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We are a world leader in high precision optical manufacturing, delivering custom optics to a wide range of innovators around the globe. Meeting these goals demands the right people. Teamwork, adaptability, and an enthusiastic approach to problem-solving are central to the Optimax culture. But what unites all our employees best is a hunger to continuously learn. We strive to find driven individuals who are committed to lifelong learning; who will continue to add value in their work throughout long and successful careers.

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Optical Prisms Capabilities

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) benefit from unparalleled expertise and precision when working with Optimax. Our team of engineers is experienced applying our know-how to deliver cutting-edge technical solutions. This allows us to take on challenges that exceed the capabilities of other manufacturers.

Optical prisms, for example, which are ground and polished to create geometrically complex optical components with extremely tight tolerances, represent a costly bottleneck for many optics fabricators. Their variability makes it difficult to process prisms at large scales or via automated processes. At Optimax, we can confidently commit to delivery schedules of a single week for optical dispersion prisms, blocks, doves, right angles, mirror substrates, and more.

We specialize in the fabrication of optical prisms of up to 300 mm in diameter, and can reliably generate prototype prisms upon request.

Prisms

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An Introduction to Optical Prisms

Optical prisms differ from traditional lenses in that they have neither a spherical surface nor an axis of symmetry. Instead, they comprise two or more nominally plano surfaces divided by a wedge angle. This alters the language used to define and specify optical prisms, and it typically increases production time due to increased part complexity and a greater number of sides requiring precision finishing.

The significance of these geometries is that they will reflect or refract light, resulting in several distinct functions: dispersion, deflection, reflection, and rotation. These go on to serve critical applications in dual channel instruments, anamorphic systems, imaging systems, and any other application where beam steering and/or image manipulation is needed.

Specifying Optical Prisms

Optical prisms vary dramatically by size, shape, and number of surfaces. Defining the part geometry requires a careful selection of directly measurable physical parameters, including linear dimensions of the plano surfaces to theoretical sharps (the intersection that would exist between the two if the corner was not beveled). Manufacturers must also specify part thickness, which is the depth of separation between the two plano surfaces at a single point on the optic. At Optimax, we choose to specify the thickest edge as it offers ease-of-measurement access, but we can specify our optical prisms by the centerline thickness, or the thinnest edge if necessary.

The geometry of two-sided wedges can be defined by an angle and a thickness.

Prisms

Image above: Minimum Specifications for Wedges

Manufacturing Aspheric Lenses

At Optimax, we specialize in manufacturing optical prisms up to 300 mm in diameter, and with our state-of-the-art grinding and smoothing technologies, can deliver prisms in a variety of complex geometries to tightly-defined surface flatness.

We routinely fabricate such prisms as:
  • Blocks
  • Brewster
  • Cubes
  • Doves
  • Polygons
  • Rhomboids
  • Right angles
Common functions include:
  • Alignment aides
  • Beam splitting/folding
  • Grating substrates
  • Light pipes
  • Mirror substrates
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Engineered Solutions

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Technical Expertise

Do you want to learn more about our optical manufacturing innovation? Refer to our Knowledge Center to read technical papers on, aspheres, business leadership, coatings, freeform optics, innovative optics manufacturing, and lens tolerancing & inspection.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Multiwavelength Channel Femtosecond Beam Combiner with Independent GDD Control

When multiplexing ultrashort laser beams of different wavelengths into a single beam, the pulse shape of each color must be managed individually due to the various accumulated GDD. This presents …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Optomechanical Design of the Europa Imaging System Wide Angle Camera (EIS WAC)

The Jupiter environment presents many unique challenges to the optomechanical design of the Europa Imaging System (EIS) Wide Angle Camera (WAC) for NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission. EIS is designed to …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Robotic Smoothing of Silicon Mirrors

This presentation will discuss efforts at Optimax to address this need through advancement of robotic smoothing platforms and processes.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Laser Mirror Design Tradeoffs Impact Optical System Performance

In addition to tradeoffs between mirror reflectivity, wavefront, laser-damage threshold, and cost, new low-stress coatings offer weight, geometry, and thermomechanical performance and design flexibility.  

