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Coatings for Polymers Optical Coatings for Polymers Our technology is specifically designed for the coating of polymers with optical coatings such as Antireflection coatings, filters and mirrors. Polymerised Silica Light Coatings have the capability to apply Polymerised Silica sealing/buffer layers to polymers through an insitu PACVD process. Barrier Coatings Light Coatings can undertake a range of coatings to act as barriers for moisture, air or chemicals, through the application of dense Al2O3 or custom designed layers and materials to suit your specific application. Coatings for 3D Printed Polymers Through our current research projects we are developing the capability to apply hard wearing, chemically resistant and in some cases decorative coatings to a range of 3D printed polymers. Vacuum Plasma Treatment Of critical importance for coatings for polymers is the use of vacuum plasma pretreatment. This is a routine aspect of the coating process depending on the polymer type but can also be performed as a stand alone treatment for specific applications for surface energy and activation. Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

Component Manufacturing Optics We can source and provide coatings for precision optics utilising our network of suppliers for a wide range of optics. Polymer Optics We can source a wide range of polymer optics from micro lens arrays to large polymer lenses and specialist large format polymer components. We are able to combined this with fabrication, machining and a variety of coatings where required. Vacuum Coating Parts We supply a range of vacuum parts and consumables to custom designs to a range of customers. These can be from specific target materials to custom machine components. Wafer Components We use wafer substrates from Silicon and Germanium to Sapphire and can supply a range of coated wafers to custom shapes and requirements. Metal Components Through a range of suppliers we can supply a range of coated metallic parts with decorative, durable or other functional coating types. Optical Housings and Assemblies We can design custom optical housings and assemblies for custom requirements Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

3D Printing Formlabs 3 SLA printing of high performance Formlabs resins for superior surface quality components. The surface finish of SLA components ensure excellent aesthetics and accuracy for high performing prototyping and engineering components/prototypes. STFC Facilites Based at the STFC Daresbury site, and situated across from the campus technology HUB we have easy access of a wide range of 3D printers and printer technologies to support activities. These include metal printing as well as various polymer printing technologies. 10K Industrial Prototyping We carry stock of Formlabs 10K resin for high load, high temperature and excellent rigidity prototype and functional components. This glass filled polymer also lends itself to coating with our in house facilities. Formlabs Resins We can source many resins from the selection from formlabs and are happy to print in new polymers where this supports our additional activities and services. Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

Precision Optical Coatings Antireflection Coatings Antireflection Coatings reduce the reflections present the interface between an optic and the air or other background medium. These can be single wavelength coatings for lasers or complex broad or multband coatings. Light Coatings can produce coatings from UV - FIR wavelengths. Metallic Mirrors A metallic mirror can be a 1st or 2nd surface coating of metal, typically Aluminium, SIlver or Gold to a produce a wide angle, high reflectivity surface. These coatings can be complemented with optical layers to improve reflectivity in select wavelengths or with layers to protect the metal from oxidation, abrasion and chemical degredation. Beam Splitters A beam splitter coating is used to split the incident light into 2 different paths, either for rejection purposes or the split a signal. These coating types typically work by; - Splitting the wavelengths of incident light - Splitting the light based on polarisation - Splitting the intensity with a partial mirror Dielectric Mirrors A dielectric mirror is a stack of high and low index optical materials which provide a very high reflection level. These coatings are generally give the highest reflectivity (>99.9% possible) but can be very thick and time consuming to produce compared to a metal mirror. Edge Filters Edge filters are typically versions of a high/low index stack and combined antireflection optimisations to provide a sharp transition from high reflection to high transmission. These can be in the form of long or short pass filters or other iterations to selectively filter incident light. Custom Optical Coatings Light Coatings regularly undertake custom coatings including transparent conductive oxides such as ITO, speciliased functional coatings such a thermochromics as well as a range of other optoelectronic coatings. Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

Manufacturing Light Coatings supply coating solutions to our customers, from the design, specification and manufacture of coated components to providing custom coatings to customer supplied components. Our expertise in the technology and system level use of coatings ensure that the guidance provided at every step ensures the highest success for your product and end solution. ​ Light Coatings provide a range of services for a dynamic and flexible approach for thin film coatings. We specialise in small batch production with significant flexibility in terms of materials, coatings designs and substrate types to minimise setup time, costs and interruptions allowing us to focus on the value added activity of coating. We have internal capability for 3D printing tooling for use with our equipment to keep costs and lead times short and can also offer 3D printing to support our customers where this compliments the coating processes. ​ Precision Optical Coatings (UV - VIS - NIR - FIR) We can provide custom designed optical coatings for your application using industry standard simulation software to match a range of applications from Antireflection, edge filters, polarisers and other specialist filters. Coatings for Plastics Our low temperature process allows efficient coating of plastics for a range of applications, from optical to durable and wear performance. ​ ​ ​ Component Manufacturing We can provide a complete product from within our inhouse capabilities or within our established supply chain to meet requirements from large format polymer components to complete optical devices. SLA 3D Printing As part of our offering for coatings for plastics we can provide SLA printed components through our in house Formlabs printing capability, coating by our technicians and completed in a truly rapid timescale. Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

