Ultraviolet antireflection coatings for use in silicon detector design

We report on the development of coatings for a charged-coupled device (CCD) detector optimized for use in a fixed dispersion UV spectrograph. Because of the rapidly changing index of refraction of Si, single layer broadband antireflection (AR) coatings are not suitable to increase quantum efficiency at all wavelengths of interest. Instead, we describe a creative solution that provides excellent performance over UV wavelengths. We describe progress in the development of a coated CCD detector with theoretical quantum efficiencies (QEs) of greater than 60% at wavelengths from 120 to 300nm. This high efficiency may be reached by coating a backside-illuminated, thinned, delta-doped CCD with a series of thin film AR coatings. The materials tested include MgF2 (optimized for highest performance from 120-150 nm), SiO2 (150-180 nm), Al2O3 (180-240 nm), MgO (200-250 nm), and HfO2 (240-300 nm). A variety of deposition techniques were tested and a selection of coatings that minimized reflectance on a Si test wafer were applied to functional devices. We also discuss future uses and improvements, including graded and multilayer coatings. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America