eSource Optics
482 Southbridge St., #375
Auburn, MA 01501 USA
Phone: (508) 372-0071
Sales@esourceoptics.com

VUV-UV OPTICAL FILTERS & MIRRORS HANDLING AND CLEANING INFORMATION
Handling and Usage of VUV-UV Optical Filters & Mirrors: eSource Optics Metal-Dielectric-Metal(MDM) thin-film VUV-UV Optical Bandpass Filters & Mirrors are environmentally stable in most low
humidity Laboratory type environments, or when used in vacuum or highly purged
instrumentation. However, due to the relatively soft nature of the MDM filter coating, care must betaken to avoid damage from contamination of the optical surfaces as these coatings are really notsuited for any chemical cleaning or exposure to certain environments, such as ozone or corrosivegases. Also, typically in most all vacuum applications there no epoxies or glue used to hold the VUVUV Optical Filter & Mirror; or paints/sealants to blacken the filter edges because most all of thesematerials will out-gas under vacuum and leave a residue on the surfaces of the filter and contaminate
the environment within a vacuum chamber. VUV-UV Optical Filters & Mirrors are typicallymechanically mounted using stainless steel or aluminum retaining or split rings to hold the Optical
Filter into a mount. If the Filter or Mirror is to be used in a vacuum application, the normal ozone andother contamination processes which take place in VUV instrumentation can be minimized by notallowing the UV light source or other radiation to strike the MDM Optical Filter or Mirror coating untilthe vacuum system is under a 10-5 Torr or below range (never above 10-4 Torr range). Caution
should be exercised to avoid accidental high pressures within the vacuum chamber during UV lightsource operation. As deterioration of MDM Filter & Mirror coatings is a function of photon energy,
flux density and time; VUV-UV light sources should only be run when necessary to obtain data.
As VUV-UV Optical Filters are MDM type filters and out-of-band blocking is primarily due toreflection/absorption of unwanted light, the coated MDM surface should be oriented towards the lightsource. In reality the VUV-UV Optical Filter will perform if oriented either way, but it helps somewhat
to have the coated "most reflective looking" side facing the incident VUV-UV light source in order tohelp reduce any thermal load on the VUV-UV Optical Filter. Due to the higher absorption of VUV-UVFilter coating materials; distance to the light source also is very important. The closer the VUV-UV
Optical Filter is to a high intensity VUV-UV light source, the faster it can degrade over time.
Conditions such as vacuum pressure and cleanliness of the vacuum or purged environment can allplay a part in ultimate VUV-UV Optical Filter lifetimes.
Cleaning of Open-Faced Optical Filters & Mirrors: Clean dust or other small particles by blowing
off the coated surface with a clean air syringe or preferably with purified dry N2. DO NOT contact thecoated surface of the filter with any liquid solvents or lens tissue. Typical particle cleaning can beaccomplished by the use of a stream of dry air; however surface stains and oil-based fingerprints are
extremely difficult to remove without damaging the coating. The recommended cleaning of a VUV-UVFilter is with high purity dry nitrogen dispensed with a filtered ionized air gun to remove any dust
particles that may cling to the coated MDM surface due to a static charge. We do not recommend that
the Optical Filters MDM coated surface be touched with any solvent cleaning methods; or any
commercially available nitrogen air spray cans, as these tend to "spit" liquid and will stain the coatedsurface.
VUV-UV Optical Filters & Mirrors/ Windows/ Lenses/ Prisms/ Optics Storage Cases & Boxes