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Rocky Mountain Instruments - Infrared Optics LB

Thin-Film Coatings: A Buyers' Guide

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The vast majority of optics used in precision scientific, industrial, biomedical, and military applications incorporate thin-film coatings on their surfaces. Therefore, it’s useful for almost anyone involved in the specification and purchase of optical components to have some familiarity with the typical performance characteristics, trade-offs and limitations of various coating types, as well as some knowledge of the capabilities of common thin-film production technologies. This article provides an objective overview of both these topics.

Trey Turner and Roger Kirschner, Research Electro-Optics Inc. (REO)

What are thin-film coatings? The purpose of any optical thin-film coating is to modify the transmittance and reflectance properties of the substrate material to which they are applied. Most coatings can be broadly classified into one of the following categories: Antireflection (AR): These are used to suppress unwanted reflections that normally occur at the interface between two different materials, such as air and glass. High reflection (HR): Mirror coatings are used to increase the reflectivity of a surface. Partial reflection: Beamsplitters transmit a specified percentage...Read full article

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    optical coatings
    Optical coatings are thin layers of materials applied to optical components, such as lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms, to modify their reflective and transmissive properties. These coatings are designed to enhance the performance of optical systems by controlling the way light interacts with the surfaces of the components. The primary purposes of optical coatings include: Antireflection coating: This type of coating is designed to reduce reflections from the surfaces of optical...
    Featuresthin film coatingsBasic ScienceFilterslensesmirrorsPrismsCoatingsindustrialOpticschemicalsMaterialsMaterials & Coatingsoptical coatingsantireflection coatingsbeamsplitterspolarizersdeposition

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