As part of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), MetaStable Instruments (St. Peters, MO) has reduced the time and expense required to optimize optical coating processes for aircraft and space components. This effort resulted in the successful development of a new technique that enables coating technicians to measure light absorption and scattering losses of less than one part per million in real time, as the coating process is underway inside a vacuum chamber. By providing technicians a means to optimize materials processing and coating parameters on a routine basis, the new method enables very-low-absorption (VLA) optical thin-film coatings to be produced in less time and at reduced cost to the Air Force.

How it Works

Intrachamber instrument mounted inside a vacuum chamber.