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Modern automotive lighting is rapidly evolving, driven by a push towards thinner, more compact multi-lens systems to meet demanding styling and aerodynamic requirements. While these designs enable superior light distribution, they introduce significant optical and thermal challenges.
Cumulative light loss from Fresnel reflections, thermal management issues in compact housings, image degradation from stray light, and sensor inaccuracies caused by internal reflections are now critical issues. Innovative solutions that address these pain points are crucial for optimised performance and reliability.
Meet a pioneering EU specialist company which is set to revolutionise automotive lighting worldwide. Established in the early 2000's, they design and manufacture cutting-edge optical coatings for the automotive and industrial sectors. Their groundbreaking anti-reflective coating technology is set to transform advanced multi-lens automotive lighting systems globally.
We're excited to present an innovative anti-reflective coating solution set to elevate the standards of automotive lighting systems.
The Real Challenges of Automotive Lighting
To meet the demands of modern automotive lighting and sensor systems, there are several key challenges that must be overcome:
- Miniaturisation vs. Performance: Maintaining light output in smaller designs.
- Stray Light & Reflections: Preventing glare, blurring, and signal noise.
- Energy Efficiency: Reducing energy use and thermal load.
- Stringent Regulations: Meeting complex light output and image quality standards.
- Scalability & Cost: Maintaining performance with a scalable, cost-effective process.
- Smart Surface Integration: Precise light control for optimal sensor and display clarity.
- Night Vision Systems: Improving light output for greater image clarity.
- Minimising Light Pollution & Dazzle: Creating sharper, controlled light to improve road safety.
- Component Durability: Withstanding harsh conditions and temperature variations.
- Design Flexibility: Enabling new, aesthetically pleasing and innovative designs.
Here's an AR lens coating technology that has been specifically developed to address above key challenges and improve both product performance and long-term reliability of your systems.
The Best Night-Driving Experience Yet
Imagine a driving experience where nighttime visibility is unparalleled, and advanced safety features work seamlessly. That is now possible with cutting-edge anti-reflective lens coating. Here's how it transforms your driving experience:
- Unrivalled Visibility: See the road ahead with exceptional clarity, thanks to a significant increase in light transmission.
- Enhanced Safety: Advanced driver assistance systems perform reliably, detecting obstacles with greater range and precision.
- Reduced Strain: Enjoy sharper, more precise projections that minimise distracting glare.
- Peace of Mind: Drive confidently knowing your optical systems perform perfectly from freezing conditions to extreme heat.
- Sustainable and Durable: Experience exceptional reliability and longevity, whilst also reducing energy consumption.
How AR Coatings Address Key Automotive Lighting Challenges
| Industry Challenge | This AR Coating | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Miniaturisation Compromising Performance | Enables Smaller, Reliable Designs | AR coating ensures light performance is maintained in compact designs, with less energy and heat. |
| Light Loss in Multi-Lens Systems | Improved Light Transmission by up to 25% | Minimises Fresnel reflections, enhancing photon throughput. |
| Thermal Management | Reduced Energy, Less Heat | Less energy conversion into heat improves system thermal efficiency. |
| Stray Light & Image Issues | Sharper Projections, Reduced Glare | Minimisation of internal reflections improves beam pattern control. |
| Sensor Inaccuracies | Enhanced Sensor Accuracy | Reduces "ghost" images and signal noise, improving signal fidelity. |
| Colour Non-Uniformity in Complex Projections | Enhanced Colour Uniformity | Tailorable transmission characteristics across the visible spectrum; uniform light distribution. |
| Meeting Regulatory Requirements | Full Compliance | Ensures compliance with standards for light output, beam pattern and glare. |
| Sensor Module Size and Heat | Reduced Size, Lower Power, Extended Lifespan | Higher performing optics allow smaller components with reduced heat generation. |
| Inconsistent Performance Across Lens Materials | Consistent Performance Across Lens Materials | AR coatings are tailorable for various refractive indices, providing consistent performance. |
| Durability in Harsh Environments | Long-Term Performance | Robust coatings provide protection against temperature extremes and chemicals. |
| Light Leaks, Risk of Accidents | Minimised Stray Light | More precise light management reduces stray light and glare making rides considerably safer. |
| Cost Sensitive Manufacturing | Reduced System Costs, Scalable | Dip-coating and reduced component requirements contribute to lower manufacturing costs. |
The Manufacturer
The manufacturer’s large and rapidly growing international client portfolio includes leading Tier 1 and 2 automotive suppliers spread over several continents. They hold ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certifications, underscoring their commitment to quality and industry standards.
Frequently Asked Questions
An anti-reflective (AR) coating is an ultra thin layer applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses, to reduce the amount of light reflected back. When light passes through a lens, a portion of it is reflected, causing light loss and stray light. This coating has a refractive index between that of the air and the lens material, creating destructive interference that cancels out a significant portion of the reflected light. This increases the amount of light transmitted, improving the efficiency and performance of the lighting system. This AR coating uses a unique patented industrial sol-gel chemistry and dip-coating technique which allows for efficient treatment of complex optical parts made from various materials like glass, polycarbonate (PC), and PMMA.
