Studies on Nanostructure Aluminium Thin Film Coatings Deposited using DC magnetron Sputtering Process

Nanostructured thin film metallic coatings has become an area of intense research particularly in applications related solar, sensor technologies and many other optical applications such as laser windows, mirrors and reflectors. Thin film metallic coatings were deposited using DC magnetron sputtering process. The deposition rate was varied to study its influence on optical behavior of Aluminum thin films at a different argon flow rate. Studies on the optical response of these nanostructure thin film coatings were characterized using UV-VIS-NIR spectrophotometer with integrating sphere in the wavelength range of (250-2500 nm) and Surface morphology were carried out using atomic force microscope with roughness ranging from 2 to 20 nm and thickness was measured using Dektak measuring instrument. The reflection behavior of aluminium coatings on polycarbonate substrates has been evaluated. UV-VIS-NIR Spectrophotometer analysis indicates higher reflectance of 96% for all the films in the wavelength range of 250 nm to 2500 nm. Nano indentation study revealed that there was a considerable change in hardness values of the films prepared at different conditions. (paper)