Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) Coated Viewport
Indium tin oxide is an unusual material: it can be both electrically conductive and optically transparent. Conductive materials like metals have delocalized electrons that are relatively free to move within the material, but this freedom means that they can interact with any wavelength of visible light. Metals reflect or absorb visible light.
When the composition of ITO is well controlled, it has good optical transparency and enough mobile charge carriers to be electrically conductive. If the composition is not well controlled, transparency and electrical conductivity can be mutually exclusive, in which case post-deposition thermal treatments are required.
At Torr Scientific, we are continually seeking to optimize our coating technique to produce conductive, transparent ITO without the need for additional thermal treatments.
ITO is ubiquitous in modern electronic devices. In vacuum applications, ITO is often applied to optical components to allow dissipation of charge than might otherwise build up on the dielectric material.
For more details on ITO coating, or to talk about a specific requirement you may have, please contact us at sales@torrscientific.co.uk
