Nano-scale compositional lamination of doped silica glass deposited in
surface discharge plasma of SPCVD technology.
Plasma chemical methods of deposition are widely used for optical glass
synthesis and fiber preforms fabrication. Peculiarity of such glass deposition
is simultaneous oxidation in plasma of the chlorides necessary for obtaining
desired composition of the glass. Experimental study of kinetics of plasma
chemical processes, accompanying deposition presents lots of difficulties
because of the variety of the processes and difficulties in high rate
registration of chemical components.In the experiments we used a setup for
optical fiber preforms synthesis in surface microwave-induced discharge total
pressure being several torr (SPCVD technology). The high velocity of reagents
passing the substrate tube made it possible to register concentrations of
chemical components as a function of the coordinate along the plasma column,
instead of just registering the same values as a function of time. To do that
the image of the selected point of the plasma column was collected on the
input slit of spectrometer for lines intensity registration. Although, the
given method does not permit to measure absolute concentrations of the
components under study, the kinetics of the chemical reactions without
interfering into the process can be found.
In Ge-, Al-, Er doping we observed spatial separating of monoxides (SiO, GeO,
AlO, ErO) along the tube. It can be explained by exchange reaction influence:
. Whereas glass is formed as the result of heterogeneous process, when the
appeared monoxides adsorb by the surface, and then are completely oxidized on
it to form the glass, deposition concentration profile corresponds to the
longitudinal profile of appearing monoxide in the plasma column. Hence, we can
speak about longitudinal spatial separation of the deposition zones. It is
proved by the analysis of the glass specimens obtained. When periodical
scanning such a multi-component deposition zone along the substrate a
periodical lamination of glass composition with period 10-500 nm is observed.