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Leveraging 3D Printing to Streamline Precision Optical Manufacturing

Optimax uses a variety of 3D printers to streamline our manufacturing processes. Download our technical paper today to learn about our results. 

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Design and Manufacturing Considerations for Freeform Optical Surfaces

Freeform optical systems are becoming increasingly common due to new design and manufacturing methods. We present an example compact freeform optical system and describe considerations for transfer of the prescription …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

The Manufacturing of a Multi-surface Monolithic Telescope with Freeform Surfaces

Monolithic multi-surface telescopes combined with freeform optical surfaces provide improvements in optical performance in a smaller footprint as compared to systems with spherical surfaces, while providing superior mechanical stability to …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Scaling-up freeform manufacturing: challenges and solutions

This paper will present some of the challenges and solutions of extending freeform polishing capabilities from approximately 150 mm diameter parts to a component of over 500 mm in diameter.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Design Guidelines for Predicting Stress in Cemented Doublets

This work explores quick predictive methods for calculating potentially risky stresses and deflections in cemented doublets experiencing temperature change that agree well with finite element analysis.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Techniques for Analyzing Lens Manufacturing Data

Optical designers assume a mathematically derived statistical distribution of the relevant design parameters. However, there may be significant differences between the assumed distributions and the likely outcomes from manufacturing. 

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Cost Effective Fabrication Method for Large Sapphire Sensor Windows

Sapphire poses very difficult challenges to optical manufacturers due to its high hardness and anisotropic properties. These challenges can result in long lead times and high prices. Optimax is developing …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Reduced cost and Improved Figure of Sapphire Optical Components

Optimax has developed a fabrication process that not only reduces cost but also aids in producing spherical sapphire components to better figure quality. 

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Optical Systems: Transmissive high-energy laser optics

There are many decisions to make when designing, specifying, manufacturing, and testing optical components for high-energy laser systems — each is a potential failure mechanism that must be understood and …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

The Cost of Tolerancing

The cost of lenses is strongly dependent on the difference between the specified tolerances and the limits of the optics manufacturer, the coater, and the metrologist. 

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Specification and Control of Mid-Spatial Frequency Wavefront Errors in Optical Systems

This paper is an introduction to the specification and tolerancing of Mid-spatial frequency (MSF) ripple or waviness.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Vibe: A New Process for High Speed Polishing of Optical Elements

The concept for polishing optical elements with a process called VIBE is presented, application to non uniformly sloped optics such as aspheric shapes is detailed, and initial results on spherical …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Considerations in Manufacturing Cemented Assemblies

One design strategy for an optical system is centering two or more lenses together to build a lens assembly. However, strain in excess may cause delamination or fracture of the …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Specifying And Measuring Spherical Surface Irregularity ©

This paper will define surface irregularity for spherical surfaces, offer information on measurement methods for testing surface irregularities, and some specification guidelines.

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Tolerancing, Specifying and Measuring Spherical Radius

There are two main paths for tolerancing spherical radii: power tolerance and linear radius tolerance. Both measure change relative to a nominal value, but the metrology used is the key …

Innovative Optics Manufacturing

Design and Manufacturing Considerations for Freeform Optical Surfaces

Freeform optical systems are becoming increasingly common due to new design and manufacturing methods. We present an example compact freeform optical system and describe considerations for transfer of the prescription …

Manufacturing the Future

At Optimax, we are manufacturing the future, creating the highest precision optics underlying high-tech systems in key markets and applications. We offer rapid and expedited delivery upon request and are committed to our customers in the long term.

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Optimax develops optics solutions to suit a variety of needs. Our industry-leading custom optics are developed by expert engineers. Discover our expertise, solutions, and opportunities today.

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