Method of fabricating anisotropic optical interference filter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9804310-B2
Application number	US-201615046167-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 17, 2016
Priority date	Feb 17, 2015
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

In a method of manufacturing a one-dimensionally varying optical filter, a substrate is coated to form a stack of layers of two or more different types. The coating may, for example, employ sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, or thermal evaporation. During the coating, the time-averaged deposition rate is varied along an optical gradient direction by generating reciprocation between a shadow mask and the substrate in a reciprocation direction that is transverse to the optical gradient direction. In some approaches, the shadow mask is periodic with a mask period defined along the direction of reciprocation, and the generated reciprocation has a stroke equal to or greater than the mask period along the direction of reciprocation. The substrate and the shadow mask may also be rotated together as a unit during the coating. Also disclosed are one-dimensionally varying optical filters, such as linear variable filters, made by such methods.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of manufacturing a one-dimensionally varying optical filter, the method comprising:
providing a shadow mask having an opening fraction along a direction of reciprocation that varies along a direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation;
coating a substrate through the shadow mask to form a stack of layers of two or more different types; and
during the coating, generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate in the direction of reciprocation.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:
during the coating, rotating the substrate and the shadow mask together as a unit.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises:
providing the shadow mask having a one-dimensional array of wedge-shaped openings along the direction of reciprocation with each wedge extending from a narrow end to a wide end along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the providing comprises:
providing the shadow mask having a density of openings along the direction of reciprocation that varies along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the variation of the opening fraction along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation is effective to deposit the one-dimensionally varying optical filter as a linear variable filter.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the opening fraction of the shadow mask along the direction of reciprocation varies non-linearly along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating comprises one of sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, and thermal evaporation.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:
the providing comprises providing the shadow mask having a repeating pattern of one or more openings along the direction of reciprocation; and
the generated reciprocation has a stroke equal to or greater than the period of the repeating pattern of one or more openings along the direction of reciprocation.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the operation of generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate consists of one of:
reciprocating the shadow mask in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the substrate; and
reciprocating the substrate in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the shadow mask.

10. A one-dimensionally varying optical filter manufactured by a method as set forth in claim 1 .

11. A method of manufacturing a one-dimensionally varying optical filter, the method comprising:
coating a substrate through a shadow mask to form a stack of layers of two or more different types; and
during the coating, generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate wherein the shadow mask has openings configured to, in combination with the generated reciprocation, define a coating duty cycle that varies along a direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:
during the coating, rotating the substrate and the shadow mask together as a unit.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the shadow mask has a one-dimensional array of wedge-shaped openings along the direction of reciprocation with each wedge extending from a narrow end to a wide end along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the shadow mask has a density of openings along the direction of reciprocation that varies along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the openings in combination with the generated reciprocation are configured to define a coating duty cycle variation along the direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation that is effective to deposit the one-dimensionally varying optical filter as a linear variable filter.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the coating comprises one of sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, and thermal evaporation.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein:
the shadow mask has a repeating pattern of one or more openings along the direction of reciprocation defining a mask period along the direction of reciprocation, and
the generated reciprocation has a stroke equal to or greater than the mask period along the direction of reciprocation.

18. The method of claim 11 wherein the operation of generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate consists of one of:
reciprocating the shadow mask in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the substrate; and
reciprocating the substrate in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the shadow mask.

19. A linear variable filter manufactured by a method as set forth in claim 11 .

20. A method of manufacturing a one-dimensionally varying optical filter, the method comprising:
coating a substrate to form a stack of layers of two or more different types; and
during the coating, varying the time-averaged deposition rate along an optical gradient direction by generating reciprocation between a shadow mask and the substrate in a reciprocation direction that is transverse to the optical gradient direction.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising:
during the coating, rotating the substrate and the shadow mask together as a unit.

22. A method of claim 21 further comprising rotating the rotating unit of the substrate and the shadow mask about a second axis as a planet in a planetary configuration.

23. The method of claim 20 wherein the coating comprises one of sputtering, electron-beam evaporation, and thermal evaporation.

24. The method of claim 20 wherein:
the shadow mask is periodic with a mask period defined along the direction of reciprocation, and
the generated reciprocation has a stroke equal to or greater than the mask period along the direction of reciprocation.

25. The method of claim 20 wherein the operation of generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate consists of one of:
reciprocating the shadow mask in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the substrate; and
reciprocating the substrate in the direction of reciprocation while not reciprocating the shadow mask.

26. A method of manufacturing a one-dimensionally varying optical filter, the method comprising:
providing a shadow mask having openings;
coating a substrate through the shadow mask to form a stack of layers of two or more different types; and
during the coating, generating reciprocation between the shadow mask and the substrate in the direction of reciprocation;
wherein the duty cycle of the reciprocating is varied during the coating in order to produce a multiplicity of filters having similar profiles but differing wavelength characteristics via a single deposition.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the openings of the shadow mask do not have an opening fraction along a direction of reciprocation that varies along a direction transverse to the direction of reciprocation.

Assignees

• Materion Corp

Inventors

• Sprague Robert

Classifications

• C23C14/044 Primary

  using masks to redistribute rather than totally prevent coating, e.g. producing thickness gradient · CPC title

• G02B5/285 Primary

  comprising deposited thin solid films (G02B5/281 - G02B5/289 take precedence; multilayered film filters for fibre optic multiplexing G02B6/29361) · CPC title