Our comprehensive range of optical coating techniques:

• Thermal evaporation
• Electron-beam (e-beam)
• Ion assisted deposition (IAD)
• Ion beam sputtering (IBS)
• Chemical vapor for diamond-like coatings (DLC)

We use thermal evaporation for the deposition of metals and dielectrics which are less compatible with e-beam coating. For the many materials that are compatible, however, the e-beam technique provides coating with lower stress where surface flatness is a priority, higher laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT), and improved control of impurities in the deposited material.

E-beam is especially useful for coating components for operation at deep ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Ion-assisted electron beam (IAD) coating deposits robust coatings with very high laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) and very low thermal shift.

IAD coatings are widely utilized for optical systems designed for the defense industry where multiple laser wavelength devices are required to work together in rugged environments.

Ion beam sputtering (IBS) generates very dense, hard coatings ideal for very high reflection and low loss requirements. IBS is thus well-suited to finishing superpolished mirrors – whether for cutting-edge research or for Ring Laser Gyros (RLG). IBS coatings have a lower LIDT than IAD coatings. to work together in rugged environments.

A chamber that incorporates thermal, e-beam, and an ion source provides increased coating flexibility. This enables us to tune and allow selective bombardment of the various coating materials during deposition to match challenging substrate types and meet exacting performance requirements.

Contact us to discuss your optical coating needs.