SBIR Phase I:Automatic Sweep Pattern Generator for Precision E-beam Deposited Optical Coatings to Overcome E-beam System Non-linearities

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop the first automated sweep pattern generator for production scale electron beam deposition systems that will enable better control over layer optical thickness, improving optical coating performance for many critical applications. Electron beam deposited optical coatings are an enabling technology for telecommunications, defense, satellites, and high energy lasers. However, the electron beam process is limited by coating layer thickness variation resulting from uneven evaporation of the coating material and requires uniform electron beam sweep pattern. The project will use thermal imaging capabilities and a newly proposed design theory to develop an automatic sweep pattern generator that will enable more uniform evaporation. In addition to reducing layer thickness variation for applications requiring significant source material utilization by allowing more uniform depletion, this new pattern generator will enable higher precision coatings and deposition of more layers from a source crucible. The strategy is to leverage the company's extensive process knowledge and industrial collaborators to deliver significant value in a product that is simple to use and easily integrated into production systems. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be realized in optical coating performance, an enabling technology for many critical precision optics applications including high energy lasers, lithography, telecommunications, defense, and satellites. Electron-beam vacuum deposition is dominantly used to produce these coatings because of its superior economics and process versatility. However, the industry is constantly demanding more stringent tolerances on layer thickness and composition while increasing the number of layers. Emerging foreign competition necessitates optimizing production objectives such as throughput, quality, and cost. U.S. manufacturing must both tighten its tolerances and lower its costs if it is to continue to play a leadership role in the 1.8 billion dollar high-end precision optical coating market. Domestic e-beam system vendors are struggling to compete with foreign vendors who sell turn-key coating systems with high precision processes pre-configured. These foreign vendors are able to charge a premium due to the difficulty of developing advanced processes. In order to facilitate advanced process development in production, vendors seek to provide high precision systems with advanced instrumentation including programmable sweep controllers and optical monitors. The automated sweep pattern generator will work synergistically with these components to enable a high precision system that can be optimized automatically.