Products & Services
Coatings and Applications
Orion Photonics is an optical thin film coating company with a difference: our focus is to work with clients with difficult problems to solve where thin films could provide a solution.
The company offers a total coating service covering the complete manufacturing process from initial design, prototype manufacture, full production and final testing and qualification. The company has a leading edge product portfolio of high performance thin film coatings covering a wide spectral range from the ultraviolet through the visible and near infra-red wavelength regions.
Optical thin film coatings at Orion Photonics are manufactured using plasma assisted deposition technology from high capacity electron beam sources. This provides a capability for deposition of complex optical coatings containing many hundreds of layers. Among the coatings offered are:
- Head-up display combiner coatings
- Laser protection filters
- Rugate filters for medical and military applications
- Dichroic reflectors, filters and bandpass filters
- UV/IR blocking filters
- Beamsplitters and polarisers
- Coatings for avionic visors
Data sheets for typical products developed are available for download.
Design and Manufacture
Orion Photonics has an in-house thin film design resource that can meet the most stringent and complex customer specification requirements. The coating manufacture utilises plasma and ion assisted electron beam processes on specially configured coating systems. These systems have been process engineered to maximise production throughput and yield whilst providing films that are extremely durable and temperature stable in the most exacting application requirements.
The coatings are extremely rugged and durable satisfying all military environmental specifications. Where required Orion Photonics’ durable precision coated filters and components can be cut to any size using precision dicing techniques that have been developed to minimise edge chips and maximise cosmetic quality.
Orion Photonics prides itself on providing manufactured coatings that closely match the theoretical design. Accurately controlling all aspects of the processes then ensures that the manufactured coatings replicate the designs over a wide spectral range and to a high level of accuracy. The ability to replicate complex theoretical designs into manufactured product is a key expertise of Orion Photonics. This is to some extent as a result of in process attention to detail, but also in the unique configuration of the coating system and the processes using the Plasma Deposition System which was pioneered by personnel at Orion Photonics.
Technology Portfolio Overview
Orion Photonics has a strong commitment to development to establish a leading edge for thin film processes. Among the product coatings developed include:
- Development of narrow notch rugate filters for laser protection applications
- Single and multiple rugate filters for Head-up Displays
- Solar control filters for heat rejection
- Graded rugate coatings
- Coatings on to plastics for military display visors
- Blackbody and solar simulation filters covering a very wide spectral range
- Extremely rugged antireflection coatings for use in harsh environments
More details of some of these applications are given on our Markets page.
Partnerships and Client Relationships
The company works closely with its customers to form partnerships and technology relationships that result in the development of new and innovative coating solutions. Most of our coatings are designed to meet customer specifications, and although some coatings are offered as standard, much of the company’s work is undertaken collaboratively with its customers.
The company will also undertake process development for organisations with their own coating facilities. This can be carried out at Orion Photonics and then transferred to the client’s coating system. Such arrangements which can include technology licensing provide the client with ownership of specific designs and processes. The services offered are:
- Collaborative research
- Development partnerships
- Process development
- Coating demonstrations within Orion Photonics’ Application Lab