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Optical coating on transparent plastics
Author(s) -
Schulz U.,
Munzert P.,
Kaiser N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
vakuum in forschung und praxis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.213
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1522-2454
pISSN - 0947-076X
DOI - 10.1002/vipr.200590026
Subject(s) - coating , materials science , nanotechnology , polymer science , optoelectronics
The replacement of glass by plastic for optical applications is a challenge for the development of coatings. Coating on plastics requires substrate specific vacuum processes. The suitability of the miscellaneous thermoplastic polymers for vacuum coating processes must be evaluated with respect to the degree of damage these substrates will sustain when in contact with plasma and high‐energy radiation. Furthermore, the environmental stability of a plastic part coated with an inorganic layer also depends on the polymer processing parameters and the dimensions of the plastic part. Thus, each coated plastic optic has to pass extended tests depending on the conditions of use. In many cases, the expensive development work impedes the application of coated plastic optics for mass products today. The problems with handling polymers in coating processes stimulate researcher and manufacturer to look for new coating designs or for alternative coating or treatment techniques. One example of this development is the design concept AR‐hard® for antireflection purposes.