Optical components

Optical components

Creating light via lasers, LEDs, or heating filaments is a crucial element of your overall application but controlling and directing the light is just as important. We offer an extensive range of optical solutions to help you get the most effective use of light.

From laser optics and crystals through to light shaping diffusers, the practical application of optics requires high-quality components along with expertise in how to best apply the technologies. Our in-house expert engineers and range of leading strategic partners enable us to provide the perfect blend to enable you to excel in your unique photonics application. Within our unique optical component portfolio includes modulators, galvanometer-based scanners, high-end laser material processing, and also encompasses passive optical components for both laser or LED users and designers and the LED and luminaries lighting market.

Our technologies

Discover our range of technologies

Laser optics

Laser optics

Laser optical components are used in a wide variety of applications including laser source manufacturing, laser instrumentation, and laser material processing. These components use specific substrates, coatings, and a combination of the two to provide superior performance at specific laser wavelengths or over a range of wavelengths. Some laser optics feature laser damage thresholds designed for high-power pulsed or CW lasers.

This range of technology includes a variety of laser lenses, laser mirrors, laser filters, and other components designed for laser use. Whatever your laser optical component requirements are, we have the right technology for your unique technical design.

Polarisation optics

Polarisation optics

Polarisation optics change the state of polarisation of incident radiation, whereas polarisation instruments control and measure the polarisation state. Polarisation optics operate over the UV, visible, or IR spectral ranges and include polarisers, wave plates/ retarders, quartz-wedge depolarisers, liquid crystal polymer depolarisers, and vortex retarders.

Within our polarisation optical components portfolio, we offer a selection of waveplates. These are made from high-quality materials that exhibit consistent birefringence properties. They are designed to meet the needs of applications such as tuneable laser modules, multiple laser line systems, and broad-spectrum sources. Polarisation optics are important for both intra and extra cavity use. We also offer a range of thin-film polarisers to save weight and volume within devices.

Another technology we provide is polarising cubes for both medium to high energy applications such as laser-beam separation and combination, and optical isolation. Polarising beam splitter cubes are easy-to-handle, high contrast, and high extinction ratio polariser.

Our glan-type polarisers are mounted polarising prisms used for applications that require broad spectral ranges, high extinction ratios, and/or high polarisation purities. These are designed for precisely “cleaning” the polarisation of a light source, or for the attenuation of a polarised light source.

Optical crystals

Crystals

Our range of crystal optics is designed to manage the behaviour of electromagnetic waves in anisotropic media. The characteristic phenomena of crystals include double refraction (birefringence), polarisation of light, and rotation of the plane of polarisation.

We offer a market-leading range of diode-pumped solid-state laser materials. These crystals offer a high laser-induced damage threshold with good mechanical and optical properties and are available in a range of shapes, sizes, and coatings. Nonlinear crystals can offer wide transparency and wide phase matching ranges, large non-linear coefficients, high damage threshold, and excellent optical homogeneity. They are used for applications such as optical parametric oscillators (OPO), optical parametric amplifiers (OPA), optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA), and many more.

Our range of passive Q-switches and saturable absorbers provide high-power laser pulses without needing additional electro-optic Q-switches, thus reducing the package size and eliminating a high-voltage power supply.

Filters, gratings and prisms

Filters, gratings and prisms

Optical filters are passive devices that allow the transmission of a specific wavelength or set of wavelengths of light. We offer two classes of optical filters that have different mechanisms of operation - absorptive filters and dichroic filters.

