We make most of the dichroic glass used in our studio.  Of course by "make" we mean that we apply our own dichroic coatings to glass specifically formulated for fusing.  Photos of our glass are near the bottom of the page.

The spectacularly vibrant colors exhibited by dichroic glass are created by a very sophisticated combination of extremely thin, clear, crystalline layers that interact with each other and produce very specific reflected and transmitted colors. There are no absorptive pigments used in this process. This allows all of the light energy to be either reflected or transmitted and, in turn, creates the rich colors that characterize art works created with this glass.

Dichroic glass is created via the application of many individual thin films on the order of one micron in total thickness. These films are comprised of alternating high and low index of refraction materials that produce multiple internal reflections. Some of these reflections will add together constructively producing very vibrant reflected colors. Others will add together constructively only in the transmitted direction producing very rich transmitted colors. By varying the thickness of the layers carefully, different colors can be created, all with incredible vibrancy. The fact that the glass exhibits both a transmitted color and a different reflected color is why it is called "dichroic". Di- is Greek for two, and -chroic is Greek for color, thus combined we have "dichroic", or two color.

Dichroic films are applied in very sophisticated machines called "vacuum vapor deposition systems" costing tens of thousands of dollars. Click HERE to see our machine!  In these machines an electron beam is used to vaporize materials. These materials then evaporate and are deposited onto the glass suspended above the evaporation sources. The chamber is maintained at such a low pressure (1/7,600,000 of an atmosphere) that the evaporating molecules encounter no other residual gasses in their path. This results in a very pure, crystalline film. When these films are applied correctly they give rise to incredible colors and patterns. This is one of the newest mediums for glass artists and represents a unique marriage between the age-old human desire to create beautiful works of art and a relatively new development of science. All of us who admire dichroic glass in art have the military and space programs to thank for this exciting new art form.