Advanced optical filter applications require an appropriate control of the optical constants, as well as of other suitable film properties such as mechanical performance, thermal and environmental stability, absence of refractive index inhomogeneities, and others. In the present work we studied the characteristics of two high index optical materials, namely amorphous tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) and niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, using penta-ethoxy tantalum Ta(OC2H5)5 and penta-ethoxy niobium, Nb(OC2H5)5, precursors. We particularly investigated the effect of energetic conditions on the film growth by using different modes of plasma excitation, namely rf, microwave, and dual-mode microwave/radio frequency discharges. Under sufficient ion bombardment, controlled by the rf-induced negative substrate bias, the dense Ta2O5 and Nb2O5 films exhibited a refractive index of 2.16 and 2.26 (at 550nm), respectively, while the extinction coefficient was below 10−5, as determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry, and spectrophotometry. We found that increasing ion bombardment during the film growth leads to an appreciable increase of carbon concentration, as indicated by a strong double peak at 1400 and 1500cm−1 in the Fourier transform infrared spectra. Elastic recoil detection measurements revealed an atomic concentration of 2.5% and 5.5% of carbon in the bulk of the Ta2O5 and Nb2O5 films. The presence of carbon did not appear to negatively affect the film optical and mechanical performance and stability. We discuss the relationship between the optical properties and microstructure, and the possible mechanism of carbon bonding in the form of chelate and bridging groups.

SiO 2 and TiO2, with their high refractive index contrast, are interesting candidates for the fabrication of graded-index optical filters. In this work, SiO2/TiO2 mixtures were prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition from SiCl4 and TiCl4. By controlling the gas flow ratio, it is possible to obtain coatings with refractive index values between 1.48, for SiO2, and 2.35, for TiO2, and with an extinction coefficient below 10−4 in the visible and near-infrared regions. The optical properties of the mixtures do not respect the Bruggeman effective medium approximation that supposes two separate phases. Using a combination of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, and elastic recoil detection, we demonstrate that SiO2/TiO2 is a single-phase material. Two separate phases can develop at certain compositions by annealing-induced precipitation.