Novel MgO/SiO2 double protective layers to prevent Ag mirror degradation

Abstract

We demonstrate a very stable silver-coated mirror exploiting novel MgO/SiO2 double layers. It was found that the MgO/SiO2 protective layer provides a good adhesion and protection to the silver surface. Using epoxy-Ti(40 nm)-Ag(60 nm)-MgO(5 similar to 10 nm)-SiO2(25 nm) mirror structures, we achieved over 95% reflectivity and observed a minimal degradation in reflectance even after severe environmental tests.