Optical lenses are optical components designed to focus or diverge light. These lenses may be consisting of a single or multiple elements. An optical lens manufacturer is engaged in making optical lenses for a wide range of applications varying from microscopy to laser processing. These lenses can be typically categorized into three main classifications: spherical, aspherical, and cylindrical. Each of these lenses has unique features that make them suitable for different uses.
Spherical lenses
Spherical optical lenses feature a spherical surface with a radius of curvature that is consistent across the entire lens. These lenses are designed in a way that light entering them either converges or diverges depending upon the lens design. Concave spherical lenses have a negative focal length, so that incident light diverges and a virtual image is created. Convex spherical lenses have a positive focal length that causes incident light to converge to create real and virtual images.
Aspheric lenses
Aspheric lenses provide convenience without compromising on the efficiency of the glasses. These lenses are slimmer as opposed to the way traditional lenses and are lighter in weight. These lenses are used to correct spherical aberration and enhance the image quality. These lenses produce clearer images, which makes them ideal for many applications. Large aspheric lenses are used in telescopes and cameras, while smaller aspheric lenses are used for performing essential functions in fiber-optic networks, laser devices, and surgical equipment.
Cylindrical lenses
Cylinder lenses are optical components that have different radii in the x and y axes. The unique design of the cylindrical lenses allows light from a laser, or another illumination source, to be focused on a one-dimensional line instead of a point. These lenses are used to manipulate light to suit the optical requirements of the applications such as laser scanning and optical metrology inspection systems, imaging applications, imaging systems, etc. These optical lenses can be used to obtain a beam focus of elliptical form. Cylindrical lenses are available in numerous variations to suit different optical requirements such as singlet, doublet, triplet, sphere cylindrical, symmetric convex, symmetric concave, etc.
Many renowned manufacturers have state-of-the-art production and metrology equipment to create optical lenses for varied industrial applications. These lenses are available with or without antireflection coatings deposited on their surfaces. There are many substrate options also available for optical lenses such as N-BK7, N-SF6, UV fused silica, calcium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, zinc selenite, germanium, and silicon. Most of the manufacturers also provide custom optics and lens assemblies for complex optical instruments. It is recommended to look for a reputed and renowned optical lens manufacturer to buy superior quality optical components at competitive prices.
