Optics BalzersAt BiOS Expo and Photonics West Exibition 2020

– Hyperspectral Imaging Check out our latest applications– Automotive Take a closer look at our Puddle Light Gobos– Multispectral Imaging Discover the Candy Factory and take some candy with you

We are delighted to attend this year´s BiOS Expo and Photonics West Exhibition, the world´s leading event for the photonics and laser communities. Visit us at our booth where you can meet our experts and enjoy our special attractions.

Welcome to our presentationIn addition, don´t miss our Product Manager Isabell Goetz´s presentations and product demonstrations: „High performance optical filters for demanding applications in the Biophotonics market ” on February 2 at 11.30am and „Manufacturing of high performance patterned optical filters for multi-spectral imaging applications” on February 4 at 3:30pm (Location: Demo Area 1 (Hall ABC).

We look forward to seeing you at our booth where you will discover the unique solutions and wide variety of applications that optical components provide.– BiOS: Booth #8210– Photonics West: Booth #3210

For more information please go to our website.www.opticsbalzers.com

Our latest Press ReleasesPlease find the current press releases in the appendix or under the following link:

www.opticsbalzers.com/download

Shaping the century of the photon

About Optics BalzersOptics Balzers is a globally recognized leader in customized optical thin-film coatings and components for the photonics industry. We possess broad and in-depth knowledge of optical thin-film coa-ting processes, complemented by sophisticated patterning, glass bonding and sealing capabilities. Further processing capabilities allow us to produce optical thin film coated components up to optical subassemblies. Our highly experienced and skilled development and engineering teams collaborate closely with our customers, developing inno-vative solutions to meet their specific requirements. The combi-nation of these capabilities and skills places Optics Balzers at the forefront of the photonics industry.Continuous development of our expertise and production sites in Liechtenstein, Germany and Malaysia allow us to support our customers’ innovative product development efforts.

Our team at the Exibition 2020

CEO Detlev Häusler

CMO Dirk von Frajer

Product Management Isabell Goetz

CBDO John Freiermuth

Sales US Steffen Capello

Product Management Lisa Sele

Sales Europe Martin Nern

Communications Vera Liebscher

Product Management Heidi Thome

Optics Balzers AG ꞏ Neugrüt 35 ꞏ LI-9496 Balzers ꞏ Liechtenstein ꞏ T +423 388 9200ꞏ F +423 388 9390ꞏ www.opticsbalzers.com

Laser cavity mirrors with tailor-made spectral requirements Optics Balzers produces individually adaptable, application-specific laser cavity

mirrors. A perfectly controlled coating optimizes the precise spectral parameters of

the laser mirrors. The optimization of the spectral attributes allows the targeted

influencing of the laser power yield

With their spectral stability, gas lasers remain an indispensable signal source, especially in the

fields of measurement technology and microscopy. However, the performance parameters are

decisive in the optimization and adaptation of the lasers for the relevant applications.

Optics Balzers specializes in, amongst other things, the production of high reflecting (HR) cavity

mirrors, as well as the corresponding output coupling (OC) mirrors with precisely defined

transmission for gas lasers. The oscillation of laser modes can be controlled due to the unique

spectral characteristics of the coated cavity mirrors. The power output and the stability of the

laser can thus be perfectly adapted to respective applications.

The know-how of Optics Balzers, both in the polishing of the required substrates and in relation to

the special coating technology, allows the performance parameters to be tailored precisely to

each application. The reflection of the HR cavity mirrors can be guaranteed up to R>99.99%. The

cavities´ OC mirrors have a transmission tolerance of +/- 0.05%. They are manufactured both as

flat substrates and as substrates with a defined radius. Currently, a range of cavity mirrors of

various radii is available, with diameters measuring from Ø6mm to Ø7.75mm.

All substrates for the cavity mirrors are made by an in-house polishing process. A P4 grade is

standard for all substrates. On average, the residual roughness of substrates after the polishing

process is RMS <0.3nm, and for assorted applications, substrates with an RMS value of <0.2nm

are selected.

Media Release December 20, 2019

Elmar Elbinger

Manager Business Development

media@opticsbalzers.com

OBA-033-ME

Seite 2/2

Fig.: Spectral measurement Production Lot OC Mirror 633nm

Our capacity for the precise process control of our coating technology along with the exceptional

quality of our polishing process have been decisive factors in the success of the technological

development of this Optics Balzers product line.

