Anti-Reflection Coatings (AR)

Reynard Corporation provides a range of anti-reflection (AR) coatings, which can be applied to our high quality optical components and substrates. Current capabilities support the manufacture and verification of AR coatings designed for use at any combination of (temperature / laser power / polarization / angle of incidence / wavelength) from 0.2 to 25µm. Our twenty one vacuum chambers reside in a 4000 square foot Class 1000 clean room and can coat any size and shape up to 50" major dimension with exceptional coating uniformity. All standard AR coatings can be customized for your particular application.

Standard Anti-Reflection Coating Types:

Single layer Anti-Reflection Coating (SLAR):
	most cost effective broadband
Laser Anti-Reflection Coating (v-coat):
	A.k.a. "V-coat" R(CWL)<0.1% typical Narrowband best for monochromatic applications Moderate precision
Broadband / Multi Layer Anti-Reflection Coating (BBAR / (MLAR):
	R(average)<0.5% typical over user defined spectral range High precision, for use "when every photon matters"

• Ultraviolet Anti-Reflection (UAR): This ultraviolet anti-reflection coating reduces surface reflection from quartz or fused silica substrates to less than 0.3% from 0.2 to 0.3 microns. UAR coatings are designed to promote the most effective possible transmission of light in the ultraviolet wavelengths.
  
   
• Cold Anti-Reflection for Plastics: Applied at ambient temperatures, this cold AR coating can be applied to plastics, crystals, cemented doublets and other temperature-sensitive materials. The average resulting reflection is typically less than 0.75% in the visible range at zero degrees angle of incidence. This coating design can be customized for virtually any substrate index.

Loss of light through reflection can impact the performance of optical systems in many important applications, and so the primary purpose of anti-reflection coatings are to come as close as possible to eliminating this reflected light. An anti-reflection coating can also act as a protection layer to soft materials or materials that can easily be damaged by environmental conditions.

When light passes from one medium to another (from air to a lens, for instance) some light is transmitted, but a significant amount is also reflected in the absence of any anti-reflection coating. The amount of light that is reflected is just over 4% when a light beam strikes common glass surface at a normal incidence without the presence of any anti-reflection coatings. The amount of light reflected increases as the angle of incidence increases and is directly related to the change in refractive index of the mediums to which the light is being transmitted.

Without anti-reflection coatings, reflected light is responsible for glare seen on displays, windows, and windshields. In imaging or sensing equipment, stray reflections of light can cause anomalous results or ghost images due to multiple internal surface reflections. In a complex system, the loss of light due to such reflection can be multiplied at each juncture of transmission, but completely avoided with anti-reflection coatings.

Anti-reflection coatings or AR coatings are commonly used in everything from instrument panels and displays to camera lenses, binoculars, and telescopes to help produce clearer and sharper images.

Click here to request a quote for anti-reflection coatings.

Reynard Corporation operates per Military Specification Mil-I-45208A.