Blade Options
Vincent Associates offers various types of shutter blade coatings and materials, each suitable for certain applications. Our standard shutter blade options are: Teflon (T), AiSiO (Z), AlMgF2 (ZM). In addition, PtIr (P) blades come standard on the XRS series x-ray shutters, and C-PET (C) blades are standard on the FS series and MS series optical shutters.
Teflon® (T)
Our standard finish is black Teflon® (T) over a stainless steel substrate, and this black surface is coated on each side of the blade. “T” blades are suitable for applications that require the shutter blades to reflect little to no light. If reflectance is a concern, “T” blades are preferred. The max power recommended on the “T” blade is <100milliwatts/mm².
AlMgF2 (ZM)
The AlMgF2 (ZM) blade option is coated over a BeCu substrate. This finish/coating is only on the input side – the opposite side will be black. This coating is suitable for applications that require high reflectance across a wide range of wavelengths. It is available as an option on many shutter devices.
AlSiO (Z)
The AlSiO (Z) coating is coated over a BeCu substrate. This finish/coating is only on the input side – the opposite side will be black. Currently, this blade option is available exclusively to the LS Series and ES6B Series. It is highly suitable for laser switching applications.
C-PET (C)
Our C-PET (C) blade is made of a carbon impregnated polyethylene terephthalate base material that is suited for optics applications requiring high emissivity and optical density. The surface temperature should not exceed 100°C as this material is a thermoplastic polymer. See the emissivity chart for more information.
Reflectance
A blade’s reflectance indicates its ability or inability to reflect light at various wavelengths. For example, shutters used in laser systems should be equipped with blades that offer high reflectance in the visible spectrum, as the reflectance of the blades limits potential wear from the laser. The graphic to the right shows that both Uniblitz Z and ZM blades are suitable in this situation, but each blade option has a particular range within the visible spectrum where its reflectance is slightly higher.
Conversely, your application might require that the blades reflect little to no light. In this case, we suggest our T blade option.
Shuttering X-rays with Platinum-Iridium Alloy
The Uniblitz XRS Series shutters come standard with platinum-iridium (PtIr) blades (“P” blades), allowing for a beam extinction of 90% at up to 30 keV x-ray energy.
