Anti-Reflective Coatings (commonly referred to as “AR” or “ARC”) are a type of optical coating applied to the surface of optical elements to reduce reflection. In many optical systems, anti-reflective coatings are critical to prevent loss of light in the system. In more complex optical systems such as telescopes the reduction in reflections using anti-reflective coatings can improve the contrast of the image by elimination of stray light.
Many anti-reflective coatings consist of transparent thin film structures with alternating layers of contrasting refractive index with multiple layers, depending on the wavelength range and performance required by the application. Layer thicknesses are chosen to produce destructive interference in the light reflected from the interfaces, and constructive interference in the corresponding transmitted light.
Precision Optical’s expansive capabilities and arsenal of coating equipment makes us an ideal choice for your thin-film coating needs. Whether you’re requesting coatings on your components, or need a quick turn-around for substrates you already have, Precision Optical offers a variety of anti-reflective coatings in wavelength ranges that span the Ultraviolet (“UV”, 194nm to 400nm), Visible (“VIS”, 400nm to 600nm), Near-Infrared (“NIR”, 600nm to 1.5 microns), and Short Wave Infrared (“SWIR”, 1.5 microns to 2.5 microns).