Ross Optical Blog: The Latest News & Research

Demand for infrared optical elements has extended beyond just lens assemblies and hot/cold mirrors. Specifically, there is growing interest across the optical industry for bandpass filters, achromats, athermal elements, and polarizing waveplates. The demand spans all IR wavelength bands—near IR (0.75 µm to 1.4 µm), short-wavelength IR (1.4 µm to 3 µm), mid-wavelength IR (3 µm to 8 µm), and long-wavelength IR (8 µm to 15 µm). Advances in sensor and source technology, as well as a changing marketplace, are driving this growth. Demand from three industries stands out as particularly noteworthy:

Charlie has been in the optics business for over 40 years and with Ross for 8. With a background in industrial engineering, Charlie enjoys interacting with engineers in their element—getting out on the shop floor and talking technical details in order to help customers manufacture better products.

What is super-polishing? 

Super-polishing is a new classification for optical surface quality, sometimes referred to as "atomically smooth." By this we mean surface roughness features that can be measured in Angstroms, which are ten times smaller than nanometers. A single hydrogen atom is roughly 1 Å in diameter, so super-polishing really is “atomic.” By comparison, a λ/100 specification is 6 nm.

The recommended procedures for cleaning optics are largely the same whether you are working with lenses or mirrors. The typical cleaning process involves first blowing dust and dirt off the optical component with pressurized air, then using the drag method to slowly move moistened lens paper across the optical surface. We’ve previously shared tips for avoiding damage during optical cleaning. However, a few key differences make mirrors more susceptible to accidental damage.

At Ross Optical, we take pride in our reputation for outstanding customer support. A big reason for our customers' satisfaction is how we handle customers before they are our customers. Many optical suppliers require contracts and commitments before they will help a customer with design issues. At Ross, we think that's backward. Getting to the best design can take some time, and we prefer to help our customers overcome those design hurdles before committing to an order. The design collaboration process varies from customer to customer, but it typically goes something like this:

Meeting Needs, By the Numbers

We just completed our 2017 customer survey, and Ross Optical once again received high marks for customer service, technical expertise, quality and delivery. On overall performance, 92% of customers rated Ross above average or excellent.

Optical assembly is an important step in the production of an optical system—as well as a major cost driver. As we’ve previously discussed, designing optics with assembly in mind can ease the transition from prototype to final product and save money in the long run. But beyond design, the “who” and “where” of assembly can also affect price.

Generally speaking, a "large" optic is anything with dimensions exceeding 10 cm. Designing a large optical system is not intrinsically harder than designing a smaller system, but the stakes are higher. The classic example of a large optics project gone wrong is the Hubble Space Telescope, in which an error in metrology resulted in a mirror that was made "exactly wrong" to very high precision.

Keep in mind that, when designing a system that includes large optical elements, the effects of the usual cost factors increase and some new factors appear. The following design points will help.

Over the last several years, Ross Optical has worked closely with the engineering and purchasing team at Microtrac to provide custom optics that support their particle analysis instruments.