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Evaporated Metal Films Corp.
Company Description
EMF has been providing more than 75 years of continuous technological advances in the area of thin film coatings. Founded in 1936 in Ithaca NY, we are now publicly owned by Dynasil Corp. We employ ~20 people in a 44,000 sq. ft facility.
Our coating technology encompasses thermal, e-beam with IAD (ion assisted deposition) and sputtering physical vapor deposition techniques up to 50 layers. We use a wide variety of metals and dielectric materials to formulate custom coatings for optical, conductive and decorative applications.
Our capacity to coat both small and large optics range from 0.25” to 2.6 meters; we boast having the largest capacity in the industry.
Our optical coatings capabilities span the UV, Visible and IR regions. We supply anti-reflection coatings, beam splitters, durable gold and silver (Ag99) coatings; along with application specific designs.
Our engineering staff can provide custom coatings, specifications and testing programs.
The metals we most frequently use in coatings are: gold, aluminum, rhodium, silver, nickel, chrome, palladium and copper.
Contact Information
 239 Cherry St
Ithaca,NY
United States
Press Releases
| EMF makes lasting mark in space, many other industries.
For the past seven decades, an Ithaca metal-coatings company has put the finishing touches on breakthrough technology such as the Hubble Space Telescope and ubiquitous precision dental mirrors.
Evaporated Metal Films on Cherry Street celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2011 and believes it is the oldest metal coatings company in the country. It specializes in optical and decorative surface coatings for the optical, automotive and aerospace industries. This includes thin-film coatings for weather satellites, intraoral photography mirrors, motorcycle and firefighter helmets and beam splitter lasers, to name a few.
EMF was founded in 1936 as part of a doctoral thesis by Robley Williams at Cornell University. Williams, fellow physicist John Ruedy and electrical engineer Joel Ufford experimented with making metal film coatings using aluminum, chrome, silver and silicon dioxide. They soon came up with a process that is still used today, which involves heating up precious metals in a vacuum chamber to vaporize a thin and even coating onto an engineered piece of glass. Ufford's son, Curtis, later took over the company and ran it with Michael Shay from 1967 to 2000.
The metals used are engineered to produce different effects, such as anti-reflection properties to transmit a certain wavelength of light. The coatings enable the light to be manipulated, said company President Paul Schulz. Each metal has its specific application. For example, magnesium fluoride is used in anti-reflection coatings and found on eyeglass lenses or motorcycle helmets. Silver provides reflection for visible and infrared wavelengths, and aluminum is known to be long lasting and durable with high reflective properties. The coatings also are made to withstand heat and cold, temperature changes and wear and tear.
To coat a piece of glass, metal or plastic, it is put into a steel vacuum chamber and precious metals are deposited on heating coils on either side. A vacuum is then created and the metals vaporize and affix onto the product. The process needs perfect conditions to execute correctly, such as the right temperature, pressure and timing, Schulz said.
Early on, the company began coating lenses for the optical industry, including telescopes and anti-reflective eyeglasses. Another niche market was the dental industry, which sought out EMF's high-performance mirrors. To this day, the company is the leading supplier of intraoral photography mirrors. These mirrors have no glare and the reflected image is extremely sharp.
By the 1960s, the company expanded and diversified its market, branching into the aerospace industry, and developed new coatings for a variety of substrates such as metals, ceramics and plastics. At the time, EMF also fabricated glass optics but soon decided to hone in on what it did best, sales manager Joseph Howe said during a recent tour of the facility. "We were good at metal coatings, so that's where we put our energy," he said.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the company experienced a boom and in 1987 it moved from its original location downtown to a new 44,000-square-foot facility on Cherry Street. Currently, it runs 13 chambers and has the capacity to coat 96-inch pieces, making it among only a few companies nationally that can do that, Schulz said. This allows EMF to coat large telescope lenses (such as the Hubble Space Telescope and the Phoenix Mars Lander) and optical mirrors for flight simulator units.
The Hubble, which was launched into space in 1990, contains EMF-coated lenses that observe infrared and ultraviolet light. The Hubble takes extremely sharp images with almost no background light, according to the telescope's website.
EMF continued to have steady business through the 1990s but like many small private companies, it began to lose some of its share of the growing market. In 2006, it was bought out by Dynasil Corporation of America for $1.1 million. Dynasil specializes in optical components for the semi-conductor, laser, space and optical industries.
To stay competitive and earn its clients' business, Schulz said, it again had to distinguish itself from other companies.
"For us, it was remaining cost-competitive," said Schulz, who joined the company in 2007 and previously worked in the semi-conductor industry. Since then, Schulz said, the company has focused on customer service and improving its product turnaround. It also is looking into expanding into the medical imaging sector and to create a new product line.
"We're the last step that happens before (the product) goes to market," Schulz said. "So our turnaround has to be quick. We can do it in 48 hours."
Last year, the company's annual revenue grew 15 percent to more than $3 million, Schulz said. He attributes the company's growth to "providing superior customer service," and a dynamic work force. EMF remains small with 21 employees, some of whom have been with the company for longer than 40 years. "Most companies don't stay around for 75 years without good people," he said.
http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20120105/NEWS01/201050340/Made-Tompkins-EMF-makes-lasting-mark-space-many-industries?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|Local%20News
Written by
Shawnee A. Barnes
Correspondent |
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