Staff Members DR STEVEN STANLEY GEORGE TITLEY

Facilities Light Coatings have specialist facilities for the design, manufacture and analysis of a range of thin film coatings along with prototyping facilities to support rapid development at the systems level where required. Thin Film Coatings Our primary coating method is through Reactive Magnetron Sputtering of which we specialise in small batch production for prototyping and small volumes/components but with techniques which we can take to larger scale production within our own or other facilities. Our automated system can produce multilayer coatings with nm level precision and to date we have performed coatings exceeding 160 discrete layers in a single cycle. ​ We have a range of coating materials available including; - Oxides (SiO2, ZrO2, TiO2, VO2, Al2O3) - Nitrides (Si3N4, ZrN, TiN, Al3N4, CrN) - Metals (Al, Ag, Cu, Stainless Steel, Ni, Cr) - Others (DLC, Me:DLC, HMDSO, Carbides, ITO) ​ We also undertake materials development for new materials which we can conduct within our equipment very quickly but within a system which can be directly taken to industrialisation compared to a research system. ​ ISO 5 Clean Room As part of our ongoing quality assurance we have the Clean Environments, fully portable, inflatable class 5 clean room with HEPA filtration. This provides a dust free environment for the most demanding of customer applications. With the portable approach we gain in flexibility without the requirement and cost of a permanent clean room. Formlabs 3 3D Printer Light Coatings have recently brought in house SLA 3D printing capabilities to support not only our internal tooling and prototyping capability but to develop our ability to print and coat final products for customers with specialist requirements. We have stock formlabs resins available and can design and print components at a lead time much faster than an equivalent aluminium or metal component. Analysis Techniques To support our coating activities and consultancy offering we have a range of test and analsyis methods available including; - Spectrophotometers (UV - NIR and MIR - FIR) - Adhesion and Durability Testing to various standards - SEM Analysis - XRF - XRD Beyond this testing we have direct access to a significant range of test facilities through our various partners. Cleaning Facilities Utilising an ultrasonic cleaning process we ensure the cleanliness of customer substrates, essential prior to coating. Two separate cleaning stages ensure no cross contamination occurs. A dedicated drying system removes any remaining moisture. Ready to take the next step to a coating solution? Contact Us

IR Coatings We have undertaken a range of IR coating developments using our reactive sputtering process to further develop our capability in this area. We have worked with specific coating options to optimise existing products in the IR region, developed new materials and processes for specific needs in IR wavelengths and to develop the materials which can be used in these areas such electrochromic and thermochromic coatings. Want to discuss our R&D projects? Contact Us

Design & Development We strive to be known for our expertise, reliability, and customer-centric approach, building long-lasting partnerships with our clients based on trust, collaboration, and mutual respect. Our vision is to create a positive impact on the world by providing sustainable solutions that improve the performance, durability, and aesthetics of our clients' products, while maintaining the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility. We aspire to be a company that is respected by our industry peers, admired by our clients, and valued by our employees and stakeholders and to make a meaningful contribution to the communities in which we operate. Optical Coatings Design We provide optical coating design services to a global range of customers from defence and aerospace to cutting edge ophthalmics and industrial displays. Utilising industry recognised software for the design, optimisation and reverse engineering, combined with the experience to ensure coatings perform in the environments required and within the manufacturability available at the client. Technology Assessment We provide a range of services dedicated to ensuring that clients specify, select and obtain the most applicable technologies suitable for their application and requirements. Our experts can provide insight to manufacturers, technologies and processes to provide the client with all the information required to make a fully informed decision whilst ensuring that we eliminate any of the acronyms and 'black box' views which can be associated with such technologies. Subcontract R&D We know that on occasion resource, capability or the requirements for discretion means that outsourcing R&D can be an effective tool. In these situations we can support activities from running large collaborative R&D projects to supporting small activities with academics, handling the supply chain, partners and outputs with clear reporting to the clients and key stakeholders. Project Management Where key technical knowledge is required to deliver a project Light Coatings provide key project management to our clients. This has been in the form of running government funded projects for clients to ensure delivery and reporting to the oversight body to delivering project management for the delivery and establishment of complete industrial coating facilities. Get in touch for a free consultation ITAC 5, Daresbury Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, WA4 4AD +44 (0)845 1549796 sales@lightcoatings.co.uk First Name Last Name Email Project Summary Send

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RESEARCH PROJECTS Our Current Focus Coatings for 3D Printed Plastics Feb, 2023 Low Temperature Diamond Like Coatings (DLC) July, 2023 Specialist IR Coatings June, 2022 Want to discuss our R&D projects? Contact Us