Process development

In the field of process development, the LZH focuses on the development and optimization of new process designs for optical thin-film technology. Based on modern high-vacuum processes, optical coatings on different optical components with very low losses, extreme environmental stability, and a variety of complex spectral characteristics can be achieved. Besides conventional thermal evaporation processes, modern ion processes including ion-assisted deposition (IAD) and ion beam sputtering (IBS) are available.

A large variety of industry-compatible coating equipment, which can be used in research for individual adaptation to the required parameters, is available for process development. Furthermore, standard automatic process control systems, for example for optical broadband in-situ layer thickness determination, plasma analysis, as well as particle detection, have been developed.

The focus is on solving special coating problems in the field of laser technology and precision optics. This competence is illustrated by the following main scopes of work:

Layers for emerging wavelength ranges (UV/VUV, MIR)
One example is compact water-free layers generated by ion-assisted processes, which greatly reduce losses, and at the same time increase the mechanical stability. Furthermore, the use of new coating materials and material combinations makes new applications possible.

Coating of special substrate geometries and materials
In the field of microoptics and nanotechnology, know-how on the coating of electrooptical components as well as fiber end faces has been acquired. Here, cold ion processes, which also enable the coating of temperature-sensitive plastics, are used.

Coating of special optics with complex spectral characteristics
Examples for this are extremely stable and low-loss filters for high-power laser applications, as well as chirped mirrors for use in femtosecond laser systems. The combination of the IBS process with a specially developed optical broadband layer thickness control enables fully automatic rapid prototyping of optical precision filters, even for most demanding designs.