Sol-Gel Dip Coating of Ta2O5/SiO2 Anti-Reflection Films on Fused Silica for Developing Laser Optics with High Laser Induced Damage Threshold
Open accessAbstract
Ta2O5/SiO2 bi-layer anti-reflection (AR) films have been deposited for various wavelengths on ultra-smooth, large fused silica (FS) substrates using the sol-gel dip-coating technique. This method facilitates the development of transmission windows with high laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDT). Super-polished, 50 mm diameter flat FS substrates were AR-coated on both sides using this simple and cost-effective approach. The nearly stoichiometric thin films of Ta2O5 and SiO2 were synthesized using halide-free precursors—tantalum ethoxide and tetraethyl orthosilicate, respectively. The morphology, composition, and optical properties of these thin films were characterized before applying them as bi-layer AR coatings on FS substrates. The refractive indices of the Ta2O5 and SiO2 thin films were determined to be 1.75 and 1.44, at 1000 nm, respectively. AR coatings were deposited for four target wavelengths—850 nm, 1053 nm, 1300 nm, and 1550 nm—by varying the film thickness with precise control over the withdrawal speed during the dip-coating process. Deposition parameters were optimized to minimize optical absorption, achieving a maximum transmission of >99% and reflectivity of <1% for all AR coatings. All sol-gel AR-coated FS transmission windows demonstrated a high LIDT of ~20 J/cm2, making them highly suitable for high-energy laser applications.
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Ta2O5 is among the high-refractive-index materials frequently used in optical coatings, from antireflective to guiding thin films in waveguides operating at high temperatures, due to broad-spectrum transparency and high thermal and chemical stability.
“Owing to a broad-spectrum transparency and high thermal and chemical stability, tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) is among the high-refractive-index materials frequently used in optical coatings, from antireflective to guiding thin films (cores) in waveguides operating at high temperatures [45-48].”
From Metal Oxide Thin Films for Advanced Photonic Applications (2026) · cites this paper as [48]
Section 3.3 (page unavailable) reports a higher refractive index for the Ta2O5 film than for SiO2, and Section 3.5 describes Ta2O5/SiO2 antireflection coatings at four wavelengths. The cited paper does not establish that Ta2O5 is frequently used as a guiding core in high-temperature waveguides, or attribute that range of uses to broad-spectrum transparency and high thermal and chemical stability. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Metal Oxide Thin Films for Advanced Photonic Applications
Stîngescu, M.-L., Șopronyi, M.-A., Antohe, Ș., & Scărișoreanu, N.-D. (2026) · Crystals · doi:10.3390/cryst16030164 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Pal, S., Kamparath, R., Subrahmanyam, V. V. V., Sharma, N., Biswas, A. K., Singh, R., Tiwari, S., Kumar, Y. P., & Benerji, N. S.
- Affiliations
- Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Pal, Suparna
- Venue
- Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology
- Published
- 2025-05-21
- Volume
- 115
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 115-129
- ISSN
- 0928-0707 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-4846
- OpenAlex
- W4410514330
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 1
- FWCI
- 2.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Surfaces, Coatings and Films › Optical Coatings and Gratings
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Computational Mechanics › Laser Material Processing Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Ceramics and Composites › Glass properties and applications
- Keywords
- sol-gel dip coating, fused silica substrate, laser-induced damage threshold, tetraethoxysilane, refractive index, optical absorption
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