Quality Assurance

Siltint’s Quality Assurance testing is carried out by fully trained staff.  By using only the best materials and equipment, Siltint produces consistently high quality with just-in-time deliveries of both coated substrates and diamond turned products.

Coated Products

All coatings are designed from the specifications provided using either Essential Macleod or FilmStar thin-film coating design software. The designs allow Siltint to provide a detailed quotation. The first action at the production stage is a test run in the vacuum chamber to check the results with the customer’s specification and the design. If necessary, the design will be adjusted and a second test done before moving on to production runs on the substrates. An appropriate number of witness pieces of the same refractive index as the substrates are included in the production runs.  This allows testing of reflection or transmission as well as coating adhesion and durability. The optical performance of the deposition is measured using an updated Perkin Elmer Lambda 19 spectrophotometer from UV to near infrared wavelengths (185 – 3200 nm).  Using indirect lighting in black inspection booths, substrates are also visually inspected to check for damage or coating flaws. Coatings can be produced to meet, for example, US military specifications, including

MIL-C-14806A	Coating, reflection reducing, for instrument cover glasses and lighting wedges
MIL-C-675C	Coating of glass optical elements (Antireflection)
MIL-C-48497A	Coating, single or multilayer, interference: Durability requirements for
MIL-M-13508C	Mirror, front surface aluminized: for optical elements