ZnS (Zinc Sulphide Multispectral, CVD)
ZnS Multispectral (water-clear) is used for IR windows and lenses in the thermal band (8 to 14 μm) where maximum transmission and lowest absorption is required. Also selected for use where visible alignment is an advantage.
ZnSe (Zinc Selenide)
ZnSe is used widely for IR components, windows and lenses, and for spectroscopic ATR prisms. Zinc Selenide is one of the materials of choice for CO2 laser optics operating at 10.6 microns.
N-BK7
N-BK7 is a Schott designation for the most common Borosilicate Crown glass used for a wide variety of visible applications. The basic data here is given for N-BK7. Full optical design data on N-BK7 and other glasses can be found by following the web links at the bottom of this page.
Pockels cells
Pockels Cells are important electro-optic device which exploit the pockels effect. Applying a constant or varying voltage (electric field) on Electro-Optic Crystals can cause the crystal birefringence to change linearly.
BBO Crystals for EO Applications
Beta-Barium Borate ( BBO) crystal is an excellent electro-optic crystal for high power applications at the wavelength range from 200nm to 2,500nm. It could be used as the EO Q-switching crystals, Beta BBO crystals or beta barium borate crystals exhibit significant advantages over other materials in terms of laser power handling abilities,high damage threshold temperature stability, and substantial freedom from piezoelectric ringing.
Ball Lenses and Half-Ball Lenses
Ball lenses belong to a special form of biconvex lenses which have the geometry of a ball(sphere). They are manufactured from a single material, usually an optical glass with good transparency in the wavelength region of interest. The typical applications of ball lenses include focusing light in the field of fibers(e.g. laser to fiber coupling ,fiber to fiber coupling), emitters and detectors.Half-Ball lenses are variants of ball lenses, they are ideal for for more compact designs.
What are SAW Wafers and Crystals
A Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) device is a device that transfers the input electrical signal into acoustic signal through the converse piezoelectric effects or vice versa.SAW devices provide wide application possibilities across the fields of radio and television, mobile and wireless telephone, satellite communication, GPS system, identification system.
Introduction to Waveplates and Retarders
It is crucial for buyers to discriminate the differences between the various types of Waveplates and Retarders, here is a general, simple and approachable introduction about waveplates and retarders, to help you understand better the differences and traits of each type of them.
JGS1
JGS1 is a synthetic UV-grade quartz glass suitable for optical applications equivalent to Corning 7980. JGS1 has high transmission across the UV to the NIR spectrum (180-2500nm), and is particularly advantageous for application in the UV range. However, like most UV grade Fused Silica, JGS1 contains relatively higher OH compositions than the IR grade Fused Silica, which leads to higher absorption in the IR band.
Super Achromatic Waveplates
Shalom EO recently joined the development of Super Achromatic Waveplates. Unlike conventional achromatic waveplates, super achromatic waveplates consist of six waveplates aligned together, three made from quartz (Crystalline SiO2) and three made from magnesium fluoride (MgF2). With an increased number of composing waveplates, this design minimizes the fluctuations of retardation and substantially broadens the application spectrum from the UV to the NIR.