What Vortex Optical Coatings does

Vortex Optical Coatings Ltd is a UK-based, privately-held manufacturer of optical filters and coatings operating from a single facility in Hinckley, Leicestershire. Founded in 2008 by Ian Reilly and led today by the Reilly family (Ian as Managing Director, Ben as Head of Operations), the company designs and produces optical components across the 0.3μm to 6μm spectral range, spanning UV, visible, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavelengths. The product portfolio covers narrow and wide bandpass filters, dual bandpass filters, anti-reflection coatings (broadband and V-Coat), beamsplitters, beam-combiners, dichroic filters, long and short pass filters, infrared linear variable filters (LVF), neutral density filters, attenuators, notch filters, and precision dicing services for coated wafers and substrates.

The company's technical foundation is high-energy sputter deposition, a process the company describes as carrying roughly 1000x the process energy of thermal evaporation, yielding densely packed, void-free coatings with low temperature shift and high environmental durability. Ten fully automated coating chambers of varying sizes support around-the-clock production and accommodate both volume production and small-batch prototype work, with on-site Disco dicing capability (including sapphire dicing with sub-0.1mm edge chips) enabling complete in-house delivery from design to finished diced optic. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified with annual external audits covering full spectral and environmental traceability. The website also showcases MIL-C-48497A durability testing on every coating run.

Vortex operates a hybrid go-to-market model: direct B2B enterprise sales via phone, email and contact form serve OEMs, integrators and research institutions, supported by an e-commerce storefront for standard catalog products. Pricing for standard items is published (£300-£850) while custom and OEM volumes are quote-based, with 30-day payment terms for approved accounts. End-customers are spread across industrial gas detection, aerospace and defense (including Mars rover IR LVFs), Formula 1, medical devices, luxury goods, OEM integrators, and research laboratories, and the company self-reports worldwide exports. The firm has no external funding, no parent company, and remains family-owned; strategic communications emphasize durable products, flexible call-off schedules, and short lead times (as low as 48 hours for express IR V-Coat service).

Name

Vortex Optical Coatings

Legal name

Vortex Optical Coatings Ltd

Website

https://vortexopticalcoatings.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Vortex Optical Coatings Ltd is a UK-based manufacturer that designs and produces custom optical filters and coatings across the 0.3-6μm spectrum using high-energy sputter deposition technology, serving industrial, aerospace, medical, automotive, and OEM customers worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hinckley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Optical Filter Sales: One-time sale of custom-designed and manufactured optical filters including narrow bandpass, wide bandpass, dual bandpass, long pass, short pass, and notch filters. Products are designed to customer specifications across wavelengths 300-6000nm.
2. Standard Product Sales: Sale of standard/off-the-shelf optical filter products including Linear Variable Filters (LVF), Standard Infrared Filters, and Narrow Bandpass Filters. Products have fixed pricing ranging from £300-£850 for standard items.
3. Dicing Services: Precision dicing of optical components and coated wafers. Pricing varies by substrate material (Silicon, Germanium, Glass, Quartz, Sapphire) and wafer size (25.4mm to 100mm diameter). Also includes step dicing and various packaging solutions.
4. Coating Services: Express coating service for customer-supplied optics with lead times as short as 1 week (IR V-Coat) or 48 hours. Also provides AR coating (broadband and V-Coat) on various substrate materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Vortex Optical Coatings designs and manufactures custom and standard optical filters and coatings across the 0.3µm–6µm (300–6000nm) spectral range using 10 fully automated high-energy sputter deposition coating machines of varying chamber sizes. The portfolio covers narrow bandpass, wide bandpass, dual bandpass, long pass, short pass, notch, neutral density, beamsplitter/dichroic, anti-reflection (broadband and V-Coat), infrared linear variable filters, attenuators, and on-site precision dicing services for substrates up to 150mm diameter.

