Mirror coatings are designed to achieve the maximum
reflectivity over the widest spectrum of wavelengths.
There is always a trade off, in that the wider the range
of operating wavelengths, the lower the overall
reflectance.
Protected Silver has a similar performance to
Gold coating in the near
infra red, but the visible performance is better for
silver. Gold coatings can be used at Terahertz
frequencies.
Protected Silver is more durable.
Protected Silver coating in near infra red
Enhanced coatings for specific wavelengths such as
633nm, see below, or 10.6 microns wavelength such as our
MaxR coating.
A coating for red laser use |
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Tips for specifying mirror coatings
Specify angle of incidence, wavelength(s) and
polarization
Very thin mirrors may distort due to tensile and
compressive forces in the thin film coating layers
A small perimeter area will be uncoated
High reflectivity e.g 99.8%+ can only be achieved over a
small spectrum
Thin Film modeling software can allow a coating to be
designed and characterized.
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