As one of the most common types of optical coatings, anti-reflective coatings are typically used in various types of applications such as light fixtures, displays, and eyewear. Specifically, VisiClear Anti-Reflection Coatings from VisiMax are used in applications across a wide variety of industries and across the globe. One other notable application for anti-reflection coatings is Digital Light Projection (DLP) systems.
DLP systems often include multiple optical elements, and the light loss is at least 8% for each optic. VisiClear anti-reflection coatings can return approximately half of that loss. For example, in a standard glass optical interface, the loss of transmission results in 92% of transmission. A VisiClear coating on a single side restores that transmission to over 95% in most applications.
In Figure 1 below, the transmittance measurements demonstrate the advantage of anti-reflection coatings for optical systems with multiple optical elements. When comparing the coated slides (dotted lines) to the uncoated (solid lines), there is a significant gain of over 20% for a system with four optics. It should also be noted that the substrates used in these measurements were substrates with a low index of refraction. In multi-element systems, optics with high indices of refraction are often used, which would produce more dramatic increases in overall transmittance.
In addition to a transmittance increase, VisiClear also imparts good durability and operates in a range of 425–675 nm. The coating cannot be stripped and is resistant to scratches and heat cycling. VisiClear can also provide easy cleaning properties by adding hydrophobic properties to coated substrates. Dielectric coatings like VisiClear will last as long as a projector.
In commercial DLP systems, where the goal is to achieve the lowest transmittance loss possible while utilizing multiple integrated optical pathways, even a 0.1% gain makes a difference in performance and energy efficiency. VisiClear coatings from VisiMax can provide that advantage for DLP and many other optical applications where maintaining as high a transmittance as possible is critical.
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