MERSEN optoSiC® mirrors deliver the highest combination of thermal and mechanical stability of any material which can be optically polished – engineered for the most demanding high-power laser processing applications in cutting, welding, marking, directed energy, and LIDAR.
High-power laser material processing demands more from your optics than almost any other industrial application. Continuous-wave kilowatt beams, rapid scan cycles, and wavelengths spanning UV to CO₂.
optoSiC SiC scanning mirrors for laser processing eliminate these failure modes. The unique optoSiC+ material has the highest combination of thermal and mechanical stability of any material. Because of this, your beam stays on target at full power and high speed motion with unlimited availability.
Silicon carbide is not a material science curiosity. It is the answer to a specific, high-stakes engineering problem: how do you steer a kilowatt laser beam with micron-level accuracy, at high scan speed, across thousands of working hours – without your mirror becoming the limiting factor?
Lower mass means lower moment of inertia. As a result, your galvo drive accelerates faster, throughput increases, and servo loads remain within spec even at multi-kHz scan rates. For high-end laser processes where cycle time is revenue, this matters.
Silicon carbide offers thermal conductivity of approximately 130, far exceeding fused quartz (~1.4 W/m·K). Heat dissipates rapidly and uniformly. Therefore, dynamic flatness remains stable under sustained high-power laser operations - no drift, no beam-quality degradation - even during long production runs
Every optoSiC mirror ships with application-matched coatings. Reflectivity ≥ 99.5 % across several wavelengths with a wide range of different coatings - from 355 nm (UV) to 10.6 µm (CO₂) - minimises absorption and protects both the mirror substrate and your laser source. High-end quality for high-end applications.
We found the technical solution for performance-optimized scanning mirrors in nature. Our backside rib design - inspired by the tree and leaf structure - combines maximum stiffness with minimum weight. High resonance frequency, low dynamic flatness error, and a mirror surface that stays geometrically stable when it matters most.
Dynamic flatness error climbs, the beam wanders, kerf width varies. optoSiC SiC galvo mirrors hold their geometry under continuous-wave output because silicon carbide dissipates heat fast and uniformly – stable surface, no drift, consistent kerf from first part to last.
Due to high stiffness, the scan head tracks complex paths at full speed without any ringing or overshoot.
Remote welding, wobble welding, on-the-fly scan welding – all demand stable spot geometry under high power across long working distances. In EV battery manufacturing, a single optic-induced drift can affect thousands of cells before anyone catches it.
optoSiC SiC scanning mirrors reach stable operating temperature within seconds of power-on. No warm-up losses, no duty-cycle degradation – dimensional stability throughout the shift.
Industrial marking – 24/7 production lines, UV wavelengths, tight resolution on demanding substrates – is a different problem from the budget galvo market. optoSiC SiC mirrors run UV-stable at 355 nm with coating durability built for continuous production load, not occasional use.
Low moment of inertia keeps marking speed high without sacrificing resolution. When your process runs multiple shifts without maintenance windows, your optics must not be the weak point.
In ultra-high-power resonators and directed energy systems, even sub-microradian beam wander is unacceptable. optoSiC FSMs pair SiC’s thermal conductivity and dimensional stability with the tip-tilt actuation architecture that aerospace and defense integrators specify.
SiC also eliminates the occupational health constraints that beryllium handling imposes – a direct non-toxic substitute with equivalent dynamic performance for integration, maintenance, and end-of-life.
MEMS mirrors work for automotive near-field LIDAR at 1-7 mm aperture. Aerospace and long-range sensing require large apertures, space-qualified heritage, and thermal stability across temperature ranges automotive parts never see. optoSiC FSMs serve this segment.
At kilowatt power levels, your choice of mirror substrate determines whether your process runs in specification or fails. However, most galvo mirror suppliers offer only quartz or silicon substrates – neither engineered for high-speed, high-power laser processing. optoSiC SiC scanning mirrors for laser processing fill this gap and improves the process even further.
In addition to superior thermal performance, SiC eliminates the occupational health requirements that beryllium handling mandates under OSHA regulation – a decisive advantage for manufacturing, system integration, and maintenance environments.
optoSiC mirrors are available with application-matched coating stacks across the full range of industrial laser wavelengths. Reflectivity ≥ 99.5 % minimises absorption into the substrate, protects the laser source, and maximises energy delivery to your workpiece.
