Deposition of Optically Transparent Copper Films on Dielectric Substrates Using the Plasma Focus Installation

Thin optically transparent homogeneous copper films on silicate glass substrates (size ~ 35×35 mm) were obtained at the Plasma focus facility (PF-4, LPI). The films were obtained by deposition from “metal plasma” formed during ablation of the copper anode of the PF installation. The films were deposited in the atmosphere of the plasma-forming gas argon at a pressure of ~ 1 Torr. The film uniformity was controlled by measuring the transmission spectrum in the middle and at the edge of the glass plate and was ~ 10%. Transmission spectra of films on glass substrates were measured in the range of 0.3-1.0 µ at temperature 300K. The transmission spectrum of Cu films is mainly determined by light scattering on small particles < 0.3 µ. Good adhesion of films is due to the formation of a transition layer on the surface of glass plates. Depending on the number of plasma pulses optical copper films were obtained as dielectric and also electrically conductive.