Oleg Zabeida, Pedro Avila, Jolanta Klemberg-Sapieha, Ludvik Martinu, Ecole Polytechnique Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS) precursors form a family of hybrid molecules composed of an inorganic Si–O–Si cage and organic functional groups (tethers) attached at its corners. The rigid core provides thermal, mechanical, and chemical stability to POSS based materials, whereas the tether groups introduce customizable chemical functionalities suitable for homo or co polymerization, grafting, blending, and various other modifications.
In this work, we present a new deposition approach based on ion beam assisted thermal evaporation (IBA THE) applied to different POSS molecules: OS-POSS, F-POSS and TI-POSS. We demonstrate that this method enables the successful formation of hybrid silicon oxide coatings derived from multiple POSS precursors. A major benefit of combining thermal evaporation with ion beam interactions is the straightforward transfer of the process to industrial platforms without significant scale up costs.
The resulting films were extensively analyzed in terms of their chemical, structural, optical, mechanical, and other functional properties. Our results show that the discharge current and the oxygen to argon gas ratio are the key parameters controlling film characteristics and performance. By optimizing these two variables, it becomes possible to produce, for instance, flexible optical coatings exhibiting a low refractive index and high elastic recovery. Furthermore, selecting POSS molecules with specific organic groups permits fine tuning of additional film properties such as surface energy, thereby expanding the range of potential applications for these hybrid (organic-inorganic) materials.
The compatibility of IBA THE with e beam evaporation, sputtering, and other PVD or CVD techniques combined with a vast selection of POSS precursors makes it a valuable addition to vacuum based coating methods capable of producing films with largely adjustable properties.
References:
1. A.Shelemin, O. Zabeida, J. Qian, J. Klemberg-Sapieha, L. Martinu, "Hybrid octa-silane polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (OS-POSS) optical films prepared by ion beam assisted evaporation", Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A 41 (2023) 023409.
2. O. Zabeida, P. Avila, J. Klemberg-Sapieha, and L. Martinu, "Functionalized hybrid POSS-based films for optical applications," in Optica OIC — Optical Interference Coatings Conference 2025, Technical Digest Series (Optica Publishing Group, 2025), paper FB.7.