Optics Balzers, a global supplier of optical components and coatings, provides unique patterning solutions, including laser ablation, masked coatings and photolithography, for manufacturing optical components.
Laser ablation provides a number of choices to pattern optical filter coatings. With short processing times, high-precision customized shapes and patterns can be created on the coated components. Laser ablation can be used to manufacture patterned filters as small as 100 µ.
Through metal masked coating techniques, patterns can be applied on any type of material or coating process. During the process of coating, the metal masks are attached onto the substrates and these masks create the required patterns. The minimum size of the pattern that can be achieved with this technology is around 200 µ.
Photolithography techniques, including reactive ion etching, lift-off and wet etching, can be used to manufacture patterned gratings and coatings with high-precision. Patterns with sizes smaller than 10 µ can be produced through this method. CCD/CMOS image sensors and lids for MEMS elements can be manufactured using photolithographic techniques.
Optics Balzers will showcase its portfolio of patterning solutions at the Laser World of Photonics to be held from 23 to 26 May, 2011 in Munich, Germany.
Source: http://www.opticsbalzers.com/