Thin Film Design and Process

Thin Film Design

My design capabilities range across the optical coating industry, taking into account optical specifications, reliability needs, and scalability from the very beginning.

Precision Optics/Photonics

• Dichroic mirrors/filters.

• Beamsplitters (polarizing/nonpolarizing, oblique AOI, surface coating/embedded).

• LWIR windows.

• Notch filters

• Bandpass/longwave/shortwave filters.

Opthalmic Industry

• Visible AR coatings.

• Mirror coatings for sunglasses.

• High index coatings.

• All coating designs can incorporate anti-smudge/superhydrophobic overcoats.

Augmented/Virtual/Mixed Reality

• Transparent conductive oxide coatings (ITO, IZO, etc.).

• Waveguide coatings (dielectric/metal coatings for coupling and fold regions).

Thin Film Process Optimization

In addition to my vast design experience, I know PVD platforms and their capabilities. I can help teams create coatings with stable processes and make sure they match their designed performance. This includes:

• Installation of coating recipes and material files in customer chambers.

• Material process optimization (PID tuning, tooling factors).

• Repeatability/run-to-run stability (cleaning schedules, minimizing unnecessary material loss, locating process inefficiencies).

• Thin film property tuning (refractive index, absorption/extinction coefficient, stoichiometry).

Thin Film Characterization

I am well versed in the methods and equipment used to explore thin film properties, such as:

• Spectroscopic/Ellipsometric measurements and data fitting to find optical constants.

• Stress characterization using white light interferometry.

• Analyzing results from advanced techniques (XRD, EDX, SEM/TEM) to determine film crystal structure, stoichiometry, etc.