Short Courses cover a broad range of topic areas at a variety of educational levels (introductory to advanced). The courses are taught by highly regarded industry experts in a variety of specialties. Short Courses are an excellent opportunity to learn about new products, cutting-edge technology and vital information at the forefront of your field. They are designed to increase your knowledge of a specific subject while offering you the experience of knowledgeable teachers.

Certificate of Attendances are available for those who register and attend a course. To request a Certificate of Attendance after the conference, please email cstech@osa.org with your name, the course name, conference name, and year.
 
Each Short Course requires a separate fee. Paid registration includes admission to the course and one copy of the Short Course Notes. Advance registration is advisable. The number of seats in each course is limited, and on-site registration is not guaranteed.
 

OIC 2013 Short Course Schedule

Sunday, 16 June 2013
08:00 - 12:00

SC297 From Understanding the Growth Process to Judicious Control of the Performance of Optical Film Systems, Ludvik Martinu, Ecole Polytechnique Montreal, Canada -CANCELED

SC298 Manufacture of Precision Evaporative Coatings, James Oliver, Univ. of Rochester, USA

SC299 Design, Pre-Production Analysis, Computational Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering of Optical Coatings, Alexander Tikhonravov, Res. Computing Ctr., Moscow State Univ., Russian Federation

NEW! SC399 Process Concepts of Magnetron Sputtering for Optical Coating, Michael Vergöhl, FHG IST, Germany

Sunday, 16 June 2013
13:00 - 17:00

SC295 Plastics Optics - Coatings and Antireflective Structures, Ulrike Schulz, Fraunhofer IOF, Germany

SC349 Space Optics, James Barrie, The Aerospace Corp, USA

NEW! SC400 Thickness Monitoring and Enhanced Production Strategies for Optical Coatings, Henrik Ehlers, LZH Hannover, Germany
 

OIC 2013 Short Course Descriptions

SC295 Plastics Optics - Coatings and Antireflective Structures

Ulrike Schulz, Fraunhofer IOF, Germany
Sunday, 16 June, 13:00-17:00
 
Course Description
Modern optical applications need solutions for the antireflective equipment of polymer surfaces. The problems for coating comprise thermal limitations, incompatible mechanical properties of coating and substrate materials and the interaction between polymers and plasma. This course provides attendees with a basic knowledge of transparent polymer materials for optical applications. The course concentrates on polymer material properties, coating processes suitable for polymers, interactions between polymers and plasma, adhesion, stress, interference layers for polymers, hard coatings, top-layers to control the wettability and evaluation and testing procedures.

The course especially concentrates on antireflection coatings and antireflective sub-wavelength structures. The potential to produce antireflective interference coatings is shown for plasma-assisted vacuum deposition techniques as well as for sol-gel wet chemical processes. In addition, various procedures to obtain antireflective structures on polymers will be explained. Special solutions are discussed for acrylic, polycarbonate and cycloolefine polymers.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable you to:

• Specify the best suitable polymer materials for your application;
• Understand the special behavior of polymers during vacuum coating processes;
• Evaluate different techniques for antireflection of polymer surfaces; and
• Define suitable characterization tools and testing procedure for your plastic optics.

Intended Audience
This course is of use for anyone who would like to get an overview about the problems connected with coating plastics. It is addressed to newcomers and experts on technical and high school level and to engineer and science students of higher terms.

Biography
Dr. Ulrike Schulz is chemist and group manager at the optical coating department of Fraunhofer IOF in Jena, Germany. She has been involved in optical coating on plastics for more than 15 years. She has published numerous papers and patents and is author of the book chapter “Coating on plastics” (published in “Handbook of plastic optics”, S. Bäumer, ed., Wiley-VCH, 2010).
 

