Dichroic glass

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Dichroic glass is a glass containing multiple micro-layers of metal oxides, with a total thickness of three to five millionths of an inch, which gives the glass dichroic optical properties.

1 Development
2 What is Dichroic Glass?
3 Artistic use
4 References

[edit] Development

NASA developed dichroic glass for use in satellite mirrors. Multiple ultra-thin layers of different metal oxides (gold, silver, titanium, chromium, aluminium, zirconium, magnesium, silicon) are evaporated on to the surface of the glass in a vacuum chamber.

[edit] What is Dichroic Glass?

Dichroic Glass is a multi layer coating placed on glass by using a highly technical vacuum deposition process. Quartz Crystal and Metal Oxides are Vaporized with an electron beam gun in an airless vacuum chamber and the vapor then floats upward and attaches then condenses on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystal structure. Our colors have as many as 30 layers of these materials yet the thickness of the total coating is approximately 35 millionths of an inch. The coating that is created is very similar to a gemstone and by careful control in thickness, different colors are obtained. Thus, all our coatings are created using the same exact materials. Originally created for the Aerospace industry, Dichroic Glass is now made available to the artist community through dichroic coating manufacturers. Dichroic Glass is specifically designed to be hotworked in any way but can also be used in its raw form. The main characteristic of Dichroic Glass is that it has a transmitted color and a completely different reflective color. Furthermore, these two colors shift depending on angle of view. With the play of light together with its vibrant color, Dichroic Glass is a prime tool used to add interest to any piece of work or project. With over 45 Colors of Dichroic Coatings available to be placed on “any” substrate (ie glass), artists have unlimited freedom of expression. More About Dichroic Glass

[edit] Artistic use

The resulting plate of dichroic glass can then be fused with other glass in multiple firings. Certain wavelengths of light will either pass through or be reflected, causing an array of colour to be visible. Due to variations in the firing process, individual results can never be exactly reproduced; each piece of fused dichroic glass is unique.^[1]^[2]

Sculpted glass elements that have been shaped by extreme heat and then fused together may also be coated with dichroic after the fact to create unique and opulent sculpted glass objects reflecting an array of colors.^[3]