Optics Balzers (located in the Principality of Liechtenstein) has been the preferred partner for providing innovative optical coatings and solutions for more than 70 years. Together with its subsidiaries in Jena (Germany) and Penang (Malaysia), Optics Balzers is a global leader in the supply of optical coatings and components. The Liechtenstein-based high-tech company focuses on selected markets such as Life Sciences, Consumer, Space, Automotive and Lighting. The products and services offered range from optical coatings and glass processing, patterning and bonding technologies, to the manufacture of complete optical subassemblies and are acknowledged as being unique worldwide. Additional information: www.opticsbalzers.com

Optics Balzers AG ꞏ Neugrüt 35 ꞏ LI-9496 Balzers ꞏ Liechtenstein ꞏ T +423 388 9200ꞏ F +423 388 9390ꞏ www.opticsbalzers.com

ICG Filters for medical endoscopy Dielectric filter solutions help shape the endoscopy landscape of tomorrow

Since its development in the 1950s ICG (Indocyanine green) has become an important dye in

fluorescence analysis techniques. In recent years it has proven to be the best marker in a broad

range of medical applications, from cardiology to ophthalmology, as well as being important for

endoscopy techniques. The use of endoscope-integrated ICG technology will greatly expand

surgeons’ diagnostic spectrum during minimally invasive surgeries.

However, with ICG, excitation and emission spectra lie close together, often leading to the

excitation light being detected together with the emission signal. Since the excitation intensity is

much stronger than the actual fluorescence response the image quality may be affected.

Standard off-the-shelf fluorescence filters can therefore struggle to fulfill the challenging

requirements for ICG usage.

Optics Balzers offers high-end optical filter solutions, customized to your spectral design requests

and able to meet the different requirements set by each ICG application. Highly precise cut-on

and cut-off wavelengths can be tuned to maximize the efficiency of your optical setup, while steep

spectral edges ensure optimal separation between excitation and emission signals. In addition,

superb out-of-band blocking of greater-than OD6 is achieved by using dielectric thin-film filters,

ensuring excellent environmental stability. This has been rigorously tested in accordance with

MIL-STD-810F, MIL-C-48497A, MIL-C-675C, as well as DIN ISO 9022. Our sophisticated

plasma-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering (PARMS) coating technology also allows for

transmission values of more than 95%.

In order to further support our customers in their high-end endoscopy techniques, Optics Balzers

offers multiple, complementary filter solutions. In addition to our best-in-class ICG filters, we also

offer AR coatings, allowing for an increased optical signal, along with solderable coatings for the

hermetic sealing of exit windows.

Media Release December 2, 2019

Christian Katzer

Manager, Product Management

media@opticsbalzers.com

OBA-032-ME

Seite 2/2

Fig: Recent developments in endoscope-integrated technology will greatly expand surgeons´ diagnostic

capabilities during minimally invasive surgeries

Fig: The high-end, deep blocking excitation and emission filters offered by Optics Balzers

Optics Balzers, a Liechtenstein-based high-tech company, has been the preferred provider of innovative optical coatings and solutions for more than 70 years. Together with its subsidiaries in Jena (Germany) and Penang (Malaysia), Optics Balzers is a global leader in the supply of optical coatings and components. The company focuses on select markets such as Life Sciences, Consumer, Space, Automotive and Lighting. The products and services offered range from optical coatings and glass processing, patterning and bonding technologies, to the manufacture of complete optical sub-assemblies, and are acknowledged as being unique worldwide. Additional information: www.opticsbalzers.com

Authors: Reto Keller, Business Development Manager at Optics Balzers AG, Balzers, Liechtenstein

Optics Balzers' capabilities in metallic thin film deposition and litho-graphic patterning enable the fabrication of interdigital electrodes and meandering wires on glass for a wide variety of applications. These planar electrodes and resistors are among the most widely used periodic structures in many sensor and transducer designs. This is thanks to their versatility and to their ability to utilize multiple physical effects with the same type of geometric structure. With our expertise and leading process technology we enable our customers to develop advanced sensors, thereby integrating additional functions into their optical systems.

Interdigital capacitive sensors (IDC-S) and transducers (IDC-T)When a voltage is applied to an interdigital electrode, it forms a capacitance with a fringing electric field across the metallic structures. The impedance of this interdigital electrode circuit can be measured, thus providing a sensor device capable of gauging changes in the dielectric properties of materials penetrated by the electric field lines. This type of dielectrometrical sensors is used to monitor the curing process of polymer-based resins or in non-destructive material testing. In general, the sensors are suitable for all appli-cations in which changes in the material under test (MUT) can be measured as changes in the dielectric properties of said material. However, many of these sensors still use parallel plate capacitance probes (Fig. 2a) which can be cumbersome. Due to their planar nature, using interdigital electrodes instead of parallel probes can simplify the design and handling of dielectro-metrical sensors. Interdigital electrodes are also suitable for the design of magnetic field and piezo-acoustic sensors. Magnetic field sensors can be used in appli-cations such as the detection of early fatigue and cracks in components made of aluminum and stainless steel. Piezo-acoustic IDC sensors and transducers

can be found in Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices, which work as high frequency filters such as those used in mobile phone receivers. Finally, for transducer applications, the fringing electric field induced through the interdigital electrodes is also able to generate mechanical forces. This capability makes them a feasible choice for the actuation of moving parts in the order of tens of micrometers, for example in a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) device.

