Broadband Antireflection Coatings for Advanced Sensing and Imaging Applications

Sensors and imaging systems operating from visible to long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectrum are being developed for a variety of defense and commercial systems applications. Signal losses due to the reflection of incident signal from the surface of sensors and optical components limits the performance of image sensing systems. Antireflection (AR) coating technology overcomes this limitation and enhance the performance of image sensing systems. Magnolia is actively working on the development and advancement of ultra-high-performance AR coatings for a wide variety of defense and commercial applications. Nanostructured AR coatings fabricated via a scalable self-assembly process are shown to enhance the optical transmission through transparent optical components and sensor substrates by minimizing reflection losses in the spectral band of interest to less than one percent, a substantial improvement over conventional thin-film AR coating technology. Step-graded AR structures also exhibit excellent omnidirectional performance and have recently been demonstrated in various IR spectral bands.