Abstract: Silicon dioxide (SiO2) films were prepared on sapphire (α-Al2O3) by radio frequency magnetron reactive sputtering in order to increase both transmission and rain erosion resistant performance of infrared domes of sapphire. Composition and structure of SiO2 films were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The transmittance of uncoated and coated sapphire was measured using a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer. Rain erosion tests of the uncoated and coated sapphire were performed at 211 m/s impact velocity with an exposure time ranging from 1 to 8 min on a whirling arm rig. Results show that the deposited films can greatly increase the transmission of sapphire in mid-wave IR. After rain erosion test, decreases in normalized transmission were less than 1% for designed SiO2 films and the SiO2 coating was strongly bonded to the sapphire substrate. In addition, sapphires coated with SiO2 films had a higher transmittance than uncoated ones after rain erosion.

Key words: Silicon dioxide films, Sapphire, Magnetron reactive sputtering, Rain erosion