Custom coating stacks for other wavelengths or dual-band applications are available on request. Contact optoSiC with your wavelength, power density, and AOI requirements.
optoSiC galvo scanning mirrors and fast steering mirrors span apertures from 3 mm to 100 mm, covering every laser processing application from high-speed UV marking to ultra-high-power resonator beam steering.
Standard galvo apertures are available from stock. Custom apertures and coating configurations are built to order – lead time on request. Contact optoSiC with your aperture, wavelength, power density, and scan-head configuration.
Superior Optics for Accuracy and Speed
SiC scanning mirrors from optoSiC serve multiple laser-driven industries. If your application extends beyond laser material processing, explore our dedicated pillar pages:
SiC scanning mirrors for laser processing deliver the highest combination of thermal and mechanical stability of any material that can be optically polished. Silicon carbide pairs high thermal conductivity with a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), high specific stiffness, and low density. In practice this means faster scan speeds from lower inertia, a beam that stays on target at full power without thermal drift, and non-toxic handling — a direct substitute for OSHA-regulated beryllium.
Silicon carbide’s thermal conductivity is approximately 100× higher than fused quartz, so under sustained kilowatt illumination the mirror surface stabilises rapidly and dynamic flatness error stays low — keeping the beam on the kerf without geometric drift. Its low CTE prevents thermal distortion. Quartz and silicon mirrors deform under the same load, introducing beam wander and kerf-width variation that increase scrap and reduce process yield.
optoSiC+ silicon carbide has a thermal conductivity of approximately 130 W/m·K — roughly 100× that of fused quartz (~1.4 W/m·K) and comparable to or higher than silicon (~150 W/m·K). Combined with its low coefficient of thermal expansion, this lets the mirror reach a stable operating temperature within seconds and hold its figure under continuous high-power loads.
SiC matches beryllium in thermal conductivity and specific stiffness across most laser processing regimes — without beryllium’s OSHA-regulated toxicity. optoSiC+ silicon carbide also polishes to the same optical surface quality as beryllium, making it a direct, quantified, non-toxic substitute for integration, maintenance, and end-of-life. See the Material Comparison table for exact thermal-conductivity, CTE, and specific-stiffness values.
Aperture selection depends on your working distance, F-theta lens, and scan-field size. UV and NIR marking typically use XY10G–XY20G (10–20 mm); industrial cutting and welding use XY20G–XY35G (20–35 mm); high-power and wide-field work uses XY100G (100 mm), with custom directed-energy apertures up to 300 mm. Contact optoSiC with your system parameters for a specification recommendation.
optoSiC supplies application-matched coating stacks with reflectivity ≥ 99.5 % from 355 nm UV to 10.6 µm CO₂ IR: UV-optimised dielectric (355 nm), VIS dielectric (532 nm), NIR dielectric (1064–1070 nm fiber), low-stress coatings for 1550 nm sensing, and gold / CO₂-optimised (10.6 µm). Dual-band and custom-wavelength stacks are available on request — specify your wavelength, power density, and angle of incidence.
Yes. optoSiC fast steering mirrors (FSMs) pair silicon carbide’s thermal conductivity, low CTE, and dimensional stability with tip-tilt actuation, delivering large apertures beyond the MEMS ceiling for long-range and aerospace sensing. They are space-qualified through NASA’s Psyche Mission, which used optoSiC FSMs to prove the concept of deep space laser communication across nearly half a billion kilometres. Low-stress 1550 nm coatings and custom apertures to 300 mm are available.
Standard galvo apertures ship from stock. Custom aperture and coating configurations are built to order, with lead time provided on request based on your specification and current production queue. Contact optoSiC with your aperture, wavelength, power density, and delivery requirements to receive a quotation.
Cutting-edge research from Stanford University and Indiana University, published in Optica (2020), unequivocally validates the superiority of silicon carbide (SiC) in resonant galvanometric optical scanners, spotlighting its transformative potent
ial for high-precision medical applications. The study, “Dynamic Distortion in Resonant Galvanometric Optical Scanners” reveals that traditional mirror substrates falter under dynamic torque. They introduce wavefront aberrations that degrade resolution in critical fields like retinal imaging, OCT diagnostics, and DNA sequencing. SiC emerges as the material of choice, ensuring stellar performance in high-frequency scanners.
Authors: Vyas Akondi et al.
Managing Director
