Aspheric Lenses - Lightpath Technologies - #2

The primary optical specification is the root-mean-squared transmitted wavefront error (RMS WFE). It is measured on a phase shift interferometer at the wavelength of 632.8nm. Most of our lenses are guaranteed to be diffraction limited, which means the RMS WFE < 0.070 X at the design wavelength.

LightPath® aspheric lenses can be made plano convex or bi­convex, with diameters as large as 25mm or as small as 0.250mm. Additionally we have the capability to dice the lenses to rectangular or square shapes to make mounting them in your system easier

By combining a refractive aspheric lens with a diffractive feature on one surface, you can do sophisticated beam shaping on your laser light. You can also use diffractive hybrid lenses to make your system achromatic over a range of wavelengths. LightPath® hybrid lenses are custom designed to each particular application. See page 34.

Black Diamond™ glasses are moldable infrared glasses operating for applications in the 1 to 14pm regions. These glasses are ideal for molding aspheric and diffractive aspheric lenses and can be used with or as a replacement for germanium aspheric optics. See pages 42-45.

Our catalog details 43 standard types of aspheric lenses that are available off the shelf. If you do not see a lens that fits your particular application, we will be happy to design one for you. Our sales and engineering teams work closely together to assist you in design, prototyping, and production of custom glass aspheric lenses. LightPath® offers custom lens solutions for high volume manufacturing at prices equal to that of a standard off-the-shelf lenses. We pride ourselves on being the fastest custom lens designers in the industry.

When determining specifications for custom aspheric lenses, the following parameters are typically used to specific lens performance. A LightPath^® product expert would be happy to discuss the following list of parameters with you to determine the appropriate lens for your application.

Our molded aspheric lenses are available with numerical apertures ranging from 0.15 up to 0.83. Lower NAs are best when a large depth of focus is important or when you need nearly circular beams. Examples of applications that would use a low numerical aperture are bar code scanners, surveying instruments, and small weapons sights. High numerical aperture lenses are important when you need to focus light down to a small spot size or when you need the maximum light capture from a diode laser. High numerical aperture applications include data storage and industrial printing.

Several of our catalog lenses are available pre-mounted in metal holders. Using our unique Mold-In-Place (MIP) technology we can actually mold the lens directly inside of a steel holder, eliminating the need for adhesives in your package. We can epoxy our lenses into Stainless Steel or Kovar mounts so you can weld them directly into your system.

Wavelength used Numerical aperture Effective focal length Minimum clear aperture Minimum back focal length Mechanical space constraints

Application notes for choosing the right aspheric lens are also available online. Please see www.lightpath.com for more details.

D-472-348

www.lightpath.com