Knight Optical’s Optical Flats

09 Mar 2022

Optical Flats are primarily used as a reference surface to determine the flatness of an unknown work surface. With one, or two, surfaces that are precision polished with a high-quality surface finish, these optical components are typically manufactured from materials with a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), which offer homogeneity and durability.

At Knight Optical, we provide both stock and custom-made Optical Flats. Our vast stock catalogue of Fused Quartz and Zerodur components come in diameters ranging from 26mm to 303mm and are either single- or double-sided with flatness tolerancing of lambda/10 or lambda/20.

Below are the manufacturing tolerances:

Where our stock products do not match our customer’s requirements, we provide custom-made Optical Flats manufactured to your own specifications – whether that is differing materials, dimensions (including square/rectangular flats), tolerances and flatness specifications.

Below are our custom capabilities:

Coatings can be applied to an Optical Flat, including a mirror coating to enable it to be used as a reference mirror.

Our stock and custom-made Optical Flats come in a wooden box to ensure they’re protected against damage. Moreover, we also stock Monochromatic Light Units that can be used in conjunction with an optical flat. Our two benchtop units use a low-pressure sodium light source working at 589nm.

With an onsite, state-of-the-art Metrology Laboratory and dedicated QA Department, we test all optical components against their specification to ensure they are met. This includes using our Zygo Verifire XPZ Interferometer to verify the surface flatness of all optical flats before they are sent to our customers. 

For further information on how optical flats work and Knight Optical’s capabilities, please read our blog post where we put Optical Flats in the Spotlight.

Contact our UK and US sales team for further information and help with your enquiries.