In our quest to provide our customers with the widest variety of high-precision coating options, Precision Optical has recently acquired its first Ion-Beam Sputtering Chamber (“IBS”). IBS is a thin film coating process that uses an ion source to deposit a material directly onto a substrate to create a thin film. In IBS technology, the depositing ion beam is highly collimated and monoenergetic (all the ions have the same energy).  It allows for very precise thickness control of deposition materials that are very dense and of very high quality.

IBS has many advantages over other thin-film coating technology due its ability to independently control ion energy, ion current density, and have angle of incidence control of film stoichiometry and microstructures. Having this level of control makes it an ideal choice for the most challenging coating jobs that require coating to achieve high Laser Damage Thresholds and broadband wavelength ranges.