Product overview

Vortex Optical Coatings is a UK-based manufacturer specializing in the design and production of optical filters and coatings across the 0.3µm–6µm spectral range (spanning UV, visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared). The company operates 10 fully automated high-energy sputter deposition coating machines and provides comprehensive optical filter solutions including Narrow Bandpass Filters, Wide Bandpass Filters, Dual Bandpass Filters, Anti-Reflection Coatings (Broadband and V-Coat), Beamsplitters/Beam-combiners/Dichroic Filters, Long Pass Filters, Short Pass Filters, Infrared Linear Variable Filters (LVF), Neutral Density Filters, Attenuators, Notch Filters, and precision Dicing Services. The product portfolio includes both custom-designed filters and standard catalog products, with capabilities ranging from individual filter coatings to complete optics packages including substrate supply, coating, and dicing. All coatings utilize sputter deposition technology for enhanced durability and temperature stability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Narrow Bandpass Filters Optical filters that transmit a narrow range of wavelengths while blocking others, sensitizing or tuning optical systems to specific chemical, element, or gas detection applications. Available across visible (300–700nm), near-infrared (700–2500nm) and mid-infrared (2500–6000nm) bands.
• Wide Bandpass Filters Wide bandpass filters transmit a broader range of wavelengths than narrow bandpass filters, used where broader spectral coverage is required. Available across visible (300–700nm), near-infrared (700–2500nm) and mid-infrared (2500–6000nm) bands.
• Dual Bandpass Filters Optical filters that transmit two separate wavelength bands while blocking wavelengths between them, used in systems that require detection at two distinct spectral regions.
• Anti-Reflection Coating Anti-reflection coatings minimize unwanted reflections and maximize light transmission through optical components. Available as Broadband AR and V-Coat AR variants for visible (300–700nm) and infrared (700–6000nm) wavelengths, with custom wavelengths from 265nm to 5000nm.
• Beamsplitters, Beam-combiners and Dichroic Filters Beamsplitters and dichroic filters selectively transmit and reflect light into separate channels inside optical systems; beam-combiners combine separate light beams into one. Available for visible (300–700nm) and near/mid-infrared (700–6000nm) ranges.
• Long Pass Filters Long pass filters transmit longer wavelengths while blocking shorter wavelengths, used as building blocks in optical instrument design across 350–5000nm.
• Short Pass Filters Short pass filters transmit shorter wavelengths while blocking longer wavelengths, used as building blocks in optical instrument design across the visible and IR spectrums.
• Infrared Linear Variable Filters (LVF) Narrow band filters where the centre wavelength changes continuously along the length of the filter, used in mini-spectrometers, multi-gas analysis, and industrial process monitoring. Stock ranges cover 0.9–1.7µm, 1.3–2.6µm, and 2.5–5.0µm.
• Neutral Density Filters ND filters reduce or modify the intensity of light across a specified range while maintaining wavelength and polarization integrity, used for balancing optical systems, protecting detectors, and power measurement. Available for visible (300–700nm) and infrared (700–6000nm).
• Attenuators Filter coatings designed to reduce light intensity passing through optical systems across specified ranges while maintaining wavelength and polarization integrity, used for protecting equipment, laser power measurement, and balancing optical systems.
• Notch Filters Notch filters selectively block or attenuate a specific narrow wavelength range while allowing wavelengths on either side to pass with minimal attenuation, used in spectroscopy, laser systems, and medical instruments.
• Precision Dicing Services Precision dicing of optical components and coated wafers up to 150mm diameter, 0.1–4mm thick, with finished sizes as small as 1.0x1.0mm and ±0.1mm tolerance. Supports Sapphire, Glass, Silicon, Quartz, Calcium Fluoride, and Germanium substrates. Includes hexagonal dicing for circular housings, step dicing, and recent development of sapphire dicing achieving edge chips less than 0.1mm.
• Express AR Coating Services Express anti-reflection coating service applied to customer-supplied optics, with broadband and V-Coat AR variants on various substrate materials and lead times ranging from as short as 48 hours for IR V-Coat to 1 week for other coatings.
• Standard Linear Variable Filters (Stock Range) Off-the-shelf Linear Variable Filters sold via the online shop: 1st Gen LVF (0.9–1.7µm at £600, 1.3–2.6µm at £650, 2.5–5.0µm at £700) with 2% FWHM and OD>2.5 blocking; 2nd Gen LVF (0.9–1.7µm at £800, 1.3–2.6µm at £850) with 1% FWHM and OD>3.5 blocking.
• Standard Infrared Bandpass, Longwave Pass, Shortwave Pass and IR-Blocking Filters Off-the-shelf 25mm-diameter standard infrared filters: BPF for 1.3–2.5µm, BPF for 2.07–2.5µm (non-contact temperature), BPF 3.0–5.0µm on Sapphire, BPF 3.0–5.0µm on Silicon, Visible Transmission IR Blocker, Longwave Pass at 1.65µm, Shortwave Pass at 2.6µm. Priced at £300 per unit.
• Infrared Narrow Bandpass Filters for Gas Detection Off-the-shelf 25mm-diameter narrow bandpass filters for gas detection applications: H2O (1940nm), C2H2 Acetylene (3055nm), C2H4 Ethylene (3260nm), CH4 Methane (3330nm), C2H6 Ethane (3490nm), HC Hydrocarbon (3400nm), CO2 Carbon Dioxide (4260nm), N2O Nitrous Oxide (4530nm), CO Carbon Monoxide (4660nm), NO Nitrogen Monoxide (5330nm). Priced at £300 per unit.

