THE REFLECTANCE AND ADHESION OF SILVER FILMS PREPARED BY USING E-BEAM EVAPORATION ON POLYESTER SUBSTRATE

Thin films of silver with high reflectance of 95% and above were fabricated successfully on polyester substrate by using e-beam evaporation processes. The optimum process condition was investigated by varying the current values applied while keeping the substrate temperature at room temperature by circulating the cooling water around it during deposition. Thin films of silver deposited with 30 mA as current revealed the highest reflectance of 96.4%, while being illuminated with a light of 700nm wave-length. But their adhesion showed unsatisfactory results. Though the films showed a condensation type in the cross-sectional views, they revealed crystallinity in the planes of (111) and (200) and growth orientation in <100> direction.