PRECISION PRISMS
The simplicity of the prism function belies the complexity of its manufacture. Each surface that is polished and coated must also be held in the strictest of angular tolerance to the other surfaces.
G&H produce precision prisms for a wide variety of applications, from high energy laser cavities to broadband imaging systems.
Prisms bend, fold, invert, reinvert, displace, and deviate light. Though not used as often as lenses and mirrors, prisms are critical components in the systems which utilize their bending or refracting properties. Prisms are challenging to manufacture as each surface and its angular tolerances to the whole are difficult to maintain during polishing and coating. Precision prism fabrication requires complex tooling as difficult to manufacture and maintain as the prism itself.
In order to collapse or control the optical path, optical engineers may generate designs which require optical contacting of multiple prisms to create complex optical structures. Each angle and surface must be held in the tightest of tolerances to the whole piece.
Our precision prism production capabilities include precision angular tolerancing, accurate wavefront control, and polishing of a wide variety of materials (see Materials page for a complete list).
Coatings are similarly difficult, as surfaces may receive different coatings, fixturing is complex, and the final surfaces may need to be completely flat to enable proper contacting, bonding, and alignment to the whole assembly.
Prisms types include: Abbe, Amici, Dove, Leman, Penta, Periscope, Porro, Rhomboid, Schmidt, Wollaston, Zeiss, and others.
Our prisms may be assembled into cubes or more complex opto-mechanical sub-systems including epoxy bonding, optical contacting, or air-spacing.
LASER APPLICATIONS
Our prisms are used in a variety of laser applications because of their high angular tolerancing and high laser damage threshold performance. High energy laser line dielectric coatings complete the component.
IMAGING APPLICATIONS
Prism optimized for imaging applications demonstrate broadband performance and precision wavefront control. Backside metal coatings can further improve off-axis reflectivity. Protective black coatings are often added to improve handling and minimize stray light.
APPLICATIONS
Biomedical, dermatology, fluorescence, laser cavities, laser range finders, laser systems, metrology, periscope optics, optical interferometry, optical sights, spectroscopy, targeting.
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