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RSSOptical Coatings On Engineered Plastic Applications
July 29, 2009
•White Paper: Optical Coatings On Engineered Plastic Applications
By Robert J. Crase, Assistant Director of Manufacturing, Deposition Sciences, Inc.
The current plastics for which optical coating methodologies have been developed are Ultem®, Zeonex, and various forms of Polycarbonate. Each of these materials has unique properties that make them suitable for different applications in which optical coatings are needed. Of the three families of plastics Ultem® has the highest glass transformation temperature, 392ºF. This makes it suitable for applications where thermal load is potentially an issue, for example applications such as LED fixturing, solar concentrator mirrors, and conventional lighting fixtures. Zeonex has the best injection molding properties. Optics injection molded Zeonex yield fine features and exhibit excellent transmission and clarity. Zeonex has a relatively low index of refraction ~ 1.54 @ 550 nm and a moderate glass transformation temperature as high as 139 °C for some formulations. Polycarbonate has excellent mechanical strength allowing it to be used in larger optics such as mirror blanks. Polycarbonate is available in many forms including low fluorescing forms in gray and black. These forms are well suited as mirror substrates for bio detection systems.
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