patent on AR hydrophobic topcoat

**goreilly** · 08-29-2006, 08:02 AM

Hi,

Can anybody out there tell me definitively if anyone, Essilor or Zeiss or Satis or Leybold or anybody has a patent on putting a hydrophobic coating on while the lenses are still under vacuum in the AR coater? I keep hearing talk that there is but no seems to know for sure. Thanks.

**shrimper~dan** · 08-29-2006, 08:14 AM

The only patent regarding in chamber process that I am aware of is the one owned by Essilor covering the final, sacrificial layer they put on top of Alize in order to allow it to be edged.
In chamber hydrophobic is done by vitually every A/R producer with most chambers sold on the market today. There are some exceptions, such as the Zeiss Bell Jar chamber that does not have an ion gun which is generally required for this process, but that is a technology issue, not a patent issue.

**goreilly** · 08-29-2006, 08:28 AM

Thanks for the reply. Does anyone know anything about the Essilor patent? Is it a French patent or EU or American? Does anyone know the patent number? Thanks.

**Chris Ryser** · 08-29-2006, 09:31 AM

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**Chris Ryser** · 08-29-2006, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by goreilly

Hi,
Can anybody out there tell me definitively if anyone, Essilor or Zeiss or Satis or Leybold or anybody has a patent on putting a hydrophobic coating on while the lenses are still under vacuum in the AR coater? I keep hearing talk that there is but no seems to know for sure. Thanks.

These coatings are applied by evaporating a hydrophobic pill which is easily available. None of above mentioned companies have a patent on this application as far as I know.

There is only one patent on hydrophobic coatings applied in chamber. This was issued to Bushnel in 2003. Why it was permittet is still a question mark as these coatings have been around for 20 years.

Hydrophobic coatings have been on the market since I brought the first one into circulation in 1986.

You can look it up at http://optochemicals.com/unibushnel_patent.htm