SiO₂/SiO₂-ZnO Optical Multiliayer Coatings Fabricated by Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

A sol-gel based coating technology has been developed for making multilayer ceramic coatings. The coatings are SiO 2 and SiO 2 -ZnO composites made by dispersing ZnO powders in a sol-gel solution. SiO 2 /SiO 2 -ZnO multilayer stacks were alternately coated on glass soda lime substrates. Investigations of the structure and coating analysis were carried out and the durability of the coatings in different environments was evaluated. Reflected spectrums from surface coatings were prepared and the optical behaviour of the layers was studied. The results indicate that the sol-gel process can be used to produce completely stable ceramic multilayer coatings. Analysis of reflected spectrums also indicated that with an increase in the number of alternate layers of SiO 2 and SiO 2 -ZnO, the percentage of reflected beams in the VIS region reduced considerably.