| In this two-part study, we report the applications of thin films made by Glancing angle deposition (GLAD) in the optical and biological fields.; Firstly optical rugate interference filters made by GLAD with a columnar microstructure and inhomogeneous index along the direction normal to the substrate were designed and fabricated. Oxidation of these films was performed to increase visible transmittance by con version of porous silicon rugate filters to silica, while preserving nanostructure. Morphology of the films before and after oxidation was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Transmission spectra of the filters were analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry. A new method (Echo method) to calculate transmission spectra was introduced. Theoretical calculated spectra by Echo method, Characteristic Matrix Method (CMM), and the measured spectral results have been compared. The agreement among them has been demonstrated.; Furthermore, we have developed a protocol for studying the effects of nanostructure on biological activity, and found preliminary evidence for cell activity variation on surfaces with varied morphology but identical chemistry. To facilitate this, thin films containing helical spiral microstructures were made with silicon and titanium. The morphology of the film surfaces was characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the characteristic parameters of the morphology such as the roughness, columnar spacing, columnar diameter and columnar height were extracted. Fibroblasts and human bone marrow (HBM) cells were cultured on silicon and titanium surfaces respectively. The dependence of cell viability and spreading on characteristic surface parameters was examined. |
