Search
Close this search box.

Home / Design Elements

/ Thick Film Coatings

THICK FILM OPTICAL COATINGS

Thermal and UV cured coatings on optical substrates

Thick film coatings include chemical and abrasion resistant hard coatings, hydrophilic (antifog) hard coatings, and diffusion antireflection hard coatings which are commonly called antiglare coatings. Dontech has several families of thick film chemistries (e.g., acrylic and silicone based) and processes for applying thick film coatings to plastic substrates. They are designed to satisfy a wide range of performance requirements, improving the performance of plastic substrates. Dontech has a strong technical team that can assist you with selecting the appropriate coatings to achieve your desired results.

Hard coatings improve environmental durability, including chemical, scratch and abrasion resistance. Diffusion antireflective coatings (i.e., antiglare coatings) control surface reflections by scattering or diffusing the specular or mirror reflections on plastic optical substrates such as polycarbonate, polyester, acrylic, and triacetate.

Custom coatings can combine both thin film and thick film technologies such as VAR™ brand specular antireflective applied over a 9 Series antiglare hard coating. Specially formulated permutations of existing systems and chemistries are available.

Dontech standard thick film coatings include:

  • Hard Coatings – These coatings are applied with a smooth or gloss finish
  • Antiglare Coatings – These coatings have a textured or “etched” finish and are available in different levels of diffusion
  • Antifog Coatings – The coating’s outer surface has hydrophilic properties

 

Standard hard coating chemistries include:

  • 8 Series – UV cured, moderate scratch and abrasion resistance, very good chemical resistance, high transmittance, very good optical properties, moderate outdoor durability
  • 9 Series – UV cured, high scratch and abrasion resistance, very good chemical resistance, high transmittance, very good optical properties, moderate outdoor durability
  • 10 Series – Thermally cured, very high scratch and abrasion resistance, very good chemical resistance, high transmittance, fair optical properties (i.e., can highlight flaws in base material), excellent outdoor durability
  • Custom formulations – Dontech has over 50 years of experience in chemical formulations. We engineer custom coatings (e.g., antimicrobial) and laminations to create thick films systems and optical filters to meet our customers’ needs.

DONTECH & Thick Film Coatings

Dontech has extensive engineering and technical support resources that can assist with your thick film coating selection and design needs. Our technical staff have diverse backgrounds relevant to high-performance display and precision optics markets. For many of our top customers, we function as an extension of their engineering departments, supporting projects from concept to final system delivery. We will integrate our optical filters and other enhancing components into touchscreens, displays, and systems to the level that is needed by our customers.

Looks like you could use some help?