in the evaporation chamber and on the substrate temperature. These deposition process parameters are particularly critical in case of reactive evaporation from zirconium metal, a method which seems very effective for mass production of optical coatings. The present work deals with the application of proton resonant scattering at E(p) = 4.6 MeV to the composition determination of zirconium oxide thin films, reactively evaporated at different oxygen partial pressures using either zirconium metal or oxygen deficient ZrO2-x as starting materials. The results are correlated with the optical and structural properties of ZrO2-x films.