SC298 Manufacture of Precision Evaporative Coatings

James Oliver, Univ. of Rochester, USA
Sunday, 16 June, 08:00-12:00

Course Description
Evaporation is an ideal process for the deposition of optical coatings, providing flexibility in source materials, scalability for large aperture substrates, relatively low film stress, and high laser damage resistance. While evaporation is a “well-understood” and “basic” deposition process, a deeper level of understanding provides the ability to produce coatings of significantly greater precision and performance. If the fundamental requirements of a coated optical component are spectral/photometric performance, sufficiently flat surface figure, environmental resistance and/or stability, and laser damage resistance, then it is important to control the process variables that influence these requirements. Through sufficient process control of layer endpoint determination, film thickness uniformity, thin-film material structure and vacuum chamber conditions, it is possible to produce extremely high performance evaporative coatings. The goal of this course is to provide detailed information on how to establish and improve evaporative coating processes for precision optical coatings. Design considerations for coating chambers, such as source placement, substrate fixturing, control of film thickness uniformity, and thickness monitors will be discussed. Trade-offs in the selection of source materials, means of controlling film structure, and the influence on the performance of the coated component will be considered. Process details will be approached with a focus on practicality; film properties must be measurable and system designs must be practical and cost effective. These process concepts are readily implemented in standard evaporation systems, providing significant improvements in existing coating facilities.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable you to:

• Determine proper evaporation source placement in a coating chamber;
• Evaluate different types of substrate fixturing and rotation systems;
• Calculate film thickness uniformity;
• Determine the impact of film stress and mitigate its effects;
• Realize the importance of the deposited film structure and its influence on film properties; and
• Improve control of evaporation processes for high-precision spectral or photometric performance.

Intended Audience
This course is intended for engineers and scientists who develop or manufacture optical coatings using evaporation processes. Material will be presented at an intermediate to advanced level, though many topics will be well-suited for anyone establishing or refining evaporation deposition processes.

Biography
James Oliver received his PhD in materials science as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in optics from the University of Rochester. He has been working in optical thin films since 1992, particularly in design and process development for evaporated coatings. He is currently a research engineer in the Optical Manufacturing group at the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE), where he develops and manufactures optical coatings for large aperture, high-fluence laser applications. He served as the OSA Thin Films Chair from 2003-2005, co-chair of the SPIE “Advances in Thin Film Coatings for Optical Applications“ in Denver, CO (2004), and has been a member of the Program Committee for the Optical Interference Coatings Conference since 2007. He teaches short courses as a part of the annual summer school and is a lecturer in Optical Interference Coating Design at the University of Rochester.
 

SC299 Design, Pre-Production Analysis, Computational Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering of Optical Coatings

Alexander Tikhonravov, Res. Computing Ctr., Moscow State Univ., Russian Federation
Sunday, 16 June, 08:00-12:00

Course Description
The course presents the most efficient general purpose design techniques as well as recent developments in special techniques aimed at designing of coatings with additional practical demands to their parameters. Multiplicity of solutions to design problems and constructing of series of theoretical designs with different combinations of main design parameters (merit function value, number of design layers, design total optical thickness) are discussed. It is demonstrated that new design approaches extend opportunities for choosing the most practical design with the best probability of a high manufacturing yield.

The course covers various aspects of pre-production error analysis of optical coatings. It is shown that this analysis enables one to reveal the most critical coatings layers which deposition requires a special attention. New results connected with a pre-production estimation of thickness errors associated with different types of thickness monitoring techniques are observed.  Application of error analysis to a pre-production estimation of production yield is discussed.

The course demonstrates an increasingly important role of computational manufacturing of optical coatings (computer simulation of deposition and monitoring processes). It is shown how computational manufacturing experiments can be used for selecting optimal monitoring strategies and choosing designs with the best probability of high production yield.

The course presents main ideas of reverse engineering (post-production characterization) of manufactured optical coatings. It is discussed how reverse engineering can be used for calibrating monitoring devices and eliminating systematic manufacturing errors. Raising production yields with the help of on-line correction of monitoring and deposition processes is discussed.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable participants to:

• Identify and test modern design approaches that are most suitable for solving their specific design problems
• Perform a pre-production error analysis of optical coatings in order to reveal the most critical coatings layers which deposition requires a special attention, estimate a cumulative effect of thickness errors, evaluate effects connected with inhomogeneity, scattering, and surface micro-roughness
• Compare various monitoring strategies and perform computational manufacturing experiments for selecting optimal monitoring strategies and choosing designs with the best probability of high production yield
• Investigate main reasons for a degradation of spectral performance of manufactured coating and find ways to improve a production yield

Intended Audience
The intended audience includes designers of optical coatings, production engineers and technicians. The background required is a general understanding of what are thin films and optical coatings. Prior knowledge of design and evaluation techniques is not essential because the course will cover basic ideas and practical aspects of modern design approaches and new topics related to choosing the most practical design and maximizing the production yield. Past attendees of the course will find substantial updates and new information, and they are encouraged to attend again.

