The IBS2000-project aims to develop a coating machine to coat optics with up to 2m in diameter. IBS is chosen as coating process due to the high optical quality and precision, low losses, and high mechanical and environmental stability. Common limitations regarding the size of the coated optics are overcome due to a novel approach, where both, the substrate and the target material source are movable. The sputter assembly located below the substrate will move linearly, while the substrate rotates on a stationary axis around its center. Simulations are done to validate the mechanical concept with a virtual coater concept. First, the material distribution in the substrate plane is calculated and afterwards combined with the movement of the target carrier and the substrate rotation, which gives a first indication of the 2D distribution. The results will be applied to homogenize the projected coating distribution on the final 2m optics.

Quantizing nanolaminates (QNLs) are a promising alternative as high-index material in thin film coatings providing high flexibility with respect to their refractive index and bandgap energy. However, the fabrication of QNLs requires high precision in the deposition of the layers. Common monitoring strategies are not applicable due to the nanometer to subnanometer layer thicknesses needed to achieve a significantly increased bandgap energy. This contribution investigates the impact of thickness errors on the bandgap energy of QNLs. Calculations show a diminishing of the bandgap energy increase due to thickness errors in a single layer. This effect will be investigated experimentally. Moreover, the QNLs linear and nonlinear absorption will be tested as function of layer numbers determining the impact of the increased interfaces of QNL structures. Applying the new insights, the final goal is the fabrication of functional QNL-coatings with optimized electrical field intensity and increased LIDT for the ultra-short pulse regime.

Quantizing nanolaminates are an interesting alternative to classical coating materials with greater independence of refractive index and the optical bandgap energy. This leads to more flexibility and considerable potential to increase the laser-induced damage threshold in the ultra-short pulse regime. The following study presents and compares the design choices, characterization, and LIDT testing of different quantizing nanolaminates for the ultraviolet spectral range to classical coating materials.

The exploitation of nonlinear effects in multi-layer thin films allows for optics with novel functions, such as all-optical switching and frequency conversion. In this contribution, an improved interferometric setup for the measurement of the nonlinear refractive index in dielectric substrates and deposited single layers is presented. The setup is based on the wave front deformation caused by the self-focusing in the measured samples. Additionally, measurement results for a highly nonlinear material, indium-tin-oxide (ITO) are presented with respect to the materials power handling capabilities and compared to values from other materials.

The quality and spatial distribution of IBS coatings is determined by beam parameters, ion type, and target material. In this work the distributions of optical properties of coated materials in the substrate plane are reported.