Keywords

Oxidazion, Dry chemical process, a-Si, Al

Abstract

Arguably, the best chance to produce a IR-optical-UV-EUV mirror for a future space observatory is a multilayer mirror coated by a thin bare aluminum layer. Using an Al layer presents challenges that have to be overcome first. Al oxidizes rapidly as soon as it comes in contact with the atmosphere. One solution is to block the oxidation of Al by covering the mirror with a protective layer and remove it once the mirror is in space. freshly, deposited a-Si would be a good candidate for protecting the mirror. Removing it in space also presents some challenges. The best way to remove such layer is by a dry chemical process, such process has not been researched before. Theoretically, it will remove the a-Si and use Al as an etch stopping barrier that will not get roughened by the process.

Description

This paper was completed during the 2017 Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Physics (REU) program. More information about this program can be found here.