Optical coatings are an integral part of superior optical components. Astronomical applications (ground- and space-based) place especially high demands on these coatings, not only with regard to their optical performance but also to their mechanical and environmental stability, their thermal properties, and their radiation resistance. This article presents a short overview of several coating solutions developed in recent years at Fraunhofer IOF in order to meet the challenging demands of astronomical applications. The focus is placed on high reflective coatings for different wavelength regions including coatings for the VUV range below 100nm, coatings for the DUV wavelength range above 100nm and VIS/NIR/IR coatings. Further, amorphous silicon layers will be introduced which can be polished to very low roughness values and therefore can act as polishing layer for the manufacture of ultraprecise optical components from metal substrates.

Date Published: 13 September 2012
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 8450, Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II, 84502K (13 September 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.925425

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8450:
Modern Technologies in Space- and Ground-based Telescopes and Instrumentation II
Ramón Navarro; Colin R. Cunningham; Eric Prieto, Editor(s)