Abstract: A pretreatment method for use in manufacturing an improved optical component comprises (i) providing a polymeric optical substrate; and (ii) exposing the polymeric optical substrate to electromagnetic energy having a wavelength of about 30 nm to about 350 nm. The exposure of the polymeric optical substrate to the electromagnetic energy substantially improves adhesion between the substrate and an optical coating deposited onto the substrate following pretreatment. The invention addresses the significant need for coated plastic optics by providing a method to achieve reliable adhesion of optical coatings placed on polymeric optical substrates. Specifically, this invention enables improved adhesion for even highly curved or shaped parts which have been historically more difficult to coat. The pretreatment method is particularly useful for molded substrates such as molded polymethylmethacrylate.

Abstract: The present invention involves in situ laser patterning of thin-film layers during sequential deposition of the different layers. The layers may be applied using any known method of film deposition. The method of the present invention involves laser ablation to remove unwanted portions of the coating layers, including color filter materials, that have been sequentially deposited onto substantially the entire surface of a substrate. By controlling the depth of the laser ablation removal of the deposited films, it is possible to remove any portion of a film or layers of films or coatings that have been sequentially coated onto the surface of the substrate and to thereby control the depth and location of color filter materials coated upon the substrate. This patterning process can be employed in conjunction with any film deposition technique known in the art, including vacuum, wet chemical or dry processing deposition techniques, but is preferred with vacuum deposition.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to methods and apparatus for depositing optical thin film coatings simultaneously onto both sides of at least one substrate in a dual-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition vacuum reaction chamber utilizing microwave and radio frequency energies. The substrate can be a continuous substrate, such as a flexible polymer web, or it can be one or more discrete substrates, such as rigid plastic, glass, or glass/polymer composite substrates. The substrate can be processed in a stationary or an in-line processing mode. In addition, the coatings deposited simultaneously onto both sides of the substrate can be identical, i.e. symmetrical, or different, i.e., non-symmetrical. The plasma attributes and reaction conditions on either side of the substrate can be independently controlled to provide either identical or different coating compositions and properties on the two sides of the substrate.