Revolutionizing Coating Development: AGC Plasma's Software Suite
Developing and industrializing advanced thin-film coatings is a complex process that demands precision, predictability, and efficiency. At AGC Plasma, we understand that moving from a theoretical design to a perfectly uniform, large-scale industrial product is a significant challenge.
To bridge this gap, we have developed a powerful suite of proprietary software tools designed to support every stage of the coating lifecycle, from initial simulation to industrial monitoring and realistic visualization.
From Theory to Reality: Simulating Coating Performance
The foundation of any successful coating lies in its design. Our numerical simulation software provides a robust platform for developing and refining coating stacks before the first substrate ever enters a coater.
This powerful tool allows our experts to model the intricate interactions between light and the various nanolayers within a coating. By simulating key parameters, we can precisely define the performance of a coating under various conditions.
Key capabilities include:
- Wavelength Analysis: Defining the dominant reflected and transmitted wavelength ranges to achieve the desired color and performance.
- Polarization & Incidence Angle: Modeling how the coating will behave when light strikes it from different angles and with different polarizations, which is critical for applications like displays and automotive glass.
This simulation-first approach significantly reduces development time and material waste, ensuring the final product meets exact optical coating specifications.
Precision in Production: The Industrial Expert System
Once a coating design is finalized, replicating it perfectly on an industrial scale is the next hurdle. Our industrial expert system is a software tool engineered to monitor and control the coating process in real-time.
This system uses the theoretical models from the simulation phase as inputs to track and actively tune the deposition process. It focuses on achieving critical industrial targets, such as:
- Layer Thickness Control: Ensuring each nanolayer is deposited with sub-nanometer accuracy.
- Uniformity Targets: Guaranteeing consistent coating performance across the entire surface of the substrate, whether it's a large architectural glass pane or a flexible polymer film.
This software is integral to our magnetron sputtering equipment and is a core component of our ability to successfully upscale new plasma technologies from the lab to full-scale production.
See It Before You Make It: Realistic Rendering with Ocean™
How will a new low-emissivity coating look on a skyscraper's facade under a cloudy sky? How will an anti-reflective coating appear on a new LiDAR cover screen? Answering these questions used to require expensive physical mock-ups. Today, we use Ocean™, a cutting-edge rendering tool developed by Eclat Digital.
Using the optical models from our simulation software, Ocean™ enables us to create photorealistic visualizations of our coatings. This tool predicts the exact appearance of a coating on a defined substrate by taking into account real-world variables:
- Observation Conditions: Changing the point of view, from looking straight on to viewing from an extreme angle.
- Lighting Environments: Simulating everything from direct sunlight and overcast skies to specific indoor lighting conditions.
Beyond just aesthetics, this tool allows us to calculate and define the opto-energetical features of a product in its final application. This is invaluable for industries like architectural and automotive glass, where visual appeal and energy performance are equally important.
A Synergistic Approach for Demanding Industries
These three software tools—simulation, industrial control, and realistic rendering—form a seamless, integrated workflow. This digital ecosystem allows AGC Plasma and our partners to innovate faster, reduce risk, and deliver superior coating solutions with confidence.
From astronomical mirrors to battery technology, our software-driven approach ensures the highest standards of quality and performance.
