Sol-gel multilayers applied by a meniscus coating process

Conference · Thu Mar 19 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:5576659

Britten, J A; Thomas, I M

We describe a meniscus coating method to produce high-laser damage threshold, silica/alumina sol-gel multilayer reflectors on 30 {plus} cm substrates for laser-fusion applications. This process involves forcing a small suspension flow through a porous applicator tube, forming a falling film on the tube. A substrate contacts this film to form a meniscus. Motion of the substrate relative to the applicator entrains a thin film on the substrate, which leaves behind a porous, optical quality film upon solvent evaporation. We develop a solution for the entrained film thickness as a function of geometry, flow and fluid properties by an analysis similar to that of the classical dip-coating problem. This solution is compared with experimental measurements. Also, preliminary results of multilayer coating experiments with a prototype coater are presented, which focus on coating uniformity and laser damage threshold (LDT).

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5576659
• Report Number(s): UCRL-JC-110152; CONF-920402--1; ON: DE92012697
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360601* -- Other Materials-- Preparation & Manufacture
ALUMINIUM COMPOUNDS
ALUMINIUM OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
COATINGS
DEPOSITION
DYNAMICS
FILMS
GELATION
LAYERS
MECHANICS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REFLECTIVE COATINGS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SOL-GEL PROCESS
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE COATING
SYNTHESIS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTIONS
THIN FILMS