Introduction
The development of laser technology led to the emergence of photonics as a separate industrial branch and scientific direction. Experts associate with it the possibilities of solving many problems facing humanity in the field of information support, industrial production, energy, healthcare, environmental protection, and security [1].
Back in the 60-80s of the last century, photonics became a separate field of science thanks to new inventions: laser, laser diode, optical fiber and optical fiber amplifier. In recent years, photonics has penetrated into all spheres of our life. Now this area of science covers a wide range of optical, electro-optical and optoelectronic devices, as well as their various applications. The main areas of photonics research include fiber and integrated optics, including nonlinear optics, physics and technology of semiconductor compounds, semiconductor lasers, optoelectronic devices, high-speed electronic devices [2, 3]. The connection of photonics with quantum optics and quantum computing has significantly increased.
For all these applications, it is important to preserve the structure of the material used and the quality of its surface, since it is necessary to achieve a minimum of optical losses in devices and devices. The limiting characteristics of the optical losses of materials used for photonics tasks can be established if the losses on the intrinsic absorption and scattering of the material are taken into account. Significant losses occur when materials are contaminated with impurities, as well as when there are impurities and micro-dimensions on the contact surface. The presence of micro-dimensions at the interface of layers in devices entails double refraction of light and improper optical losses [3].
In addition to classical mechanical and chemical treatment, plasma treatment in vacuum is increasingly used to remove impurities and micro-dimensions from the surface of the material. It should be noted that plasma surface treatment modifies the properties of the surface without changing the properties of the material itself, which is important for optical and optoelectronic materials.
With the help of plasma treatment, it is possible to influence the wettability of the surface – to create a hydrophobic, hydrophilic surface, i.e. a surface with the necessary properties. Such processes are possible as a result of the formation of a surface layer with certain chemical properties.
The degree and level of modification of the surface of the material depends on the parameters of the plasma treatment process. In plasma, both cleaning and etching (removal of impurities and removal of layers of material), as well as deposition (application of material), surface activation (creation of active centers on the surface of metals for subsequent processing) can be carried out.
It should be noted the development of photonics towards wave optics, where a wide range of polymer materials is used. So, in the process of manufacturing a waveguide, three optical layers – the lower shell, the core and the upper shell are made on substrates by sequential build-up. Each optical layer goes through subsequent coating, imaging and curing cycles. As a result, polymer tracing schemes with a higher index (optical cores) are completely surrounded by an optical material with a lower index (optical shell) [4, 5].
It is important to maintain a smooth polymer surface from layer to layer. It will be advisable to carry out additional processing between the layers to achieve the required surface modification and prepare for the application of the next layer to improve the adhesive qualities.
The article evaluates the effect of plasma treatment on glass substrates of materials used in the manufacture of photonics products.
Conclusion
Experiments conducted on the influence of plasma treatment parameters show that the treatment itself is an effective tool for cleaning and controlling the properties of the surfaces of dielectric materials used in photonics products. At the same time, it can be noted that in some cases similar results can be achieved with less power, but a longer processing time, but provided that the power value is above a certain threshold value.
The search for optimal processing parameters is almost always carried out experimentally, and the data given in this and other articles can be considered to determine the starting points or the boundaries of the ranges of variation. MPC plasma processing units manufactured by GNtech allow you to vary the technological parameters of the process in wide ranges, and provide the opportunity to save experimentally selected combinations of such parameters in the form of recipes (up to 50 pcs.), which makes them a convenient tool for both scientific research and mass production.
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