Optical characterization of sol-gel ZrO₂ coatings with acid alkali two-step method

A synthesis procedure of ZrO2 colloids derived from the acid-alkali two-step catalyzed hydrolysis was disclosed. The granularity and its distribution of the colloid particles were measured.Then a ZrO2 film was prepared by the spin-coating method on K9 glass. Physical properties of the thin film were characterized by ellipsometer, UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The refractive index of the coating with the two-step method was 1.74, and the laser damage threshold was 9.0 J/cm2 at 1 064 nm fundametal wavelength and 1 ns pulse duration.The measured and experimental results indicate that the two-step method have advantages over single step ones.