Impact of Hyperspeed Iron Microparticles on Light Transmission of Quartz Glasses with Protective In-Sn-O Coating in the Ultraviolet Range

Abstract

The effect of the thickness of thin protective In-Sn-O coatings, deposited on quartz glass by magnetron sputtering at various partial pressures in an argon and oxygen atmosphere, on their impact resistance and light transmission is studied. A correlation is revealed between the light transmittance in the ultraviolet (UV) region, the surface density of craters formed by hypervelocity bombardment with iron microparticles, and the sizes of the craters on the coating surfaces. The results of bombarding the In-Sn-O/quartz glass targets with a flow of microparticles using a light gas gun show that the UV transmittance of the coatings with different thicknesses (~4 and ~6 μm) increases by up to 12%, while for the uncoated KV quartz glass it decreases from 92% to 54% after bombardment. The number of craters forming on the coating surfaces depends on their thickness: with an increase in the In-Sn-O coating thickness to ~6 μm, the surface area occupied by the craters decreases, while the optical transmittance spectrum of the coatings remains unchanged.