Alluxa, Inc. is known for its high-performance optical coatings and filters. The company has just announced a big leap in thin-film dichroic filter technology.
Using its own Sirrus™ Plasma Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method, Alluxa developed the ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic process. This new approach delivers fully dense dielectric optical coatings with incredibly low stress.
Now, applications needing thin substrates—less than 1.0 mm thick—have new options. These filters offer superior flatness and high optical performance, while keeping stress-induced distortions to a minimum.
That’s a big deal for fields like microscopy, medical tech, and even space-based gear. It’s exciting to see something so technical have such a wide reach.
The Science Behind ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic Technology
The ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic process marks a real shift in optical coating engineering. Traditional thin-film dichroic filters often run into stress problems during fabrication, especially with very thin substrates.
That stress can bend or warp a substrate, which is a pain for precision work. Alluxa’s Sirrus™ PVD approach tackles this by controlling film density and stress as the coating forms.
How the Sirrus™ Plasma PVD Method Works
With the Sirrus™ PVD technique, engineers can tweak coating parameters right down to the atomic scale. This lets them create a fully dense dielectric layer with barely any internal stress.
The result? Exceptionally flat dichroic filters, even on fragile substrates under a millimeter thick. That’s not something you see every day in this field.
Performance Advantages Over Conventional Filters
Besides cutting stress, the ULTRA Series filters keep Alluxa’s usual high-performance specs. That’s critical for scientific and industrial systems where precision is everything.
Key Benefits of the ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic Process
- Steep spectral edges – sharp wavelength separation helps with precise imaging and detection.
- High transmission – lets more light through for demanding applications.
- Superior reflection – keeps unwanted light from sneaking through and ensures clear beam separation.
- Ultra-flat surfaces – means fewer distortions in sensitive optics setups.
- Improved design flexibility – less mechanical stress opens up new layout possibilities.
Applications in High-Precision Fields
This isn’t just a technical win—it’s got real impact across industries. Flatter, more stable optical components give system designers more room to push performance and fewer headaches.
Industries Poised to Benefit
- Advanced microscopy – tiny wavefront errors can mean the difference between a breakthrough and a missed opportunity.
- Medical devices – think endoscopes or laser surgery tools that need distortion-free optics.
- Space-based optical systems – components have to survive stress, temperature swings, and need to be ultra-thin to save weight.
Customer Demand Driving Innovation
Peter Egerton, Alluxa’s president, says rising demand for high-performance dichroics on ultra-thin substrates drove this innovation. Meeting those needs took a lot of engineering work and development time.
Egerton highlighted the company’s focus on solving real-world customer challenges with solutions that actually work in manufacturing.
Showcasing at SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025
Alluxa introduced the technology at the SPIE Optics + Photonics 2025 event, August 5–7 at the San Diego Convention Center, booth #735. This major gathering gave them the perfect stage to show off the ULTRA Series to researchers, product developers, and industry leaders.
Commitment to Quality and Reliability
Alluxa delivers over 99% of orders on time. That’s not just a statistic—it’s a statement about how seriously they take quality in the optical filter world.
The company blends high performance with fresh ideas and efficient production. Honestly, it’s raising the bar for what people expect from optical coating tech.
The ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic process isn’t just a minor tweak. It cuts coating stress on ultra-thin substrates, which lets new optical instruments hit performance levels that seemed out of reach before.
This breakthrough could shake up not only today’s applications but also how engineers design future optical systems in biomedical, industrial, and aerospace work. Who knows where it’ll go next?
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Here is the source article for this story: Alluxa Introduces Breakthrough ULTRA Low-Stress Dichroic Deposition Process for Thin Substrates