Durable Silver Mirror Coating Via Ion Assisted, Electron Beam Evaporation For Large Aperture Optics

In the Phase I research, Surface Optics Corporation (SOC) demonstrated a durable silver mirror coating based an ion assisted, thermal evaporation process. The recipe for this durable silver mirror system was developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) but was based on a reactive sputtering process. In the Phase II research, process scale-up issues will be addressed so that the process may be implemented in SOC's large aperture coating facility. SOC recently developed a novel vacuum coating system that utilizes a translating electron beam evaporation source. This system is capable of producing highly uniform optical films on curved substrates up to 3-meters in diameter. The combination of SOC's novel manufacturing methods and LLNL's coating designs, will establish a unique and very valuable coating resource for the astronomical community.