Vacuum deposition of thin films

Historical Significance: This book, first published in 1956, reflects the state of art of thin film coating in the mid 20thC. The book was a standard text: it ran to several editions and printings until 1970. Vaccum thin film deposition has a long history that can be traced back to the 17th C. see History of vacuum coating at http://www.svc.org/HistoryofVacuumCoating/Foundations-of-Vacuum-Coating.cfm in which this book gets a mention. Vacuum coating of spectacle lenses dates from the mid 20th C although Fraunhoffer in 1817 noted the protective properties of film deposition due to age on optical lenses and anti-reflective coatings were developed in the early years of the 20thC. OS Heavens published his classic work on Optical properties of thin solid films in 1955. See also http://www.svc.org/H/HISTORYA.PDF