Abstract: Disclosed is an optical element disposed in a container having an inside ambience independent from an outside of the container, and rinsed by irradiation with ultraviolet rays from a light source outside the container. Also disclosed is a rinsing method, having a first step for accommodating an article, to be rinsed, into a second container disposed inside a first container and being adapted to maintain an ambience different from that of the first container, a second step for introducing a rinsing gas into the second container, and a third step for irradiating the article with ultraviolet rays from a light source disposed inside the first container but outside the second container.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming a film of aluminum oxide in which a target containing aluminum is sputtered in a gas containing fluorine atoms.

Abstract: A process of producing a thin film is disclosed. The process comprises the steps of providing a vessel; placing a target such that a surface to be sputtered of the target surrounds a discharge space; placing a substrate on a side of an opening of the space such that the substrate faces an anode disposed so as to close another opening of the space surrounded by the target; supplying a sputtering gas and a fluorine-containing gas into the vessel; and supplying a dc power or a power obtained by superimposing pulses with reversing polarities on the dc power, between the target and the anode, wherein a discharge is induced in the discharge space to sputter the target, thereby forming a fluorine-containing thin film on the substrate.

Abstract: The antireflection film of the present invention comprises an alternately multi-layered film of 10 layers formed on a base member and having antireflection characteristics in two wavelength regions including a first wavelength (&lgr;1) of 248 nm and a second wavelength (&lgr;2) of 633 nm as central wavelengths, respectively, the multi-layered film of 10 layers comprising: low-refractive index layers arranged at odd-numbered positions from a side opposite to the base member and having a refractive index of 1.45 to 1.52 at the first wavelength (&lgr;1); and high-refractive index layers arranged at even-numbered positions from the side opposite to the base member and having a refractive index of 1.65 to 1.80 at the first wavelength (&lgr;1), wherein layers arranged at the first, second and third positions from the side opposite to the base member each have an optical thickness ranging from 0.21&lgr;1 to 0.28&lgr;1.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming a film of aluminum oxide in which a target containing aluminum is sputtered in a gas containing fluorine atoms. The thin film of aluminum oxide according to the present invention has little optical absorption and high refractive index in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet regions.

Abstract: A process of producing a thin film is disclosed which comprises the steps of:

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for forming a film of aluminum oxide in which a target containing aluminum is sputtered in a gas containing fluorine atoms.

Abstract: A film formation method of forming at least one layered film on a substrate containing fluorite as a main ingredient by using a film formation apparatus which emits electrons or ions, which comprises the step of forming, as a first layered film counted from the side of the substrate, a film having a thickness of 30 nm or less and comprising at least one selected from the group consisting of SiO2, BeO, MgO, and MgF2.

Abstract: A process is provided for forming a thin film having refractive index thereof varying continuously or stepwise in a thickness direction. The process comprises sputtering in a vacuum chamber by introducing, during film formation, at least two kinds of gases selected from a nitrogen-containing gas, an oxygen-containing gas, and a fluorine-containing gas with the flow rate ratio of the gases varied continuously or stepwise. This process enables variation of the refractive index in the thickness direction, simply without difficulty.

Abstract: An anti-reflection film is arranged by alternately stacking a plurality of high-refractive index layers containing Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and a plurality of low-refractive index layers containing SiO.sub.2 on a transparent substrate in turn from the substrate side to the air side, and satisfies:1.45.ltoreq.ns.ltoreq.1.651.60.ltoreq.na.ltoreq.1.850.31.lambda.0.ltoreq.d1.ltoreq.0.42.lambda.00.38.lambda.0.ltoreq.d2.ltoreq.0.45.lambda.00.20.lambda.0.ltoreq.d3.ltoreq.0.31.lambda.00.18.lambda.0.ltoreq.d4.ltoreq.0.28.lambda.00.20.lambda.0.ltoreq.d5.ltoreq.0.30.lambda.00.20.lambda.0.ltoreq.d6.ltoreq.0.30.lambda.0where ns and na are the refractive indices of the low-refractive index layer and the high-refractive index layer for light components falling with the wavelength range from 190 nm to 250 nm, di (unit: nm) is the optical film thickness of the i-th layer when the high- and low-refractive index layers are counted from the substrate side to the air side, and .lambda.