An optical coating is one or more thin layers of material deposited on an optical component such as a lens, prism or mirror, which alters the way in which the optic reflects and transmits light. These coatings have become a key technology in the field of optics. One type of optical coating is an anti-reflective coating, which reduces unwanted reflections from surfaces, and is commonly used on spectacle and camera lenses. Another type is the high-reflector coating, which can be used to produce mirrors that reflect greater than 99.99% of the light that falls on them. More complex optical coatings exhibit high reflection over some range of wavelengths, and anti-reflection over another range, allowing the production of dichroic thin-film filters. The simplest optical coatings are thin layers of metals, such as aluminium, which are deposited on glass substrates to make mirror surfaces, a process known as silvering. The metal used determines the reflection characteristics of the mirror; aluminium is the cheapest and most common coating, and yields a reflectivity of around 88%-92% over the visible spectrum. More expensive is silver, which has a reflectivity of 95%-99% even into the far infrared, but suffers from decreasing reflectivity (

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Related courses (13)
MSE-627: X-Ray Analysis for thin films
Intro into the relation between physical and structural properties; introduction into different X-Ray techniques; examples of successful technological transfer using X-Ray techniques; Structural prope
MSE-465: Thin film fabrication technologies
The students will learn about the essential chemical, thermodynamic and physical mechanisms governing thin film growth, about the most important process techniques and their typical features, includin
MATH-225: Topology II - fundamental groups
On étudie des notions de topologie générale: unions et quotients d'espaces topologiques; on approfondit les notions de revêtements et de groupe fondamental,et d'attachements de cellules et on démontre
Show more
Related lectures (36)
Optical Interference: Matrix Approach
Explores the matrix approach to optical interference in multi-layer systems and the practical applications of dielectric mirrors.
Transparent Conductive Oxides
Explores the evolution, properties, and applications of Transparent Conductive Oxides, including challenges in optoelectronic applications and strategies for reducing surface reflections in solar cells.
Windows and Coatings: Heat Transfer
Explores heat transfer in windows and coatings, emphasizing reflection minimization and absorption optimization.
Show more
Related publications (339)
Related concepts (20)
Anti-reflective coating
An antireflective, antiglare or anti-reflection (AR) coating is a type of optical coating applied to the surface of lenses, other optical elements, and photovoltaic cells to reduce reflection. In typical imaging systems, this improves the efficiency since less light is lost due to reflection. In complex systems such as cameras, binoculars, telescopes, and microscopes the reduction in reflections also improves the contrast of the image by elimination of stray light. This is especially important in planetary astronomy.
Thin-film optics
Thin-film optics is the branch of optics that deals with very thin structured layers of different materials. In order to exhibit thin-film optics, the thickness of the layers of material must be similar to the coherence length; for visible light it is most often observed between 200 and 1000 nm of thickness. Layers at this scale can have remarkable reflective properties due to light wave interference and the difference in refractive index between the layers, the air, and the substrate.
Beam splitter
A beam splitter or beamsplitter is an optical device that splits a beam of light into a transmitted and a reflected beam. It is a crucial part of many optical experimental and measurement systems, such as interferometers, also finding widespread application in fibre optic telecommunications. In its most common form, a cube, a beam splitter is made from two triangular glass prisms which are glued together at their base using polyester, epoxy, or urethane-based adhesives. (Before these synthetic resins, natural ones were used, e.
Show more
Related MOOCs (1)
The Radio Sky I: Science and Observations
Be captivated by the exotic objects that populate the Radio Sky and gain a solid understanding of their physics and the fundamental techniques we use to observe them.

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.