Transparent and water repellent ceria film grown by atomic layer deposition

• Published in: Surface & coatings technology Vol. 320; pp. 190 - 195
• Main Authors: Lv, Qipeng, Zhang, Shaoqian, Deng, Songwen, Xu, Yinsheng, Li, Gang, Li, Qingwei, Jin, Yuqi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 25.06.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Annealing; Atomic force microscopy; Atomic layer deposition; Atomic layer epitaxy; Bandpass filters; Cerium oxides; Coatings; Contact angle; Hydrophobic; Hydrophobic surfaces; Hydrophobicity; Rare-earth oxide; Spectroellipsometry; Surface chemistry; Surface treatment; Transparent; Wettability; Rare-earth oxide; Atomic layer deposition; Transparent; Coatings; Hydrophobic
• ISSN: 0257-8972; 1879-3347
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.01.058

Transparent and hydrophobic ceria film was fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The ceria coatings were characterized by goniometry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and variable angles spectroscopic ellipsometry. The hydrophobicity of the ceria coatings was investigated with water contact angles achieving as high as 105°. The effect of annealing or surface relaxation on the hydrophobicity was studied. Surface chemistry analysis of the ceria surfaces was carried out to understand the surface treatment towards the wettability of the ALD coatings. The proposed ALD ceria film offers the advantages of hydrophobic coatings covering fine optical lens such as band-pass filter. [Display omitted] •Rare-earth oxide such as ceria was used as intrinsically hydrophobic materials to fabricate thin film coatings.•The coatings were grown by atomic layer deposition that can offer precise thickness control and surface conformability.•Hydrophobic and transparent ceria film can be used within many highly precise optical devices in visible and IR region.