Ross Optical Blog: The Latest News & Research

A "dome" is an optical element that features a concave internal surface that is precisely matched to a convex exterior surface so that the interior and exterior surfaces are parallel and equally spaced over the entire optical element. The most common use of a dome optic is as a protective window from water, wind, radiation, or debris. Chemical and mechanical stability make glass and acrylic very popular materials for domes. Domes of this type are used for applications such as security systems, remote-controlled vehicles (such as the Mars rovers!), solar radiation sensors, underwater photography, and submarine portals. Dome windows are preferred over flat windows for four reasons:

Medical technologies are becoming increasingly miniaturized and mobile. This trend is changing the landscape of healthcare and making advances in telemedicine, wearables, and mHealth (mobile health) possible. These technologies include:

According to KPMG, only 1 in 5 companies say that their supply chain is deployed and optimized to keep pace with customer needs. Supply chain optimization can seem like a daunting task, especially with the long lead times in the optical lens and assembly industry. But it can have a huge reward in cost savings.

This article is the last of our three-part series on optical design secrets. In previous blogs we explained some important aspects of optical manufacturing, and we offered advice on how to protect your production schedule by using reliable optics sourcing to defend your optics supply chain. This final article provides some best practices to follow when using optical design software. There are too many programs and applications for us to give software-specific advice, but our optical design expertise enables us to provide some important principles that apply whenever you use software to optimize the performance of an optical system design .

We are helping to collect healthy food for the Mujer Saludable, Familia Feliz. Want to help out by donating? There are two ways to help:

A previous article explored applications of cylinder lenses. In those examples, the lenses were only curved on one side—the other side was flat (i.e. "plano-"). Cylinder lenses can be curved on both sides, though, creating a "rod lens." Rod lenses are unique in that they can be used either side-on or end-on depending upon the application. Here are three examples of their versatility.

This article is the second in our three-part series on "secrets" that good optical designers must understand in order to become great. These tips are things that you can only learn from experience---or reading these articles!

In this article, we identify some of the supply-side challenges that optical designers face and offer some solutions. This knowledge will help you develop and protect your supply chain.

This article is the first of a three-part series on aspects of design that are sometimes overlooked in optics courses. Optical design is often as much art as science. However, it is not magic! Like any art or science, skill in the trade comes only with experience and practice. That said, you can save time by learning from the experience of others.

The optical assembly process is often treated as an afterthought of the design process; however, once a product has gone into production, assembly becomes a dominant cost. Designing for ease of assembly becomes a considerable cost-saver in the long run. Below we offer three important points to consider as you develop a product.