An optical lens is a transparent optical component used for converging or diverging light emitted from a peripheral object. These lenses can be classified as positive (or converging) and negative (or diverging) lenses. They are used for a variety of purposes such as magnification, correction of optical aberrations, use as a Firestarter (burning glasses), image focusing, and image projection. Many industries use optical lenses such as life sciences, imaging, industrial, or defense and a lot more.
There are many kinds of optical lenses available in the market such as spherical, achromatic, aspheric, and cylindrical lenses. These lenses are available in a variety of substrates such as N-BK7, UV fused silica, calcium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, zinc selenide, germanium, and silicon.
Rod Lenses
Rod lenses are highly polished cylinders made from optically transparent and homogeneous materials. When the incident collimated light passes through the polished circumference of the rod lens, it is formed into a line. There is a variety of laser and imaging applications that utilize rod lenses as line generator optics. These lenses are available in varied sizes ranging from micro-sized rod lenses manufactured with a variety of optical materials for OEM applications, custom sizes, and variations
Achromatic Lenses
Achromatic lenses are made by combining different types of lenses carrying different focal powers in a manner. It is often made of two optical components including a positive low-index (crown) element and a negative high-index (flint) element. These lenses significantly eliminate the color fringes and increase image brightness and clarity.
Collimating Lenses
Collimating lenses convert divergent light beams into parallel beams. These lenses are used for many different applications varying from the UV to visible to the long-wave infrared range.
Cylinder Lenses
Cylindrical lenses are ideal for applications in need of one-dimensional shaping of a light source. They are available in Plano-concave or plano-convex configurations that help to expand or focus light. They are available in various substrates like N-BK7 glass, UV fused silica, or CaF2, all of which are available uncoated or with an antireflection coating.
Sapphire Lenses
Sapphire lenses reduce reflections across a wide range of incident angles to provide improved protection and better aesthetics. These lenses are made using a stack of coating chemicals designed to do away with the compromise between anti-reflective (AR) performance and UV protection.
