Glass blank is now cleaned using a special substrate cleaner then wiped with acetone and lastly methanol. Quartz lamps are switched on for 20 minutes to bake the water off of the chamber walls. System is left to pump until deposition pressure is reached. Glass blank is then exposed to an Argon ion beam which removes minute dust particulates. Blank is then subjected to an Oxygen ion beam to remove any hydrocaron oils that could present and to prepare the surface for receiving the flash evaporation of aluminum.
Flash evaporation is the best method for making highly reflective aluminum and silver films.