Anti-reflective coatings are commonly employed in optical systems to limit the quantity of stray light generated when a light beam passes through two mediums with a different refractive index. The vast majority of transmissive optics include some form of antireflection coating. While a single layer coating can reduce light reflectance to zero for a given wavelength and angle of incidence, the reflectance for other wavelengths may be much higher.
Alfa Chemistry proposes a multilayer anti-reflective coating that gives consistently low reflectance throughout a wider coating spectral spectrum. By increasing transmission and enhancing contrast, this coating solution considerably improves the efficiency of optical components. Our anti-reflective coatings are also incredibly tough, withstanding both physical and environmental abuse.
Applications and Benefits of Multi-Layer Anti-Reflection Coating
Our multi-layer anti-reflection coatings are extremely effective in reducing surface reflections from substrates while also providing high visible wavelength transmittance. The refractive index of the dielectric optical coating created by vacuum deposition matches that of the glass-to-air transition. Low light absorption, great abrasion resistance, excellent coating adherence, and little reflection from the glass surface are all advantages of this totally dielectric metal-free multilayer coating. This is a significant improvement over a single-layer anti-reflective coating.
Many common uses for our multi-layer anti-reflection coating can be found in a range of disciplines, including:
- Camera protection windows
- Windows in medical equipment
- Automotive cockpit glass surfaces
- Sensor cover glasses
- Transparency-enhancing films for lenses
- Anti-reflection coatings on optical windows, lenses, and beam splitters
Alfa Chemistry Standard Optical Coating
Alfa Chemistry produces standard anti-reflective coatings on your chosen glass substrate using a vacuum deposition process that incorporates our double-sided and single-sided coatings. By matching the refractive index of each anti-reflective coating to the correct substrate glass material, we assure excellent light transmission. Fused silica, high-quality borosilicate glass, and other conventional optical glasses can all benefit from the coatings.
At a 45° incidence angle, the multi-layer anti-reflection coating is guaranteed to give an average reflectance of less than 0.5 percent at vertical incidence for the 430-660 nm wavelength range, R/= 0.6 percent for P-polarization, and R/= 0.3 percent for S-polarization. Because the coating is formed of electron-beam deposited dielectric material, it has good wear, moisture, and laboratory solvent resistance.
Fig 1. The silica porous coatings were grown by combining an acid-catalyzed sol-gel route and an evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method with four organic/inorganic systems. (Agustín-Sáenz C, et al. 2018)
We make multi-layer anti-reflection coatings on a regular basis, so they are usually available. The anti-reflection coatings detailed on this website are only a small part of our coating capabilities. On request, we apply our anti-reflection layers to optical lenses and other optical products supplied by our customers.
Reference
- Agustín-Sáenz C, et al. (2018). "Broadband Antireflective Coating Stack Based on Mesoporous Silica by Acid-Catalyzed Sol-Gel Method for Concentrated Photovoltaic Application." Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 186: 154-164.
