Sputter Deposition of Pure and Fluoropolymer-Filled Al₂O₃

Experiments have shown that nonreactive ion-beam sputtering can be used to deposit a transparent film of aluminum oxide on a polycarbonate, silicon, or fused-silica substrate. Similar experiments have shown that reactive ion-beam sputtering can be used to form a transparent film of either aluminum oxide alone or else aluminum oxide filled with a few percent of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The properties of reactively deposited Al2O3films appear to be superior to those of nonreactively deposited Al2O3 films with respect to the intended applications, as explained below.