Polymer Optics

The G&H engineering and production staff provide guidance with optics, mechanical design, design for manufacturability, single point diamond turning, injection molding, thin film coating, assembly operations, and metrology to ensure customer program moves from concept to market in minimal time and on budget.

We design and manufacture our polymer optics in Rochester, New York. Click here for more information about G&H | GS Optics.

Injection Molding Materials

Material selection for plastic optics is driven by several factors; optical performance is only one of them. Designers should also be aware of the mechanical features of different optical polymers and how various environmental conditions could affect system performance. Cost and manufacturability issues are other important factors.

We have extensive experience in molding materials such as:

• Acrylic
• NAS
• Polystyrene
• Polycarbonate
• COP: Zeonex, Zeonor

Coatings

At G&H, we offer a wide range of polymer optic coatings to meet the needs of our customers. We can apply coatings to a variety of polymer substrates, including PMMA, Styrene, Polycarbonate, and cyclo olefin polymers (COP) such as Zeonex, Zeonor, and Topas.

We also offer a variety of coating types, including:

• Anti-reflective (AR) coatings: AR coatings reduce reflection from optical surfaces, improving image quality and reducing glare.
• Reflective (HR) coatings: HR coatings increase the reflectivity of optical surfaces, which can be used to create mirrors and other reflective components.
• Bandpass coatings: Bandpass coatings allow only a specific range of wavelengths of light to pass through, which can be used to create filters and other wavelength-selective components.

Our polymer optic coatings are applied using state-of-the-art thin film deposition techniques. This ensures that our coatings are uniform, durable, and meet the highest quality standards.

Applications

• Illumination
• Imaging
• Scanning
• Detection

Key Equipment & Processes

Our molding presses have a capacity of 20-200 tons with part sizes ranging from 2.5mm-150mm. We have complete precision optics manufacturing production capability and routinely handle programs from thousands to millions of parts per year. The automation on our presses can be customized to maximize efficiency and minimize handling costs.

• 18 molding systems from 30 to 220 tons capacity producing part diameters from 3 - 150mm
• Preitech Nanoform 200 and NanoX system can be used to manufacture elements up to 200mm in diameter
• Fully automated CITATION I™ precision optical box coater
• 1,000 ft² class 10,000 clean room (ISO 7)

Metrology

We have made a significant investment in metrology equipment to ensure that our customers receive quality, high-performing precision optical components.

• Bruker® Contour GT-K1 3D Optical Microscope
• Zygo Verifire™ XPZ interferometer
• Zeiss Micura CMM with VAST XT Gold Sensor
• Zeiss Surfcom 3000A
• Mitutoyo Bright 504 CMM
• OGP Flash 302
• Wells Research OS210B Optical Tests Bench