Instructor Biography
Alexander Tikhonravov is a Professor of Theoretical Physics and Director of the Research Computing Center of Moscow State University. He received his PhD degree and Doctor of Sciences degree from Moscow State University. He has authored more than 320 publications, among them the book “Basics of Optics of Multilayer Systems”. Alexander Tikhonravov is the inventor of the needle optimization technique, a universal technique for the design of optical coatings. He was a course instructor at the OIC’1995, OIC’1998, OIC’2001, OIC’2004, OIC'2007 and OIC’2010 meetings.
 

SC349 Space Optics

James Barrie, The Aerospace Corp, USA
Sunday, 16 June, 13:00-17:00

Course Description
Optical coatings play a critical role in the performance of sensors, thermal control, and power generation for spacecraft applications.  From simple antireflection coatings on windows or lenses, to complex multilayer dielectric filters and beamsplitters, to metallic coatings used for broadband reflectors, optical coatings for space must be designed to perform to high standards, for long periods, in an environment that includes extremes typically not encountered in terrestrial applications.  Particular challenges can include wide temperature variations, and high levels of radiation.  This course explores the challenges encountered in designing and manufacturing optical coatings for space, and examines the level of testing that is appropriate for assuring reliable performance throughout the life of the mission.

Examples of how coatings define the performance of a variety of spacecraft components, including solar cell cover glasses, thermal control materials, and mirrors, lenses and filters for optical sensors, will be discussed.  The impact of advanced coating technologies in improving the performance and reliability of modern space sensors, and the potential drawbacks of some of these methods, will be considered.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable participants to:

• Identify coating types, and how they are used in space optical applications, such as anti-reflection; band pass; edge filters; high reflectors; etc.
• Discuss the environmental requirements of the pre-launch, launch, and orbit that place particular stress on coated space optics.
• Compare thin-film deposition technologies and their applicability for coating space optical components.
• Explain how energetic deposition techniques impact the durability and optical performance of coated space optics.
• Describe test and measurement techniques used to assure coating performance.
• List criteria used for specifying an optical coating for the space environment.
• Define a test plan to assure coating performance over system life.

Intended Audience
This course is intended for optics professionals and others who are interested in the design and production of optical coatings for space applications. The course content will be accessible to students as well as engineering professionals.

Instructor Biography
Dr. Barrie is a Distinguished Scientist in the Space Materials Laboratory at The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace), where he conducts research in optical coating technology and supports a variety of programs employing optical coatings in space.  Prior to joining Aerospace in 1988, he received a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at UCLA.  He has over 100 publications and presentations in his various fields of interest, and has received numerous commendations and awards for his work.  Most recently he received a commendation from NASA for his work on determining the root cause of an on-orbit anomaly of the VIIRS sensor onboard Suomi NPP.

 

NEW! SC399 Process Concepts of Magnetron Sputtering for Optical Coating

Michael Vergöhl, FHG IST, Germany
Sunday, 16 June, 08:00-12:00

Course Description
Sputtering has become one of the most important technologies not only for large area applications, but also for optical technologies. With magnetron sputtering, a large variety of products in different applications are produced, beginning from large area low-e coatings to ultra-precise filters with more than 1000 layers.

In this intermediate level course, people should become familiar with the different process concepts of magnetron sputtering, as used today for the development and production of optical functional coatings. The general focus of the course is on deposition processes for optical coatings and their connection to the relevant film properties. Therefore, an overview is given to the process modifications which currently are undertaken to optimize layer properties such as: high or low roughness, hardness, elasticity, deposition temperature, deposition rate, stress etc.

First, a short introduction into the physics of sputtering, the magnetron discharge and the transport of particles through the gas phase will be given. After the introduction of the magnetron cathode for sputtering in the second step, the focus will be on reactive magnetron sputtering. The effect of the hysteresis in a reactive sputter process, which comes into play, will be discussed along with the common approaches to overcome the hysteresis. Pulsed magnetron sputter techniques (including HIPIMS) and cathode concepts (planar, rotatable) will be discussed, also with regard to differences in the ion energy distribution function. As a sidestep, the method of plasma simulation by Particle in Cell Monte Carlo Simulations is presented, allowing to calculate ion energy distributions functions and to design improved magnetron  systems.

