Hybrid organic/inorganic nanolaminate structures with enhanced tribo-mechanical properties for optical applications

Composite SiO2/SiOCH nanolaminates were deposited on plastic substrates using electron beam evaporation and ion beam assisted chemical vapor deposition processes, respectively. The hybrid mineral/organic SiOCH films were synthesized from an OMCTS precursor, leading to refractive index values similar to that of the pure SiO2. Optical and tribo-mechanical properties of the composite nanolaminates with constant total thickness were studied as a function of the number of SiO2/SiOCH bilayers within the stack. We found that by adjusting the periodicity, one can tailor the mechanical properties of the material, leading to improved scratch resistance witnessed by an increase of the critical load at delamination from 8 N to 11 N. Based on these findings, such nanolaminate material can easily replace monolithic SiO2 layer in interference stacks to enhance the tribological behavior of optical filters.