Optical Coating
Optical coatings are at the heart of modern optics, as they influence how lenses, mirrors, and other optical elements interact with light. These are carefully crafted thin films applied to surfaces in order to control transmission, reflection and polarization of light. From the simple anti-reflective coating on your glasses to complex multilayers found in high power lasers; optical coatings have been instrumental in various technological breakthroughs.
- Home
- Manufacturing Capabilities
- Optical Coating
Different Kinds of Optical Coatings
The universe of optical coatings is filled with many possibilities that serve different purposes. Here are some examples:
- Coatings for Filters – Selectively enhance or suppress specific wavelengths thereby affecting the appearance of an image or controlling the amount of light passing through it.
- Beam-splitting Coatings – These divide one beam into two beams by reflecting part and transmitting another part so that both can follow different paths while maintaining a certain ratio between them thus enabling multi-beam path control and polarisation control.
- High Reflecting Coatings – These maximize light reflection and transmission especially where there may be applications such as automotive headlights, camera lenses among others which need high performance devices.
- Low Reflecting Coating – When minimum reflectance is required coupled with maximum transmission capacity then low reflective coatings come into play commonly used in medical imaging systems or laser diodes used together with high-end camera lenses as well as military rangefinders.
- Anti-reflection coatings (ARCs) /Indoor hard-coated ARCs – Thin films that reduce reflections from surfaces significantly improving clarity and comfort when viewing through eyeglasses, cellphones screens, cameras viewfinders etc., also useful for night vision goggles where stray light needs elimination while maintaining high transmittance levels across wide range wavelengths;
State-of-the-Art Coating Techniques
There are several advanced methods employed within this field; each with its own set of unique benefits:
- Ion-Assisted Electron Beam (IAD E-Beam) Evaporative Deposition – This is a versatile process which can allow for many different materials to be used due to the large chamber sizes available. It also provides flexibility in designing coatings with specific properties.
- Ion Beam Sputtering (IBS) – Known for producing high quality and stable films because it allows better control over factors like oxidation state during layer growth or energy input into the system leading to higher durability coatings.
- Plasma Assisted Reactive Magnetron Sputtering (PARMS) – In PARMS, a glow discharge plasma is utilized thus creating hard dense films useful in making fluorescent optical filters;
- Advanced Plasma Sputtering (APS) – It involves advanced automation features on top of IAD E-Beam concept thereby giving smoother denser more uniform coatings.
General Specifications
Here’s a quick reference table outlining common coating materials and their specifications:
| Material | Substrate | Surface Quality | Chamfer | Coating Material | Clear Aperture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copper | Fused Silica, H-K9L | 40-20 | 0.5mm, 45° | Ag, Al, Cr | > 90% of diameter |
| Silver | Fused silica, BK7 | 40-20 | 0.5mm, 45° | Silver | > Central 85% of diameter |
| Aluminum | Fused silica, BK7 | 40-20 | 0.5mm, 45° | Aluminum | > Central 85% of diameter |
| Germanium | Germanium, ZnSe | 40-20 | 0.5mm, 45° | ZnS, YbF3, Ge | > 90% of diameter |
An Optical Coated World
The demand for optical coatings rose as industries kept advancing technologically hence this became one of those technologies that could not be done without any longer because they have brought about so much change. They are used in electronics and semiconductors where intricate systems need protection from unwanted reflections; anti-reflection eyeglasses that have made life easier for most people among others.
Optical coatings are an amazing technology that has silently transformed our ability to interact with light in various parts of life. Even though there have been lots of breakthroughs already made within this industry, we should expect even more exciting discoveries as time goes by since the potential applications together with benefits associated with them promise only brighter days ahead.
Need Help?
Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about company or optical components
