Design, manufacture and characterization of complex, high-quality coatings such as

• steep filter characteristics with highly complex coating design
• reproducible ultrathin ITO layers
• coating process development for 2D materials

Combination of optical coating with measurement technology and analytics!

Characterization Center with unique measurement equipment for low-loss coatings, surfaces and broad-based analyses of individual optics

Unrivalled expertise in ultra-precision manufacturing and optical coating at one location

Optical coating processes to produce materials and components faster and more cost-effectively, and coatings with properties not previously achievable via conventional processes, can give companies a decisive competitive edge. 

The Optical Coatings division at RhySearch develops and conducts research for the benefit of the optics industry. Our employees have many years of research and industrial experience in the field of optical coating. Thanks to their competences and our unique technical infrastructure, we are able to cover a wide range of topics in the field of coatings, characterization/analysis and surface treatments. The scientific and technological strength of our laboratory is based on these three core topics.

Our research activities focus on the production of next generation optical coatings. For this purpose, we investigate a variety of aspects along the entire process chain. Our core competencies are continuously strengthened through collaborations with other national laboratories, industry and academia representing the forefront of research in this field.

Annually, RhySearch organizes together with OST, Fraunhofer IOF and Swissphotonics the OCLA Symposium.

• Scattered light measurement (TIS)
• Absorption measurement (LID)
• scratch and adhesion measurements
• Spectrophotometry
• Ion beam etching (IBM)
• Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)
• Environmental stability testing
• Light microscopy
• Optical 3D profilometer
• Ellipsometer
• Group delay and group delay dispersion measurements
• Scanning Electron microscopy

find out more about our analytics

• Ion beam etching: Surface polishing and cross cutting
• Cleaning processes (in cooperation with OST Buchs)
• Annealing furnace

Our employees in the Optical Coating and Characterization Lab are recognised experts in their field and regularly publish scientific work in the form of papers, presentations, lectures and Whitepaper. 

In addition, we support students who are interested in writing their study, bachelor or master thesis in the field of optical coating. 

An insight into current publications and the Whitepaper: Atomic Layer Deposition at RhySearch can be found here: Publications