Mirrors & Metallic Coatings
Reflective & partially reflective coatings for laser beam steering, imaging, scanning, LiDAR, visible signal suppression, heat management of illumination sources. Metallic, dielectric & hybrid cut-to-order & custom from mm to meter sizes.
Cold Mirrors
Abrisa Technologies provides a line of cold mirrors that reflect Ultra-Violet (UV) or visible energy while transmitting the infrared (heat energy). Cold mirror coatings are vacuum deposited multi-layer dielectric films that can operate in temperatures of ≥400°C and are durable and easy-to-clean. The glass substrate used for our cold mirrors is SCHOTT Borofloat®, a versatile borosilicate glass substrate with excellent thermal properties. Thickness availability is 1.1mm, and 3.3mm. Cold mirror sizes are available up to 27” diameter. Custom sizes and thicknesses and specialty designs are available upon request.
Dark Mirror Coatings
There are some applications for which the light used is too intense. In those cases, a filter is often needed to apply a reduction in the intensity of the light without influencing the spectral profile. These wavelength neutral filters are often specified in terms of their optical density. Optical density can be calculated by taking the negative of the log (base 10) of the transmittance. For example, an optical density of 0.5 would be equivalent to approximately 32% transmittance. An optical density of 1.0 would be equivalent to a transmittance of 10%. Standard neutral density filter designs are available for the UV, Visible, and IR bands and for a variety of optical density values. A similar optically significant case involves surfaces for which reflectance and transmittance are required to both be minimized over a narrow or broadband spectrum. This type of coating is commonly called a Dark Mirror due to the black non-reflective appearance. Dark mirror coatings are often used to reduce stray light reflections at surfaces intended to be opaque. A dark mirror coating can be applied to a variety of glass and metal substrate materials.
Hot Mirrors
Abrisa Technologies can supply hot mirrors or shortwave pass filters (SWP) for heat control applications. For hot mirrors, a thin film coating is applied to a glass substrate, such as soda-lime or borosilicate, in order to reflect infrared radiation either as a means to harness the reflected wavelengths for an application or remove them from an application. Simplified, a hot mirror will separate visible light from heat. Hot mirrors are typically provided on a cut to order basis in thicknesses of 1.1 mm, and 3.3mm and in diameters up to 27”. Custom sizes and thicknesses and specialty designs are available upon request.
Metallic Mirror Coatings
Metal mirror coatings are often used in systems where a very broadband reflector or beam splitter is needed. Metal coatings can also be an excellent choice when an economical coating is especially important. Examples of common metal coating applications include telescope mirrors, neutral density filters, and general-purpose laboratory mirrors. Metals commonly deposited at ZC&R include aluminum, chromium, silver, gold, and Inconel.
Neutral Density Filters
There are some applications for which the light used is too intense. In those cases, a filter is often needed to apply a reduction in the intensity of the light without influencing the spectral profile. These wavelength neutral filters are often specified in terms of their optical density. Optical density can be calculated by taking the negative of the log (base 10) of the transmittance. For example, an optical density of 0.5 would be equivalent to approximately 32% transmittance. An optical density of 1.0 would be equivalent to a transmittance of 10%. Standard neutral density filter designs are available for the UV, Visible, and IR bands and for a variety of optical density values. A similar optically significant case involves surfaces for which reflectance and transmittance are required to both be minimized over a narrow or broadband spectrum. This type of coating is commonly called a Dark Mirror due to the black non-reflective appearance. Dark mirror coatings are often used to reduce stray light reflections at surfaces intended to be opaque. A dark mirror coating can be applied to a variety of glass and metal substrate materials.
Semi-Transparent Mirror Coatings
An emerging trend in hotel, restaurant, and retail displays is the use of aesthetically pleasing high performance Semi-Transparent Mirrors to create a hidden smart display mirror combination. The display unit is located behind the mirror, hidden from view until powered on, projecting a clear and sharp image on command. The semi-transparent mirror coating is available on low iron soda lime glass for low absorption and on grey glass when a more opaque look is needed; as when hiding TVs, security, and surveillance equipment.
Thin & Ultra-Thin Lightweight Mirrors
Abrisa Technologies offers ultra-thin (0.1 to 0.55 mm) mirrors that can be inserted into compact devices needing miniaturization, ultra-lightweight or where space for beam steering is at a premium. Custom coated partially reflective mirrors and beam splitters/combiners are also available on ultra-thin substrates offering the advantage of virtually no beam or image translation. Ultra-thin, lightweight mirrors and optics are ideal for use in unmanned drones and UAV’s, hand-held surgical devices, compact LiDAR systems, head-mounted AR displays and other portables, and wearables.