Gone are the days of designing a system exclusively around traditional, flat, and rigid optical shapes. Advances in optical coatings and coating processes enable optical design engineers to test the limits of coated, curved, and unusual shapes within their applications. Find out more about the different materials that can be coated and the manufacturing challenges.
Roll-to-roll processes present a number of challenges when coating flexible surfaces, one of the challenges is stress. Balancing the stress between the two sides of the substrate and stress build up from many layers. This stress concern limits the thickness and complexity of the coatings achievable. To address this challenge, DSI utilizes their MicroDyn® batch coating technology. Using their MicroDyn® magnetron sputtering batch process, DSI can create complex coatings as thick as 10 µm, composed of hundreds of layers.