Manufacturing interdigital electrodes for capacitive sensing using thin film deposition

Copyright: The information provided herein is correct to the best of Optics Balzers knowledge. No liability for any errors, facts or opinions is accepted. Optics Balzers disclaims any liability for incidental or consequential damages, which may result from the use of the product that are beyond its control. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as permission or a recommendation to infringe any patent or any other intellectual property right. All information contained herein is subject to change without notice. www.opticsbalzers.com

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Application Note OBA 002 AE (2001-1)

Optics Balzers AG Neugrüt 35 LI-9496 Balzers T +423 388 9200 www.opticsbalzers.com Optics Balzers has been the innovative and independent industry partner for the development and production of coated optical components and subas-semblies for more than 70 years.

l = line of electrode w = width of electrode d = spacing between electrodesN = Number of fingers

l

w

N

d

+ –

l = line lenght w = width d = spacingN = Number of meanders

l

d w

N

+ –

Fig. 2b. Fringing field dielectrometric sensors with planar interdigital electrodes

Fig. 2a. Fringing field dielectrometric sensors with parallel plate electrodes

Fig. 1a. Elements of an Interdigital Electrode Fig. 1b. Example of a Meander-Line Resistor

Easy application and greater flexibilityAn inherent advantage of the planar arrangement of the interdigital elec-trodes over a parallel plate configuration is that only single-sided access to a MUT is required (Fig. 2b). This eliminates the need to place the electrodes on opposing sides of the MUT. It also makes IDC sensors suitable for a number of applications where they can simply be applied laterally to a test specimen. Interdigital electrodes allow for extremely flexible design of sensor devices. To meet specific application requirements, the sensitivity of such a device can be altered by changing any of the following (Figures 1a and 1b):

– the overall effective electrode area– the number of metallic fingers– the spacing between the electrodes– the dielectric material between the electrodes.These possibilities allow customers to easily optimize sensor layouts for their specific applications.

4 steps to produce interdigital electrode or meander wire resistor structuresThin film deposition and lithography processes are our core competencies. We have optimized these processes for the fabrication of both capacitive and resistive sensor elements, such as interdigital electrodes or meandering resistors on thin glass or quartz substrates, supporting feature sizes as low as 5µm. The production process can be broken down into four major steps. First, the conductive electrode material is applied to the target substrate by magnetron sputtering. Optics Balzers is a world leader in this technology, which allows us to produce sensors and transducers cost-effectively and in very large quantities. For opaque electrodes, chrome is usually used as the electrode material. If a sensor needs to be placed into the optically active area, indium tin oxide (ITO) allows us to produce trans-parent structures instead. With our sophisticated process control, the layer resistance of our chrome coating can be controlled within a tolerance window of ±2.5%, resulting in consistent sensor quality even in high volume production. Once the conductive electrode material has been applied, litho-graphy is used to structure this first layer. Depending on the design, we apply an etching or a lift-off process that allows features to be made as thin as 5μm.In order to protect them against corrosion, the metallic electrodes are subse-quently covered with a passivation layer of SiO2. In a second patterning step this layer is opened again in order to add contact area for solder or bond pads to connect to the electrode structures. Finally, in a third coating run and litho step, the gold and chromi-um materials are deposited and structured to form the solder or bond pads. These pads then connect the sensor electrodes with a suitable signal ampli-fier to an external circuit.

Prepared for high volume productionAs a market leader, Optics Balzers can produce in volume, consistently ensu-ring low tolerances and thus superior quality. All manufacturing processes are scalable for mass production, with parallel processing of thousands of sensor elements on a single glass wafer. Fully automated dicing ena-bles Optics Balzers to deliver large quantities of sensor elements in wafer packages or on wafer rings. After dicing, each individual sensor undergoes automated optical inspection. In addition, continuous optimization of the production process after the first ramp-up maximizes the yield and further reduces cost.

