coldshields

Custom Coldshields at Opti-Forms, Inc.

Opti-Forms is pleased to announce that we offer very low mass coldshields capability.

Coldshields are typically used in IR optical devices for military, scientific and industrial applications to protect IR sensors from stray IR radiation (lowering noise figures). Most coldshield applications require near instantaneous cooling, the low mass of the structure is very important.

Opti-Forms experience in electroforming enables us to manufacture existing parts and build high quality coldshields to customer specifications.

Opti-Forms' capabilities include IR reflectance and absorbance coatings complimentary to any cold shield design.

Electroformed coldshields are manufactured by electroplating Ni and Cu metal on a precision cut “reverse image” master.  The resulting cold shield exactly duplicates the surface features of the master.  Once the electroplating is complete, the disposable master is chemically dissolved leaving the freestanding coldshield structure.

IR reflectance coating is applied to the exterior surface and an IR absorber layer is applied to the internal surface for optimal performance in the spectrum of interest.

Why a Coldshield?

Infrared detectors (camera arrays etc.) require shielding from stray and unwanted IR radiation to obtain optimal signal-to-noise figures on a desired target.  Many of these coldshields are cryogenically, or electronically, cooled as in military and aerospace applications. They may, however, not remain in the cooled state all the time and need to be available with minimal delay.  The ultra-low mass and thin wall characteristics of the Opti-Forms coldshield allow minimum cool down time before maximum detector performance is achieved.

Talk to our Sales Group about Coldshields