PRECISION HARDCOATS
We offer a broad range of hardcoats and application methods for acrylic and polycarbonate components including:

• Siloxane hardcoats for improving the durability and abrasion resistance.

   

• Anti-fog hardcoats to withstand fogging and condensation build-up

   

• Specialty UV-cured coatings for military and safety lense applications

   

• Superhardcoats for extended wear and superior hardness.

Fosta-Tek can offer specialty formulations with polymer additives to provide enhanced weatherability, protection from solar radiation, added resistance to harsh chemicals, or modified refraction properties.

We operate with multiple coating lines operating in Class 100 clean rooms enabling us to offer superior process control and consistent coating quality.

SILOXANE HARDCOATS
These hardcoats represent the majority of the commercial coating applications we offer. Siloxane hardcoats, applied in thicknesses of 3-5 microns, result in significantly enhanced abrasion performance particularly on polycarbonate.

Using standard abrasion tests such as ASTM D-1044, uncoated acrylic and polycarbonate will generate measured haze of 25%-35%, while coated parts will generate haze of well under 3% (the maximum allowed under ANSI's standards for safety lenses).

Siloxane hardcoats also will enhance the optical transmission of the substrate by up to 2%, important for many electro-optical applications.

PLASMA ENHANCED HARDCOATS
Our plasma-enhanced Superhardcoats provide for abrasion resistance close to that of glass. This is a proprietary coating originally patented by Foster Grant and owned exclusively by Fosta-Tek. The process involves treating lenses with a carefully monitored vacuum and glow-discharge process. For our superhardcoats, haze generated using ASTM D1044 will typically be under 0.2%, compared to 2%-3% for commercially available hardcoats. This improved hardness is illustrated in the adjacent chart that measures duration to 3% haze.

Due to the hardness of this coating, Fosta-Tek encourages the use of sharp carbide cutters if additional edging or shaping of Superhardcoated lenses is required.

ANTI-FOG HARDCOATS
Our Anti-fog abrasion resistant coatings offer lasting protection against condensation while still providing excellent scratch and abrasion resistance. The haze is less than 3% as tested using ASTM D1044. The coating is applied using a two-step dipcoating process with a coating thickness of 3-5 microns.

Our coatings are hydrophobic and do not require pre-conditioning of the lense to perform properly. The coatings excel in a wide range of indoor and outdoor lense applications, particularly hot and humid environments. Typical applications would be safety or sports polycarbonate eyewear.

UV-CURABLE COATINGS
These coatings have excellent heat and chemical resistance. Parts coated with our UV coatings also have greater flexural strength than parts employing thermal cure coatings. This makes our UV coatings more resistant to micro cracking during secondary cutting and finishing operations. These coatings are very suitable for thin polycarbonate components and in a wide variety of specialty applications including military, fire safety, aerospace and medical optical components.

One specialty application is NFPA approved coatings for fire safety faceshields. Fosta-Tek was the first manufacturer to successfully introduce coatings that met new NFPA standards in 1992. Whereas standard thermal cure coatings break down and crinkle at temperatures over 1000 degrees F, Fosta-Tek's UV coatings can withstand temperatures of over 1500 degrees F.

THIN FILM COATINGS

MIRROR COATINGS
Fosta-Tek offers vacuum deposition coatings for chrome and high reflectivity mirrors for plastic components. Applications range from single layer chrome coatings for sunwear and safety eyewear, to advanced multiple layer coatings for high reflectivity mirrors used in automotive electronics systems. We also offer anti-glare coatings for reducing glare on optical windows for LCD devices.

ANTI-REFLECTIVE COATINGS
Our Anti-reflective (AR) coatings are designed for plastic optical components including coated polycarbonate, acrylic and CR-39®. Surface reflections generally run 4% per surface resulting in transmission loss beyond what is absorbed by the substrate. By minimizing surface reflections through the application of AR coatings, transmission at certain wavelengths can improve by as much as 7%. Among the AR coatings that we offer are broadband anti-reflective coatings that reduce average surface reflections to 1% per surface over a range from 420 nm to 700 nm.

We also offer narrow band AR coatings (often referred to as "V" coatings) that reduce surface reflections to under .5% for a range of 5 nm - 40 nm. These can be used to enhance tuned LED outputs and improve data and signal capture for scanner and sensor systems. The chart below illustrates one and two-sided AR coatings on CR-39®. A common application is to put our AR coatings on our cast ADC (CR-39®) material for maximum transmission in the 600nm to 700nm wavelength for enhanced signal recognition in bar code scanner applications.