Gold optical coating

far infrared

Unprotected Gold has high reflectance in the near, mid and far infrared (IR) regions. As gold doesnt oxidize it does not need to have a protective dielectric overcoat however, bare gold is very soft and easily scratched, and can only be cleaned by flow-washing with solvents, or by blowing the surface clean with a low pressure stream of dry air. Durability is greatly enhanced with a protective overcoat. Protected gold can be cleaned regularly using standard organic solvents. Gold is chemically reactive making it well suited to harsh environments, such as DF and HF laser cavities. Protected Gold offers excellent reflectance from 700 nm through mid IR, it is not sensitive to wavelength, angle of incidence or polarization, so it is useful for a wide range of monochromatic and polychromatic applications. Enhanced Gold is over coated with a multilayer dielectric film that is designed to optimize reflectance at a specific wavelength. This coating is recommended for applications involving high power CW lasers, especially when deposited on copper substrates due to the heat dissipation characteristics of copper. This coating is sensitive to wavelength, angle of incidence and polarisation. Contact our multilingual technical sales team and discover how Knight Opticals high quality optical components and superior service can improve your instrumentation and supply chain experience.