Photochromic lens mirror-coated with Cr

We have designed and fabricated mirror-coated photochromic lenses for use in sunglasses. These lenses consisted of a Cr thin film sandwiched between two SiO2 layers on the front surface and an anti-reflection (AR) coating on the backside. The SiO2 films above and below the Cr layer were introduced as the protection and buffer layers, respectively. The AR coating was to suppress back-reflection from the lens surface. Deposition of all coating layers were carried out by an e-beam evaporator under Ar atmosphere at P = 10−5 Torr and T = 70 °C. As expected, the overall transmittance decreased with increasing Cr thickness. For a Cr layer of 5 nm thickness, it changed from about 45% in the bleached state down to 25% after exposure to sunlight. This is consistent with the transmission range typically required for sunglasses.