I. Overview
A large planar optical coating device is a device for uniformly depositing a thin film on the surface of a planar optical element. These films are often used to improve the performance of optical components, such as reflection, transmission, anti-reflection, anti-reflection, filter, mirror and other functions. The equipment is mainly used in optical, laser, display, communication, aerospace and other industries.
Second, the basic principle of optical coating
Optical coating is a technique that alters the optical properties of an optical element (such as a lens, filter, prism, optical fiber, display, etc.) by depositing one or more layers of material (usually metal, ceramic, or oxide) on its surface. These film layers can be reflective film, transmission film, anti-reflection film, etc. Common coating methods are physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sputtering deposition, evaporation coating and so on.
Third, equipment composition
Large planar optical coating equipment usually includes the following main parts:
Coating chamber: This is the core part of the coating process and is usually a vacuum chamber. Coating is performed by controlling the vacuum and atmosphere. In order to improve the coating quality and control the thickness of the film, it is necessary to precisely control the environment of the coating chamber.
Evaporation source or sputtering source:
Evaporation source: The material to be deposited is heated to a vaporized state, usually by electron beam evaporation or thermal evaporation, and then deposited onto the optical element in a vacuum.
Sputtering source: By impacting the target with high-energy ions, the atoms or molecules of the target are sputtered out, which are eventually deposited on the optical surface to form a film.
Rotating system: The optical element needs to be rotated during the coating process to ensure that the film is evenly distributed on its surface. The rotating system ensures consistent film thickness throughout the coating process.
Vacuum system: Vacuum system is used to provide a low pressure environment, usually through a pump system to vacuum the coating chamber, ensuring that the coating process is not disturbed by impurities in the air, resulting in a high quality film.
Measurement and control systems: including sensors for monitoring film thickness (such as QCM sensors), temperature control, power regulation, etc., to precisely control the coating process.
Cooling system: The heat generated during the coating process can affect the quality of the film and the integrity of the optical element, so an efficient cooling system is required to maintain a stable temperature environment.
4. Application field
Optical component manufacturing: Coating equipment is widely used in the production of optical components such as optical lenses, microscopes, telescopes, and camera lenses. Through different types of coatings, optical elements can be optimized for anti-reflection, anti-reflection, specular reflection, filtering, etc., to improve image quality, brightness and contrast.
Display technology: In the production process of liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and other displays, coating technology is used to improve the display effect, enhance the color, contrast and anti-reflection ability.
Laser equipment: In the manufacturing process of lasers and laser optical components (such as laser lenses, mirrors, etc.), coating technology is used to adjust the reflection and transmission characteristics of the laser to ensure the energy output and transmission quality of the laser.
Solar photovoltaic: In the production of solar panels, optical coating is used to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency. For example, coating a layer of anti-reflection film on the surface of photovoltaic materials can reduce the loss of light, thereby improving the performance of solar cells.
Aerospace: In the aerospace field, optical lenses, optical sensors, telescopes and other equipment need to be coated to enhance their radiation resistance, high temperature resistance and anti-reflection effect to ensure the normal operation of equipment in harsh environments.
Sensors and instruments: Used for precision instruments, infrared sensors, optical sensors and other equipment manufacturing, coating can improve their performance. For example, infrared sensors often require a specific film coating in order to be able to effectively filter and pass through specific wavelengths of light.
V. Technological challenges and development trends
Film quality control: In large planar optical coating equipment, ensuring the uniformity and consistency of the film is a technical problem. Small temperature fluctuations, gas composition changes or pressure fluctuations during the coating process can affect the quality of the film.
Multilayer coating technology: High-performance optical components often require multilayer film systems, and the coating equipment must be able to precisely control the thickness and material composition of each film to achieve the desired optical effect.
Intelligent and automation: With the advancement of technology, the future coating equipment will be more intelligent and automated, able to monitor and adjust various parameters in the coating process in real time, improve production efficiency and product quality.
Environmental protection and energy saving: With the strict requirements of environmental regulations, optical coating equipment needs to reduce energy consumption and reduce the emission of harmful substances. At the same time, the development of more environmentally friendly coating materials and processes is also an important direction of current research.
SOM2550 continuous magnetron sputtering optical coating equipment
Equipment advantages:
High degree of automation, large loading capacity, excellent film performance
The transmittance of visible light is up to 99%
Superhard AR +AF hardness up to 9H
Application: Mainly produces AR/NCVM+DLC+AF, as well as intelligent rearview mirror, car display/touch screen cover glass, camera ultra-hard AR, IR-CUT and other filters, face recognition and other products.
–This article is released by vacuum coating machine manufacturer Guangdong Zhenhua
Post time: Jan-24-2025