USING SURFACE-PLASMON RESONANCES TO TEST THE DURABILITY OF SILVER-COPPER FILMS

Silver has high reflectivity in the visible and infrared but cannot be used fully because of its distressing lack of durability. A technique that uses the surface plasmon resonance phenomenon offers a sensitive method for studying the corrosion of silver and assessing improvement s. It has been used in the investigation of the effects of flashing a thin layer, approximately 1 nm thick, of copper over silver in an atte mpt at cathodic protection. Tests include exposing silver and silver-c opper films to air, 94% relative humidity, water, and hydrogen sulfide . (C) 1996 Optical Society of America