Obtaining Al2O3 films for optical purposes by ac magnetron sputtering

This paper discusses the optical properties of Al2O3 films obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering of an Al target with current at an ultrasound frequency. An analysis of the spectral characteristics showed that the films have a homogeneous refractive index through the thickness of the layer. The optical parameters and thickness of the firms were computed using nonlinear programming. Solving this problem made it possible to determine the dispersion of the refractive index and the film-growth rate as a function of the magnetron discharge power. (C) 2000 The Optical Society of America. [S1070-9762(00)01409-3].