Large optical windows for military sensing applications

Date Announced: 07 Apr 2022

Pictured: A large diameter optical window being quality tested (courtesy: Optical Surfaces Ltd).

Kenley, Surrey, UK -- Optical Surfaces Ltd is an established manufacturer and supplier of large-area windows of optical quality for military sensing applications.

Optical windows are a critical component in a variety of defence applications including aerial surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting. For over 50 years – Optical Surfaces Ltd has been working with materials including fused silica, BK-7 and Germanium to produce defence grade windows up to 600mm in diameter.

Typically, large diameter optical windows for defence applications are used to provide environmental protection for sensitive internal sensing systems. To transmit light with minimal disruption, these large diameter optical windows must exhibit low surface roughness, minimal transmitted wavefront errors, and high transmission at the desired operational wavelength range.

Benefiting from an ultra-stable production environment and proprietary polishing techniques – Optical Surfaces Ltd. can routinely produce large diameter optical windows with typical wavefront error of up to lambda/20 p-v, surface roughness of less than 10 Å rms and surface finish of 40/20 to 10/5 scratch / dig.

Dr Aris Kouris, Sales Director of Optical Surfaces, commented, “To enable us to quality test large diameter optical windows – we developed a 600mm Fizeau interferometer. This is a capability that only a few optical testing and manufacturing centres around the world possess. Housed in an ultra-stable testing environment, this interferometric set-up allows direct qualification of large diameter optical windows by testing them directly over their complete aperture without the need to use time-consuming combination methods.”

About Optical Surfaces

Optical Surfaces Ltd has been producing large diameter optical components and systems for more than 50 years. The company’s ISO 9001:2015 approved manufacturing workshops and test facilities are deep underground in a series of tunnels excavated in solid chalk where temperature remains constant, and vibration is non-existent. With such stable conditions testing, particularly with long path lengths, becomes quantifiable and dependable.

Contact

E-mail: sales@optisurf.com

Web Site: https://www.optisurf.com