“A laser blocking polycarbonate sheet is a type of material designed to protect against the harmful effects of laser radiation.
To make polycarbonate sheet laser blocking, a special additive (or combination of additives) is included in the material during production. These additives absorb laser radiation and convert it into heat, preventing it from passing through the sheet and harming people or equipment on the other side. The laser blocking properties of the sheet can be customized to provide protection against specific wavelengths of laser radiation.
Laser blocking polycarbonate is commonly used in a variety of applications, including laser safety windows, protective enclosures, and machine guards in industrial and medical settings. It is also used in research and medical facilities where lasers are used regularly”.
Laser blocking polycarbonate sheet and advantages over acrylic
HighLine is one of the first companies to produce laser blocking polycarbonate sheet. Traditionally cast acrylic sheet has been used to produce laser blocking plastic windows as it is a much easier process to add additives to, and can be made in lower quantities. The problem with Cast acrylic sheet is that it is difficult to control the thickness and therefore control the laser blocking properties. Cast Acrylic is also prone to breaking, unlike Polycarbonate.
Size limitations and volume requirements
HighLine has recently started custom producing laser blocking polycarbonate sheet. This product is not a stock item and we typically go through a specification and trial production process with each customer. During this process we identify the wavelengths that need to be blocked, provide sample chips and then do a run on a 12″ wide laboratory line. Finally we scale up to our 48″ wide production line (although we do have the possibility to go to a larger line if the volume is sufficient). This process can take 3-6 months. Also, to be worthwhile, we typically need an application that requires 10,000 kg of sheet (although this volume can be taken over an extended period of time).
Photo of recent trial run.
The above photo shows a 3mm thick, 12″ wide sheet of laser blocking material from a trial run for a customer. The sheet blocks a single laser wavelength (although it is possible to block multiple wavelengths). The laser blocking additives would give the sheet a very light grey tint. The purple color of the sheet is due to other purple colorants that the customer requested to match their equipment. Although it is not obvious in the picture, the light transmission over most of the visual range is over 70% accept where affected by the purple colorant. Without this colorant, an average visual transmission of over 70% could easily be achieved.
If you have a requirement for a custom laser blocking polycarbonate sheet, please contact us with the details of the wavelength or wavelengths that you need blocked.
* To try the new technology out, we used Chat GPT to write the introductory section of this blog post. The section enclosed in ” ” quotation marks is Chat GPT generated. While the section does not go into detail about the subject, it does form a good introduction.