Optical Contact Bonding: Where the Macro Meets the Molecular
1 min read
Summary
The process of optical contact bonding involves joining two surfaces without glue or other adhesives, instead using the intermolecular forces between the two surfaces, for example, Van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding.
The two surfaces must be bonded together permanently enough that breaking it is likely to cause damage, and as such, there iszero room for error in the process.
This process is more labour-intensive than using adhesives, but creates an effectively uninterrupted optical interface making it ideal for use in high-precision optics.
The process involves extensive cleaning of any contaminants on the surfaces, possibly in a vacuum environment, and then joining the two surfaces together using pressure and heat to create permanent bonds between the two surfaces.
The use of dissimilar materials means the bond will be much more tenuous, and a chemical activation process can also be used to try and increase the bond strength.
The process does not tend to be used in mainstream industries due to its high cost and labor compared to using adhesives, but it can be used in high-end applications such as production of semiconductor components.
