Ross Optical Blog: The Latest News & Research

As we enter the second half of 2025, tariffs and policy changes are increasing the focus on supply chain resiliency. Optical components play a critical role in systems; optical component delays can cost a company in lost revenue and customer dissatisfaction, and component replacement can impact profit margin and increase regulatory burden.

Dirty optics are trouble. They diminish performance, and in high-energy systems, they can even cause physical damage. Plus, well...they just plain look bad. When faced with an unsightly smudge or bit of dirt, it’s tempting to buff it off with the nearest piece of Kleenex. More likely than not, if you do that, you’re going to end up with a dirty, damaged optic. So, put down that handkerchief. Here are five things you need to know before you touch any optical surface.

For better or worse, we do “judge a book by its cover.” Appearance can override our better judgment. It’s tempting to judge the quality of an optical element based on its appearance, but that overlooks the element’s role within the overall optical system. In this article we’ll consider three types of surface irregularities and explore how each type can affect optical performance.

There is more to optical design than designing the optics. A design that works on a computer screen may not work in real life. Here are four best practices to help you design for manufacturability and performance.

According to the results of our 2016 customer satisfaction survey, Ross Optical continues to excel in optical quality, technical support, and customer service, and other areas. We’ve recently added staff and made other efforts to improve, and we were pleased to see that 94% of customers gave us an overall rating of excellent or above average. 97% of customers rated us excellent or above average on the friendliness and helpfulness of our customer service team. See what customers have to say about us below, and scroll further to find our latest resources to help customers succeed.

We asked Lisa Yang, Chief Technology Officer at Ross Optical, to share a bit about how she got into the field of optics and the work she does now.

Do other optics suppliers think you’re weird for wanting large lenses? We don’t.

As more and more optical suppliers consolidate and streamline their businesses, few continue to carry large diameter lenses. This is problematic because large diameter optics remain critical for precision instruments such as telescopes and imagers.  

3 Reasons to Reverse Engineer

“Reverse engineering” is a term with a bad reputation. It calls to mind patent violations and expensive legal wranglings. There are legitimate situations, though, when a company might need to work backwards to design an optical component that matches the performance of a commercial item.

Minimizing supply chain risk is an important priority for companies that source optical components. Tight timelines and cost pressures mean that businesses can’t afford mistakes or missing parts. There are several ways to reduce your optical supply chain risk and ensure continued availability of optical components.

Thanks to our network of 21 optical manufacturing partners around the world, Ross Optical stocks a wide variety of standard and hard-to-find optics, including aspheres and micro lenses. What’s more, especially on multiples, we offer these components for 20-40% less than leading catalog prices.