ATFilmsTechnology



















	ATFilms Products • OEM laser components • Optics for Science • Specialty Optics IBS features • Low losses • Dense & environmentally stable • High damage thresholds

Technology

ion gun

IBS features

•Excellent spectral performance
• Precise
• Low losses
• Dense
• Environmentally stable
• High damage thresholds

Advanced Thin Films uses state-of-the-art technology.
Our coatings are applied using ion beam sputtering,
a process which uses a high energy particle beam in
vacuum to remove material from a solid target and
deposit it on the substrate. This process uses no evaporation and the ion beam (argon) does all of
the work. Unlike evaporated coatings, the molecules
are deposited at very high energy. This makes the
films dense (not porous) and makes them adhere
very well, as they form covalent bonds during
deposition. What this means is that the coatings are
very stable and durable. They will not shift spectrally
with moisture or other environmental factors, and
they are usually harder than the glass substrate
they are applied to. They are easy to clean, have an indefinite lifetime, and will not delaminate.

In addition to the excellent physical properties that ion beam sputtering yields, there is another major benefit; control . Ion beam sputtering deposits material directly on the substrate, as opposed to filling a vacuum chamber with vapor. This removes a control variable, as there is no lag time between material heating (evaporation) and deposition. Since the beam is electric, it is very controllable. The process is automated and we can deposit films in excess of 100 layers. These factors allow us to deposit the films that we design with high precision.

Second to IBS is ion-assisted deposition (IAD). This technology uses an ion beam to accelerate a vaporized material onto the substrate. While not as precise as IBS, this process has one advantage: it can be used for a wider breadth of materials. For this reason, ATFilms is in the process of adding this capability as a compliment to our IBS systems.

ATFilms has access to a vast array of test and metrology equipment through its affiliation with the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center.