The Care and Use of Vacuum UV Coatings

Vacuum UV (VUV) coatings by Acton Optics are used for beam shaping and steering in medical applications, to ensure repeatable long life operation in semiconductor applications, identifying pollutants in spectroscopy applications, and much more. While their benefits and areas of application are numerous, they’re relatively soft for a coating and care must be taken to avoid contamination of the optical surfaces they coat. This application note provides a guideline for how to care for and use VUV coatings, and precautions one should take to extend the life of the coatings.