Stabilife ™ Optical Filters and Coatings -

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Stabilife™ optical filters and coatings are manufactured using two patented processes for the deposition of metal oxide thin film optical coatings; Reactive Ion Plating (RIP) and Hybrid Plasma Enhanced Deposition IHPED. Both processes yield highly dense, thin film coatings with extraordinary hardness, abrasion resistance, and adhesion to the substrate. Our Stabilife processes have been in full-scale production at our Corion coating facility in Franklin, Massachusetts since the early 1990's. Stabilife films are produced over the wavelength range from 200 nm in the UV to 3 microns in the IR

Spectral Stability
For demanding applications such as fluorescence detection. Wavelength stability is absolutely critical to insure dependable results. Stabilife optical filters and coatings provide this extremely high stability.
Film Density & Spectral Stability
Film density is a critical factor affecting the spectral stability of all optical coating. Un-stabilized metal oxide thin film coatings typically exhibit a significantly lower packing density than Stabilife coatings.  Spectral shifts in the range of 2-5°,o of wavelength are typical of un-stabilized metal oxide coatings. Stabilife coatings have a higher packing density and lower void ratio than un-stabilized metal oxide coatings and are therefore less affected by water absorption. They typically exhibit total wet-to-dry shifts of less than 0.02% of wavelength.

Thermal Properties & Spectral Stability
Stabilife films are typically 5 to 10 times less sensitive to thermal variation than un-stabilized metal oxide films as a result of film densification.  The high film density and reduced permeability resulting from the Stabilife processes reduces this effect providing the maximum spectral stability available for all types of precision coatings including bandpass, dichroic, edge, notch and polarizer coatings.
Physical Durability
Stabilife thin-film optical coatings have demonstrated excellent resistance to damage due to handling, extreme nuclear and optical radiation, and severe environmental conditions. In the most severe applications, such as autoclave immersed nuclear reactor monitoring, Stabilife filters have demonstrated spectrally stable performance lifetimes exceeding 8,000 hours. Stabilife filters have been qualified for telecommunications applications per the requirements of Telcordia GR-2883. Stabilife thin-film optical coatings require no additional protection such as hermetic sealing using lamination or other processes, to achieve their exceptional durability.

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