RADIATION TESTING OF OPTICAL COATINGS

For optical coatings that are exposed to radiation in space, it is recommended to simulate the dose depth distribution for electrons and/or protons and to take the results into account for testing. However, such simulations are only possible, if the coating stack (materials and thicknesses) of the optical coating is known. For many coating companies, this is know-how that they do not share or publish. This contribution describes an approach taking this challenge into consideration. The coating company only should state whether it is a purely dielectric coating or a metal-based coating. Additionally, if the company multiply the total layer thicknesses for every material with its density, add these products together and share the result, conclusions can be drawn about test parameters.