Structural and chemical characterization of functional SiO xCy:H coatings for polymeric lenses

The use of SiOxCy:H-based protective coatings as protective buffer coatings between the soft and easily scratchable substrate and the antireflection stack that might be applied on top of it was investigated. These coatings were grown using the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method from mixtures of hexamethyldisiloxane and oxygen. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopic analysis was used to determine the density values for the individual layers that compose the hard coating structure, from the values of the atomic thickness. The low density and high porosity of the flexibility layer provides flexibility to the coating.Peer Reviewe