Our expert engineers understand that key features need to be considered when selecting an optical filter - central wavelength, bandwidth, full width half maximum, blocking range, slope, optical density, dichroic filter, cut-on, and cut-off wavelength. For ease of application design, our optical filters are available in a variety of filter types and precision levels. We offer a high-quality, comprehensive range of interference filters, colour glass filters, and circular variable neutral density filters. These products are designed to offer an extremely economical way of filtering light for lasers and various other applications. Our optical filters can be used in a variety of applications including:

  • Fluorescence microscopy
  • Spectroscopy
  • Chemical analysis
  • Machine vision

Prisms and gratings are the two most common types of dispersive optical components. The major difference between these two elements is that the dispersion of prisms is non-linear while gratings offer linear dispersion. The dispersion of prisms is efficient over a wide range of wavelengths and the throughput of a prism is usually high (>90%). However, they refract light in a wavelength-dependent manner, resulting in the non-linear dispersion and accordingly the wavelength-dependent resolution. Diffraction gratings, on the other hand, can spread light linearly or equally into the chosen detector, which can improve resolution when used at their intended wavelength and may allow for easier implementation into some systems.

Dispersing prisms are essential parts of most ultrashort-pulse laser systems. Our range is ideal for use as intra-cavity elements to compensate for dispersion of fixed-cavity optics, offering exact light diffraction effects. Our range of prisms are available in a variety of formats including:

  • Dispersing prisms
  • Brewster angle dispersing prisms for ultrashort pulses
  • Right angle prisms
  • Corner cube retroreflectors
Light shaping diffusers

Light shaping diffusers

With the largest range of diffuser angles and formats in the industry, our light shaping solutions offer you unparalleled performance, allowing you to bend, shape, and enhance light beams. Our range of diffuser sheets and films “clean up” and shape light beams, with 85% to 92% transmission efficiency. These shape light energy with holographic patterns embedded on polycarbonate film or rigid sheets, creating a pseudo-random surface that can manipulate light by changing the direction of its energy. We also offer a range of volumetric light shaping diffusers which incorporates technology that offers high optical efficiency and excellent hiding power with prices as low as thin film. Volumetric light shaping diffusers can be produced with a wide range of diffusion angles, offering optical efficiency at 60-80% lower cost than standard rigid light shaping diffusers and are easily thermoformed. Our light shaping diffusers offer photonics applications developers a number of advantages: 

  • Provides precise beam control
  • Eliminates striations and beam non-uniformity
  • Supplies direct view homogenisation
  • Provides superior near-ceiling wall washing
  • Offers even illumination from ceiling to floor
  • Allows light diffusion even in damp or wet locations

These optical components are ideal across a range of industries including architectural, bio-medical, semiconductor metrology, aerospace, automotive, machine vision/ automation, and display. 

F-theta, lenses and beam expanders

F-theta lenses and beam expanders

F-theta lenses have a laser spot position linearly proportional to the scan angle and are useful in many laser-scanning applications. F-theta lenses are used at wavelengths across the optical spectrum. Covering wavelengths from the UV to the far-IR (from 266nm to 14µm). Designed to reduce the number of optical components needed to provide a flat image plane for scanning applications, these lenses deliver the same resolution and intensity across the image plane.

Beam expanders are designed to magnify a laser diameter efficiently and precisely. The range includes fixed focus, variable zoom, and motorised zoom options. Our beam expanders can be found in industrial material processing (drilling and welding of synthetic materials or cutting), medical and biotechnological applications (confocal microscopy and ophthalmology), science and research, laser markings, and laser displays. Beam expanders have a range of benefits including:

  • High precision - optimised to deliver the level of precision required in laser material processing
  • Robust and compact - no rotation of lens elements during a setup modification
  • Optimised - improved beam stability
  • Flexible - expansion and divergence can be adjusted separately

Our approach

When it comes to developing custom solutions for tomorrow's technologies, we trust our approach to deliver the best possible outcome.

Our engineers will skilfully guide you through each stage of your project, working with you to understand and identify a solution that meets your technical and commercial needs before designing and integrating your solution.

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CONSULT.

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Working together to create the right solution.

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DESIGN.

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From modified to fully customised components.

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INTEGRATE.

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Technological expertise across your application lifecycle.

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Solutions and expertise

Our solutions and expertise are centred around six key markets

Over the years we have built up considerable knowledge and knowhow, providing tailored solutions for our customers.

  • Transportation
  • Medical
  • Industrial and Connectivity
  • Renewable energy
  • Aerospace and Defence
  • Security

Our technology partners

Discover our strategic partners

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