The sol-gel dip-coating process is efficient for mass production and complex lens geometries, unlike traditional vacuum evaporation. Traditional methods like vacuum evaporation struggle with complex shapes and large-scale production, this process efficiently coats intricate lens geometries and is easily scalable for mass production. This makes it more flexible and cost-effective, especially because both sides of a lens are coated at the same time.
This AR coating offers significant benefits to automotive lighting and sensor systems. The key advantages include:
- Improved Light Transmission: Increases light transmission by approximately 25% of a lens triplet.
- Enhanced Image Quality: Reduces stray light and reflections, improving clarity and reducing glare.
- Increased Detection Distance: Allows sensors to 'see' further.
- Enhanced Performance: It enables superior performance by providing better control over the beam pattern. It also reduces the energy consumption, and ensures consistent performance in all conditions.
- Durability: Withstands harsh automotive conditions, including extreme temperatures (-40°C to +120°C).
- Versatile Application: Compatible with various lens materials and complex geometries.
The performance differences in Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlamps are significantly influenced by the number of lenses used.
Standard headlamps, typically employing a single lens, may not show a great difference when coated. Whilst a slight increase in light output is possible (approximately 7%), the added cost of AR coating is often not considered worthwhile, as stray light can be managed through design.
Mid-range ADB headlamps, usually with two lenses, have more reflections (around 10%) which this coating can mitigate to increase light transmission up to approximately 15%. The primary advantage in these systems is to minimise stray light to achieve sharp cut-offs as required standards.
High-end, high-resolution ADB headlamps (which may use three or more lenses) experience a far larger loss of light. This is because each additional lens adds to the unwanted reflections, creating a compounding effect, leading to significant light loss. Applying this AR coating here is therefore essential, not only to significantly reduce stray light ( up to a factor of 30 ) and increase light transmission up to 25%, but because this results in the ability to use less electrical energy for the same performance. This results in a far higher performing system that meets the increasingly stringent regulatory requirements for ADB headlamps whilst also improving energy efficiency.
This AR coating is engineered for long-term durability under harsh automotive conditions, including extreme temperatures, humidity, UV radiation, and chemical exposure. In typical operating conditions, it is expected to last for the operational lifespan of the vehicle.
Our coating is designed to be compatible with various lens materials and will not void the warranty on your existing optical components, as long as you follow our specific guidelines and recommendations. Our patented dip-coating process is also highly scalable and cost-effective for high-volume production runs, ensuring that we can meet the demands of the automotive industry without any compromise on quality or performance.
Yes, the AR coating process can be customised and tuned to achieve specific performance characteristics, or to perform well within defined optical wavelengths. We can help determine the optimal coating for your specific needs.
Our AR lens coating stands apart due to its:
- Unique and Patented Technology: A distinctive, patented AR coating technology.
- Industrial Sol-Gel Dip-Coating: An industrial sol-gel process incorporating a wet chemistry dip-coating method.
- Advanced Materials: Uses nanocomposites and nanotextured coatings.
- Superior Efficiency: Far more efficient and effective than traditional vacuum deposition technologies.
- Enhanced Performance: Better control over coating uniformity and durability, providing exceptional ageing resistance and stability across significant temperature fluctuations.
- Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness: A process designed for high throughput, making it more cost-effective for a wide range of applications.
This coating can be beneficial in outdoor lighting, optical sensors, displays and other optical applications. While primarily for automotive applications, it can benefit various industries requiring high-performance optical systems, including:
- Outdoor lighting (e.g., streetlights, stadium lighting)
- Optical sensors (e.g., LiDAR, cameras)
- Displays (e.g., smartphones, televisions) Any application utilising lenses or optical elements can benefit from the enhanced light transmission and reduced reflection properties.
Yes, this coating is commercially available and ready for implementation. It's developed an expert EU-based company specialising in niche sol-gel coating technology for optical devices.
The company collaborates with leading automotive suppliers companies worldwide. They hold patents for their innovations and are ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certified, demonstrating their commitment to quality and industry standards.
This AR coating improves light transmission, which translates to greater light output from the same energy input (or the same light output with less energy). This means that headlamp LEDs can operate at lower electrical intensity while maintaining the same level of illumination, reducing heat generation. Reduced heat allows for smaller cooling components and lower overall module costs. A more efficient use of light also helps extend the operational life of the lighting systems, therefore reducing waste and replacement costs.
This AR coating is engineered to withstand a wide range of environmental conditions commonly experienced in vehicles. It exhibits high temperature resistance, maintaining performance from -40°C to +120°C without cracking or delamination. It is also designed for long term performance with high resistance to humidity, thermal shocks and UV light, maintaining their optical properties over time. The coating is designed to be highly resistant to common chemicals and pollutants, and has passed extensive testing.
This AR coating can be applied to a variety of materials, including polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), glass, and sapphire, therefore covering a wide variety of commonly used optical lenses used in automotive lighting.
