Formation of Teflon AF polymer thin films as optical coatings in the high-peak-power laser field

Teflon AF 1600 and 2400 have been used to make thin film coatings with excellent anti-reflective (AR) properties. Spin, dip, and meniscus coating techniques have all successfully formed single layer AT coatings. Multi-spin and dipping of the Teflon AF polymer revealed a close linear relationship between the number of layers and total thickness of the Teflon film. HFE7100 and Hexafluorobenzene were used as co-solvents to allow good control of the coating thickness by dilution allowing the dipping or spinning rate to remain at their optimum values. Significant differences were seen between these solvents with respect to coating quality. LIDT results are reported for the single layers AT coatings along wit surface properties and attempts to stack other materials onto the Teflon films.