Studying the Structural Phase Composition and Optical and Mechanical Properties of Al–Si–Re–O Coatings Deposited on Quartz Glass

Abstract

The multi-component Al–Si–Re–O coating with a thickness of 3.5 μm was deposited on the quartz glass surface by the method of pulsed magnetron sputtering. Its structural phase state and optical and mechanical properties have been investigated. According to X-ray diffractometry and transmission electron microscopy, the structure of the coating is amorphous and has the following elemental composition: Al – 9.29 at.%, Si – 23 at.%, Re – 2.35 at.%, and O – 65.7 at.%. The present work studies the problem of crater formation under the bombardment of the quartz glass surface with Al–Si–Re–O coating by iron particles having a speed of 5–8 m/s. The study discovers protective properties of the Al–Si–Re–O coating manifested as an appreciable decrease of the surface density of the craters formed after impacts of iron microparticles as compared to the uncoated quartz glass. This effect is due to changes in the structure, phase composition, and mechanical properties of the glass surface layer coated by the reinforcing coating. The results show that the quartz glass with the Al–Si– Re–O coating remains transparent in the visible (T ≥ 77%) and UV ranges (T ≥ 23.8%).