This limitation can be overcome using Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF) technology. While all of our aspheric lenses are machined based on a diffraction-limited design (i.e., the ability to resolve an image is at its physical limit), traditional CNC grinding techniques use grinding wheels and curved grinding bits that cannot achieve the fine detail needed to reduce the physical deformities in an aspheric lens' surface to the diffraction-limited design. For more information, please see the Custom Capabilities tab or contact Tech Support to inquire about a custom order.Ībove is a graph of the measured Strehl ratio of Our Diffraction-LimitedĪspheres (AL2550H and AL2520H), a CNC-Polished Asphere ( AL2550), and an Air-spaced Spherical Doublet ( AC-A254-050). Custom lens diameters, focal lengths, substrates, coatings, and mounting options are available with prices that are comparable to our stock offerings. Our optics business unit has a wide breadth of manufacturing capabilities that allow us to offer a variety of custom optics for both OEM sales and low quantity one-off orders. Thorlabs' diffraction-limited, high-precision aspheric lenses are manufactured at the production facility housed in our headquarters in Newton, NJ. Metrology data can be provided on request contact Tech Support with inquiries.
#Diffraction limited software
All of our polishing machines have software which communicates with our metrology, allowing fast, accurate, and consistent adjustments to our aspheric lenses. This is handled primarily by the Zygo Verifire™ Asphere Interferometry Metrology Station.
#Diffraction limited verification
For more information on how these lenses perform compared to our other lines, see the Lens Comparison tab.Įach lens undergoes in-process verification in order to achieve optimum performance. With less than 55 nm aspheric surface accuracy, our Diffraction-Limited, MRF-Polished line of Aspheric Lenses has the lowest wavefront error of any of our other imaging optics. To the upper right is a contour plot displaying the deviation from an ideal transmitted wavefront for an AL2550H aspheric lens. In order to reach diffraction-limited performance, a lens must meet two criteria: it must be designed to eliminate aberrations and the design must be executed without any manufacturing errors distorting the wavefront. Note that the numerical aperture of your lens should be greater than or equal to the numerical aperture of the light source. If an unmounted aspheric lens is being used to collimate the light from a point source or laser diode, the side with the greater radius of curvature (i.e., the flatter surface) should face the point source or laser diode. For example, the AL1225G-A is shaped for a design wavelength of 532 nm and its AR coating is 350 nm - 700 nm. Uncoated lenses are shaped for a 532 nm, 780 nm, or 1310 nm design wavelength, while the AR-coated lenses feature the design wavelength closest to the center of the coating range. However, since S-LAH64 has a higher index of refraction than N-BK7, it is commonly used to fabricate high-NA, short-focal-length lenses. The lenses below are offered uncoated or AR-coated for 350 nm - 700 nm, 650 nm - 1050 nm, or 1050 nm - 1700 nm. Both substrates offer high transmission from the visible through the NIR (see the Info Icons below for transmission data). Our high-precision aspheres are available as Ø12.5 mm, Ø25.0 mm, or Ø50.0 mm N-BK7 lenses or as Ø25.0 mm or Ø50.0 mm S-LAH64 lenses. The S-LAH64 aspheres acheieve this Strehl ratio at 780 nm. The N-BK7 aspheres achieve this Strehl ratio at discrete wavelengths from 350 - 2000 nm or 400 - 2000 nm. Our high-precision aspheric lenses achieve Strehl ratios of >0.80, the highest of any Thorlabs lens.
#Diffraction limited free
The lenses found on this page are free of such aberrations, and offer the best single-element solution for many on-axis applications including collimating the output of a fiber, coupling light into a fiber, spatial filtering, or imaging light onto a detector. For monochromatic sources, spherical aberration is often what prevents a single spherical lens from achieving diffraction-limited performance when focusing or collimating light. This is achieved by a combination of Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machine polishing and high-precision Magnetorheological Finishing (MRF). Thorlabs offers aspheric lenses that provide true, diffraction-limited performance for on-axis beam focusing and collimation. Ideal for Diffraction-Limited Collimation and Coupling.Three Design Wavelengths: 532 nm, 780 nm, or 1310 nm.Five Diameter/Five Focal Length Combinations:.Diffraction Limited at 780 nm for the S-LAH64 Aspheres.Diffraction Limited at Discrete Wavelengths Across 350 - 2000 nm or 400 - 2000 nm for the N-BK7 Aspheres.
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