The second part is more application oriented and concentrates of application oriented film properties obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering. Examples of present and arising applications will be given in the fields:

• Low-e coatings (the classical application of sputtering)
• Photocatalytic coatings: What are products today, how to realize maximum activity?  What about plastic substrates?
• Optical filters: Process concepts for precise multilayers, sputtering with rotatables, how are particles generated and how can they be avoided ?

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable you to:

• Compare different deposition process concepts of (reactive) magnetron sputtering
• Determine how hysteresis effects in reactive processes occur and how they can be handled;
• Explain differences of process control concepts;
• Discover dependencies of materials properties with process characteristics; 
• Identify different applications of magnetron sputtering, especially for optical applications.

 
Intended Audience
This course is of use for those people who are involved in the development and production of optical coatings by the use of magnetron sputtering or other deposition processes. Also people generally interested in magnetron sputter processes are addressed.

Biography
Michael Vergöhl received his diploma in physics in 1992 at Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany, and in 1996 he promoted there with a Dr. rer nat. thesis about Optical Spectroscopy of Si1-xGex thin films in high magnetic fields.  After a short period as a postdoc at the PTB (Physikalisch-TechnischeBundesanstalt), he is at Fraunhofer IST since 1997, where he took over the department of Optical and Electrical coatings in 2003, which is still his function. He is also coordinator of the “Fraunhofer Photocatalysis Alliance” (www.photokatalyse.fraunhofer.de) and he authored and co-authored about 25 scientific papers, 25 patents, and contributed to two textbooks. More details can be found on www.ist.fraunhofer.de.

 

NEW! SC400 Thickness Monitoring and Enhanced Production Strategies for Optical Coatings

Henrik Ehlers, LZH Hannover, Germany
Sunday, 16 June, 13:00-17:00

Course Description
Precise thickness monitoring concepts are of key importance for the successful manufacturing of optical coatings, not only, but especially in case of highly complex thin film designs. This course provides an overview of the different thickness monitoring approaches available today, comprising the basic principles as well as examples of technical implementations. Besides some aspects of conventional non-optical and optical monitoring solutions in particular modern optical monitors covering a broad spectral range are in focus.

The course gives background on different monitoring strategies including examples of thickness determination algorithms applied in recent developments. The advantages of direct monitoring concepts will be discussed and illustrated by practical examples. Regarding technical aspects, the essential parts of thickness monitoring systems will be presented comparing different alternative solutions. This comprises typical light sources, optical components, and spectrometers for different wavelength ranges from the UV to the NIR. In addition, adapted monitoring configurations and error handling options as well as hybrid monitoring strategies based on the application of more than one thickness determination approach will be discussed. Also, some aspects of the process control interfaces of the monitoring systems and the deposition plants will be addressed.

Furthermore, detailed information on the integration of thickness monitors in flexible manufacturing concepts will be given. In these adaptive manufacturing environments, tailored computational manufacturing tools are combined with monitor specific on-line re-calculation and on-line design re-optimization modules. Examples will be presented to demonstrate resulting advantages as highest precision and flexibility, increased economic efficiency, and shortest product development times.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
This course should enable participants to:

• Compare and evaluate different thickness monitoring concepts with regard to the application
• Discuss basic principles and technical implementations of recent developments in optical thickness monitoring
• Identify error sources and optimize the process control stability on basis of available in situ data
• Determine the specific advantages of adapted computational manufacturing, on-line re-calculation, and on-line design re-optimization tools

Intended Audience
This course is intended for anyone who is interested in a detailed overview of the current status of thickness monitoring systems for optical coatings and the advantages of attributed adaptive manufacturing concepts. It addresses technologists, scientists, and students with a background in optical thin films and deposition processes for optical coatings.

Instructor Biography
Dr. Henrik Ehlers is a physicist and head of the Process Development Group in the Laser Components Department at the Laser Zentrum Hannover, Germany. He has been working in the field of optical thin films for more than 10 years with focus on IAD and IBS deposition processes, in situ process diagnostics, and advanced process automation. He has several years teaching experience in optical coatings at a university of applied sciences and has authored numerous publications.