Morphology and laser damage studies by atomic force microscopy of e-beam evaporation deposited antireflection and high-reflection coatings

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool for studying the surface morphology of dielectric thin film coatings. Results of AFM scanning of antireflection and high reflection coatings are presented. These results demonstrate the effectivenss of AFM in providing high resolution monitoring of processing defects, laser damage, and laser conditioning and aging in e-beam evaporation deposited films.