ITO Coatings: What is ITO Coating and How Did the ITO Coating Process Evolve?

Operating from state-of-the-art, purpose built premises in Phoenix, Arizona, Diamond Coatings Inc. have established themselves as industry-leading suppliers of ITO coatings. But what is ITO coating and how did the ITO coating process evolve? Read on to find out…

What is ITO Coating?

Indium tin oxide or ITO coatings are highly conductive, optically clear coatings that are applied to diverse substrates (including glass, acrylic, polycarbonate & polyester) to increase their conductivity while simultaneously maintaining these substrates’ optical clarity.

This, of course, is of utmost importance for many different applications including, for instance, RFI/EMI shielded equipment and touch panels/screens.

The Evolution of the ITO Coating Process

When ITO coatings where first introduced, maintaining substrates’ optical clarity while achieving high conductivity (i.e. low sheet resistances) meant deposition of the indium tin oxide had to be done at temperatures of at least 374° F/190° C.

For obvious reasons, this meant these coatings were almost exclusively applied to expensive, unyielding and comparatively heavy glass substrates susceptible to impact-damages.

The rapid, continual evolution of consumer electronics made it necessary for industrial designers and manufacturers to find and develop ever-new ways of enhancing their devices’ performances while simultaneously making them thinner, lighter and, perhaps most importantly, more cost-effective.

Today, the most popular, most rapidly growing approach to meeting the increasingly sophisticated demands of consumers within the optical display market is the use of ITO coated polymer substrates. This, of course, means ways of coating polymer substrates with indium tin oxide had to be developed…

Combining innovative ideas, years of experience and research with cutting-edge coating technology, Diamond Coatings developed a new method of vacuum depositing ITO coats onto a diversity of substrates at low temperatures.

DC ITO Coatings

Combining our ability to apply optically clear, highly conductive Custom Diamox & Diamox+ Index-Matched indium tin oxide coatings onto glass, acrylic, polycarbonate and polyester substrates with a specifically developed, extremely flexible system for handling these substrates, we can now offer to ITO coat flat, shaped and injection molded, as well as free issue and fully machined parts.

Now offering an extensive range of premium-quality ITO coated plastic necessities, we enable use of indium tin oxide coatings where substrate limitations previously made their use impossible.

For more detailed information and/or to chat to one of our experts about your application’s specific optical/optoelectronic needs, call us on (480) 999-3456, get in touch via our contact form or e-mail us: sales@diamondcoatings.com now.