Atomic Layer Deposition for Coating of Complex 3D Optics by LASEROPTIK

Here is a great overview on ALD for coating complex 3D compnents for optics from LASEROPTIK, Germany (LINK).

Laseroptik offers ALD coatings ranging from UV to IR.

Atomic Layer Deposition for Coating of Complex 3D Optics - From theory to practice 

Theodor Weiss, Wolfgang Ebert, Optik&Photonik 3/2017, DOI: 10.1002/opph.201700013 

Abstract: Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is a chemical vapor coating technique that has recently been adapted for precision laser optics to perform highly conformal multilayer coatings on complex 3D substrates like hemispheres, axicons or multi-sided prisms. In our brief report, we explain some ALD fundamentals and describe the way from idea and single-layer films to simple AR (anti-reflection) coatings and even more ambitious designs, like non-polarizing beam splitters, performed on complex optical substrates.

The article contains a new nice graphical representation of CVD vs. ALD process description that I have not seen before - reminds me of winter vs an April typ of weather changing all thee time between winter and summer, rain, snow and sunshine.

 

CVD vs- ALD (Screen sump, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/opph.201700013/epdf)

LASEROPTIK is a German manufacturer of high power laser optics and coatings from VUV to IR, using PVD methods like e-beam evaporation, ion assisted deposition, magnetron sputtering, ion beam sputtering and recently the chemical vapor method of atomic layer deposition. LASEROPTIK runs more than thirty coating machines  and processes about 150,000 optics per year, from needle head size to laser mirrors of up to two meters in length. The company was founded in 1984 by Dr. Johannes Ebert as a spin-off from Hanover University. Main customers are laser manufacturers from industry, medicine and scientific research.