Quantifiable outcome

• Coating transmission >99.5% average for V-Coat AR coatings (2 sides coated) on standard substrates
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• EPIC (European Photonics Industry Consortium)minorOthersIndustry association that promotes sustainable development of organisations working in photonics in Europe. Vortex is a member, participating in their network and events. EPIC fosters a vibrant photonics ecosystem and acts as a catalyst for technological and commercial advancement.
• SpectroNetminorOthersOrganization based in Thuringia, Germany, focused on strengthening companies and institutions in photonic measurement and engineering for quality assurance. Holds conferences and meetings throughout the year. Vortex participated in Spectronet Conference 2025 with a presentation.
• GasG (Gas Analysis Group)minorOthersNot-for-profit UK organization providing a forum for discussion and dissemination of information about gas analysis and sensing. Stimulates research, development and application of gas sensing. Holds 3 colloquia per year with international speakers. Relevant to Vortex as a key customer segment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Alluxa: US-based manufacturer of hard-coated optical filters using plasma-assisted reactive magnetron sputtering (PARMS), a close technological analogue to Vortex's high-energy sputter deposition. Overlapping product portfolio (narrow bandpass, longpass, notch, dichroic) for OEM and analytical instrumentation customers.
• Chroma Technology: Manufacturer of optical filters and coatings for life sciences, research, and industrial applications. Direct peer with comparable product portfolio (bandpass, longpass, dichroic, notch) and similar B2B go-to-market via OEM and research customers.
• Omega Optical: Custom optical filter manufacturer serving aerospace, defense, medical, and industrial OEM customers. Direct peer with overlapping filter categories and similar B2B go-to-market targeting instrument and sensor integrators.
• Semrock (IDEX Health & Science): Manufacturer of hard-coated optical filters primarily for life sciences, biotech, and analytical instrumentation. Direct peer in optical filter manufacturing using ion-beam sputter deposition, a related advanced deposition technology.
• Materion: Advanced materials manufacturer with an optical coatings business (inherited from Barr Associates) producing custom optical filters and thin-film coatings for aerospace, defense, and analytical instrumentation. Direct peer in optical coatings manufacturing with comparable custom filter offerings.
• OptoSigma: Optical components manufacturer offering catalog filters, lenses, and optical assemblies for industrial, research, and OEM customers. Direct peer with comparable product offerings including bandpass and longpass filters, though operating with a broader catalog model.

Broad incumbents

• Thorlabs: Broadline photonics and optics manufacturer offering an extensive catalog of optical components including filters, lenses, mounts, and complete optical systems. Comparable as a broader incumbent serving overlapping OEM and research customers with filter products as part of a much wider portfolio.
• Edmund Optics: Global optical components manufacturer with extensive catalog of filters, lenses, and imaging components. Comparable as a broad incumbent with overlapping OEM and industrial customer base, but operating at significantly larger scale across many product categories.
• Newport (MKS Instruments): Broadline photonics equipment and optical components manufacturer offering filters and optical assemblies as part of a much wider photonics portfolio. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving industrial, research, and OEM customers.
• Coherent Corp (formerly II-VI): Large photonics and optical materials company offering optical components, laser systems, and materials. Comparable as a broad incumbent with deep optical coating capabilities serving industrial, aerospace, and OEM markets at substantially greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vortex-optical-coatings-limited

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Vortex Optical Coatings