Optical displays used in LCDs, PDPs, CRTs, ELs, FPDs, etc., in addition to strict wear, chemical and contamination resistance requirements have enhanced readability and front-of-screen performance requirements. In operating rooms, intensive care units, ambulatory surgical units, nuclear control rooms and in all other high-ambient light condition environments, everything that interferes with the display’s readability must be eliminated, including front-of-screen glare. Anti-glare and Anti-reflective (AR) coatings are extensively used to reduce the reflectance of light from a display’s surface, thus increasing light transmittance through the coating/substrate interface.

AR coatings are typically used in high–ambient lighted conditions, including outdoor applications, using two basic techniques: index matching and multilayer. Index-matched coatings are designed to reduce the index of refraction between air and the display interface. The smaller the index of refraction the less reflective the surface, thus allowing more light to be transmitted through the front of the display. Multilayer coatings are primarily made by vacuum deposition (evaporation or sputtering) techniques by applying a series of very thin layers of metal oxides onto the substrate. This multi layer approach uses films with a thickness of ¼ wavelength of the frequency of light. Light is partially reflected off the front surface of the film and partially reflected off the back surface of the film. The net effect is that the two reflections are ½ wavelength out of phase and therefore, cancel out any unwanted reflections seen by an observer.

The Vueguard AR Coatings are used for critical display and information board applications, where reflections can cause a safety risk.