Effects of deposition temperature on characterization and laser-induced damage threshold of YbF3 films

The influence of deposition temperature on the optical properties, microstructure, residual stress, defect density and laser-induced damage of YbF3 films, deposited by resistive heating, has been investigated. The increased refractive indices of YbF3 films indicate that the film density increases with deposition temperature. XRD patterns revealed that the microstructure of YbF3 films changes from amorphous to crystalline with increasing deposition temperature. The total stress had a linear increase with deposition temperature, which indicated that thermal stress may be a major contributor to total stress. Defect density had a linear dependence on deposited temperature and high deposition temperature resulted in low defect density. However, absorption of YbF3 thin films had a complicated relation with deposition temperature. Laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) results of the films are intricately influenced by many factors, which need appropriate deposition parameters to coordinate and balance these factors.

► YbF3 films were deposited at different deposition temperatures.
► We show the effect of deposition temperature on related properties of YbF3 films
► Different properties had different dependences on deposition temperature.
► The corresponding reasons and analyses were presented.