Practical applicationsThere is a broad spectrum of existing and new applications for planar interdi-gital electrodes on glass from Optics Balzers. A common application for interdigital electrodes is to measure the concentration of chemicals in a gas or liquid. Using a suitable sensing film that reacts to the specific chemical substance, a change in the dielectric properties indicates a rising or falling concentration of the specific chemical. For exam-ple, using a sensor film that interacts with water creates a humidity sensor which can be integrated into weather stations, industrial devices, IoT systems or mobile phones (Fig. 3). Such humidity sensors can be built with different film materials such as SiO2 or a number of polymeric films. In view of climate change, equally important are sensors to measure CO2 concentration in the air. Sensing films made of inorganic semiconduc-tor oxides or organic polymers can be used for this, particuler application to measure the concentration of chemical gases. Other common applications for interdigital electrodes include non-destructive testing, biotechnology or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

New applications with ITO-based electrodesInterdigital electrodes from Optics Balzers also enable completely new appli-cations such as the automatic detection of glass breakage. This can be very important for the 3D face recognition technology used in today’s smart-phones, where a VCSEL laser is used in conjunction with a diffraction element which generates the required infrared light pattern. A break in this diffraction

Copyright: The information provided herein is correct to the best of Optics Balzers knowledge. No liability for any errors, facts or opinions is accepted. Optics Balzers disclaims any liability for incidental or consequential damages, which may result from the use of the product that are beyond its control. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as permission or a recommendation to infringe any patent or any other intellectual property right. All information contained herein is subject to change without notice. www.opticsbalzers.com

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Coating Function Min. Layer Minimum Thickness Feature SizeChrome Optically opaque – Interdigitated Electrode >10nm 5μm – Shunt Resistor ITO Optically transparent >10nm 5μm – Interdigitated Electrode – Shunt ResistorSiO2 Passivation Layer >200nm 10μm (protection against corrosion)Cr/Au Bonding and Soldering Pad >15nm 5μmARC Anti-reflective Coating Design specific 10μm

Chrome Optical Density vs. Sheet Resistance

Sheet-Resistance [Ω/Sq]

Optics Balzers’ Patterning Capabilities

6

5

4

3

2

1

00 50 100 150 200

OD

element could expose the human eye to the un-diffracted laser beam, poten-tially causing serious injury. In such a case, a sensor for broken glass based on interdigital electrodes would experience a change of dielectric permittivity due to cracks in the diffraction element (Fig. 4) and could be used to switch off the laser immediately. In this application, the interdigital electrodes need to be brought into the optical path and must therefore be optically transparent. Optics Balzers has a deep understanding of transparent electrodes and has developed advanced production processes for such devices.

ConclusionInterdigital electrodes have been adopted in an immense variety of sensor applications due to their versatility, their relatively straightforward design which allows one-sided access to the MUT, and the mature production pro-cesses, enabling high volume production at low cost. As a global leader in the supply of optical coatings and components, Optics Balzers has developed and optimized these processes over decades, providing its customers with outstanding quality and above average yields. With layers as thin as 10nm and feature sizes as low as 5µm, Optics Balzers can fulfill almost any capacitive or resistive pattern design. Where there are very specific requirements, our highly experienced and skilled development and engineering teams collaborate closely with customers to develop and deliver innovative solutions. Whether it is non-destructive testing, moisture and gas sensing, process control or any other application, Optics Balzers has the technology and the processes in place to manufacture preci-sely to customer specifications.

Copyright: The information provided herein is correct to the best of Optics Balzers knowledge. No liability for any errors, facts or opinions is accepted. Optics Balzers disclaims any liability for incidental or consequential damages, which may result from the use of the product that are beyond its control. Nothing contained herein is to be considered as permission or a recommendation to infringe any patent or any other intellectual property right. All information contained herein is subject to change without notice. www.opticsbalzers.com

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Fig. 4. VCSEL for facial recognition for mobile devices

Fig. 3 . Change of dielectric permitivity ε due to humidity change

Contact Pad

Interdigital Electrode

Alumina Substrate

Sensing Film

Headquarters Optics Balzers AGNeugrüt 35LI-9496 BalzersLiechtensteinT +423 388 9200F +423 388 9390info@opticsbalzers.com

Jena, Germany Optics Balzers Jena GmbHOtto-Eppenstein-Strasse 2 DE-07745 Jena Germany T +49 3641 3529 30 F +49 3641 3529 35 info.jena@opticsbalzers.com

Penang, Malaysia Optics Balzers Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.Plot 574, Lorong Perusahaan 4Prai Free Industrial Zone13600 Penang, MalaysiaT +60 43 890 000F +60 43 830 010info.malaysia@opticsbalzers.com

www.opticsbalzers.com

USA/Canada Optics Balzers USA Inc.8379 Gasparilla RoadPort Charlotte, FL 33981USA

How to contact us

BiOS / Photonics West 2020 The Moscone Center, San Francisco

Come to our booths to discover the unique solutions and wide variety of applications that opticalcomponents provide:– BiOS: Booth #8210– Photonics West: Booth #3210

We will be at both booths from February 1 - February 2 and February 4 - February 6 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

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