Laser Protection Thin Film Coatings

Thin Film Coatings

Thin film coatings are extremely thin layers of materials (such as TiO2, SiO2, MgF2, gold, aluminum etc…), which can be applied to the surface of a substrate like glass, metal or germanium, to effect a change in its optical properties. Effects such as reflection, refraction, anti reflection and conductivity can be produced and modified by expert calibration of the number of layers and the respective thicknesses of the thin film coatings in relation to the incidental wavelengths of light.

Laser Protection Thin Film Coatings

Reynard  Corporation produces high performance thin film laser protection  coatings, serving the aerospace, commercial and military markets. These  laser protection coatings can either be applied to the high quality  optical components and substrates that Reynard also supplies, or to  customer-provided substrates.

Laser Protection Coating Applications

A  common application of this laser protection technology is in the  manufacture of laser protection eyewear, for commercial, medical and  military uses. Thin film laser protection coatings enable the  manufacture of lightweight eyewear that afford maximum protection  against the relevant wavelengths while permitting excellent  transmission of ordinary visible light.

Thin  film laser protection coatings also enable the manufacture of high  quality laser filtering optics for a range of uses including in laser  surgery. The substantial advantage of the thin film laser protective  coating as compared to a conventional filter (using absorbing  materials) is the efficiency with which those wavelengths other than  the relevant laser bands are transmitted. Visible light including truer  and more accurate colors pass through the thin film laser protective  coating, greatly assisting the wearer in performing delicate operations.

Reynard  Corporation applies these thin film laser protection coatings in one of  the world’s leading production facilities for the design and  manufacture of optical components to serve aerospace, commercial and  military markets.

Laser Protection Coating Process

Our thin film coating facility has 21 vacuum chambers, ranging from an 18” bell jar to a 54” fully automatic box coater, all in a 4000 square foot Class 1000 clean room. Processes include electron beam, ion assisted and resistance source deposition. We have the capability to coat virtually any size and shape up to and including substrates 50” in diameter.

Available substrates include:

• Alon
• BK-7 (borosilicate crown glass)
• Calcium Fluoride (CaF2)
• Fused Silica
• Germanium (GE)
• KRS5 ( Thallium Bromo-Iodide)
• Sapphire
• Magnesium Fluoride (MgF2)
• Silicon (Si)
• Zinc Selenide (ZnSe)
• Zinc Sulfide (ZnS)
• Or as provided by the customer.

Coating materials include:

• Copper (Cu)
• Gold
• Hafnium Oxide (HfO2)
• ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)
• Magnesium Oxide (MgO)
• Nickel (Ni)
• Silicon Monoxide (SiO)
• Silver
• Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)
• Tantalum Oxide (Ta2O5)
• Zirconium Oxide (ZrO2)
• And many more…

Custom Coating Services

At  Reynard, over 80% of our business is custom. Our laser protection  coatings can be engineered and customized for your particular  application, and in addition have one of the largest and most  comprehensive selection of standard and stock precision optical  components in the world. Reynard Corporation is the leading global  supplier of optical components to the aerospace, commercial and  military markets. We take pride in meeting and exceeding our customers’  expectations in concept, design, engineering and fabrication.

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