Not all protective coatings are created equal
And choosing the right one depends on your environment and wavelength needs. Standard protective coatings use durable dielectric materials like SiO₂, Al₂O₃, or MgF₂ to guard an optic against moisture, abrasion, and handling while maintaining excellent optical performance. Our multilayer coatings are ideal for UV, visible, and general IR applications where you need reliable environmental protection without compromising transmission or spectral performance.
Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC), on the other hand, is our solution when your conditions become extreme. Built from an ultra-hard carbon film, DLC provides exceptional abrasion resistance, chemical durability, and long-term stability on IR materials only such as germanium, silicon, ZnS, and ZnSe. It’s the preferred choice for optics used in ADAS, thermal imaging, aerospace, and defense. Anywhere sand, salt fog, heat, or debris are the norm.
Choose a standard protective coating for broad, reliable performance across UV–IR, and turn to DLC when your optic needs to survive the harshest of environments.
Explore the Features
Protective Coating Expertise for IR Optics
Commonly paired with an AR coating, a protective optical coating is any thin-film stack applied to an optic to protect it from mechanical wear, moisture, chemicals, abrasion, or environmental stress. Materials used: SiO₂ (silicon dioxide) Al₂O₃ (alumina) MgF₂ (magnesium fluoride) ZrO₂ (zirconia) TiO₂, HfO₂ Multilayer dielectrics Protected metals (Al, Ag, Au)
Purpose-Built for Protective Optic innovation
- Protective coatings pair excellently for life science, biotechnology, fluorescent microscopy and coloremetry applications.
- Our standard sizes are parts from 5mm - 165mm in diameter, negotiable for custom orders - INQUIRE
- Need a single optic with our protective coatings?
Omega also delivers diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings for infrared optics, providing superior durability, abrasion resistance, and environmental protection. IR and DLC options can be added to your custom large-scale coating order.
Our custom-engineered DLC coating chamber supports IR materials such as:
- Silicon (Si)
- Germanium (Ge)
- Zinc Sulfide (ZnS)
- Zinc Selenide (ZnSe)
- Chalcogenide glasses
Our custom DLC coating chamber produces dependable, long-lasting coatings on all IR substrates.
- Proprietary PE-CVD technology
- Full automated system
- Circular geometry
- Advanced process controls
- Cost-effective, sandwiched layers to protect your optic.
- Capable of producing anywhere from 10-100 layers, 10-20 layers are commonly needed
- Get custom-shaped optics with our CNC capability.
- Quick-turn orders
- Available in low volumes - high volumes
- We deliver high-yield laminating runs in our clean room
- Fast and cost-effective prototyping
Substrate Types
SiO₂ (silicon dioxide)
Al₂O₃ (alumina)
MgF₂ (magnesium fluoride)
ZrO₂ (zirconia)
TiO₂
HfO₂
Multilayer dielectrics
Protected metals (Al, Ag, Au)
History
Over the decades, our teams have expanded both the breadth and capacity of our coating technologies to meet the evolving needs of OEMs, research institutions, and advanced manufacturers worldwide.
Characteristics
Wide range of hardness, moisture resistance, and abrasion resistance
Can be optimized for optical performance (AR, mirror, filter)
Reasonably durable, but durability varies by material
Applications
Camera lenses
AR coatings for optics and displays
Harsh-environment windows
Outdoor sensors
UV/visible/IR systems
