Probing the atomic structure of amorphous Ta2O5 coatings

Low optical and mechanical loss Ta2O5 amorphous coatings have a growing number of applications in precision optical measurements systems. Transmission electron microscopy is a promising way to probe the atomic structure of these coatings in an effort to better understand the causes of the observed mechanical and optical losses. Analysis of the experimental reduced density functions using a combination of reverse Monte Carlo refinements and density functional theory molecular dynamics simulations reveals that the structure of amorphous Ta2O5 consists of clusters with increased contribution from a Ta2O2 ring fragment. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3535982]