19 Dec 2006 Balzers, Liechtenstein – Optical sensors provided with the new-generation
bandpass filters from Oerlikon Optics increase safety in road traffic. High-precision bandpass filter production contributes substantially to achieving
the required high quality of sensors.
Especially the fields of automotive, automation, and instrumentation are placing
new demands on optical components. In response to this need, Oerlikon Optics
has developed a new key product – its new-generation bandpass filters. They
have successfully gone into volume production utilizing sputter technology.
"Sputtering" is a technology that Oerlikon Optics has been successfully using for
years in the manufacture of coatings for high-precision optics applications.
Sputter technology, developed and patented by Oerlikon, supplies very dense
coating layers, which offer much better environmental resistance than those
produced by conventional coating processes. Dr. Peter Wierer, Product Line
Manager OEM with Oerlikon Optics: "This property makes the products
especially suitable for applications in the field of automotive sensor systems."
Bandpass filters in optical sensors suppress radiation outside the useful spectral region and maximize transmission of the useful radiation. Peter Wierer: "They
allow over 90 percent of the useful infrared radiation to be transmitted while
almost completely absorbing visible light." Moreover, sputter technology enables the optical tolerances to be improved by a factor of 2. This greatly improves the
signal-to-noise ratio of optical sensors. One of the features of sputtered bandpass filters is their high temperature stability up to 300 degrees Celsius and
higher. Another is their resistance to changing environmental conditions such as
extreme climatic and temperature variations. Bandpass filters using Oerlikon
sputter technology fulfill all these requirements appreciably better than products
based on conventional coating technologies.
Sputtered bandpass filters from Oerlikon are applied, for example, in "Adaptive
Cruise Control" (ACC) systems of cars. This is a key technology designed to enhance road traffic safety. The system reliably measures the distance to the vehicle ahead. If it drops below a defined minimum, this will cause the vehicle - for instance - to automatically brake. Other applications of these filters include
industrial automation – for example light barriers – or instruments that operate at
wavelengths in the near infrared region.
Caption:
Sensor with Oerlikon bandpass filter for measuring the distance to the vehicle
ahead.
For more information, visit our home page at: www.oerlikon.com/optics |
