Platypus Technologies Acquires Thin Film Labs, Inc. Assets

Madison, WI (January 6th, 2023) – The Platypus Technologies team is pleased to announce we have acquired a range of thin film optical coatings assets from Thin Film Labs, Inc. As a leader in custom solutions for biological and chemical sensors, we are always seeking to expand our manufacturing arsenal. Thin Film Labs, Inc. posed just such an opportunity.

Why Thin Film Labs, Inc.?

Formerly located in Milford, PA, Thin Film Labs, Inc. was a leader in optical coating fabrication with expertise in anti-reflective coatings, beam splitters, dielectric reflectors, and so on. Their capability for producing uniform optical coatings on a range of substrates, including garnet crystal, lenses, and fibers, offered their customers an impressive level of versatility. This manufacturing prowess resulted from a powerhouse suite of e-beam evaporation systems.

E-beam evaporation, sometimes referred to as e-beam deposition, is a vacuum process where materials are ablated via electron beam bombardment. It is a process we are extremely familiar with at Platypus Technologies, and one that is used to coat materials in ultra-thin layers. It is the same process we use to create metal (such as gold and platinum) and dielectric (like aluminum dioxide and silicon dioxide) coatings. When coupled with photolithographic patterning, e-beam evaporation can be an exceptional tool for fabricating sensors and actuators—critical enabling elements in modern technologies.

“Platypus Technologies is committed to becoming a leader on offering custom biosensors, chemical sensors, and micro-electromechanical devices.  With this acquisition, Platypus Technologies will accomplish two goals: (1) serve our current customer base with additional options for dielectric coatings for sensor applications, and (2) expand our services into optical coating fabrication.”

– Marco Bedolla, CEO of Platypus Technologies

If you would like to learn more about what this acquisition means to us, refer to our about us page for more detail. You can also start browsing our expanded range of solutions, or browse the application areas we currently serve.