The Microoptics Business Unit announces the further improvement of the product line PCGs for the utilization in fs – Lasers.

Diffraction gratings are a key element for pulse compression of laser systems. In addition to the standard high performance transmission and dielectric reflection gratings the Business Unit fabricated and evaluated first prototypes of efficiency enhanced pulse compression gratings (transmission e2PCGs) designed for wavelengths above 1030 nm with a groove density of 1740
lines per mm.

Jenoptik is able to increase the efficiency of the fused silica e2PCGs by more than 8 % to more than 98 %. The new class of transmissions gratings complements the existing product line of transmission and dielectric reflection gratings with high damage thresholds.

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Optical Systems | Minutes instead of days – a new day for aspherical lenses

Until recently, the only way to produce high-precision aspherical lenses was through slow and painstaking work by hand. Those days are now over, however, thanks to a new machine that uses Jenoptik measurement technology.­

Aspherical lenses are not only round but are formed into a particular shape in order to correct for imaging errors arising from their physical nature. High-precision aspherical lenses may not even depart from their intended shape by more than mere fractions of a wavelength. The lenses are used in sophisticated high-performance optics applications such as telescopes, space technology, laser material processing, and lithography for semiconductor production.

Before the introduction of the Asphero5 program, it often took several days for the first lenses of a series to be completed, and there were always many rejects in the process. These costs affected the price, particular in small-quantity orders; and only the most experienced employees could be entrusted with the production process.

The fully automated Asphero5 process, by contrast, has ushered in a new age in aspherical lens production. Waste is now a thing of the past as the new process ensures that each piece is perfect in shape and size from the very beginning. The “5” in the name refers to the future aim of requiring only five minutes for each new lens. And while the process currently still takes 20 minutes to half an hour, the participants in the project are fully satisfied with the results, and the “five” remains their long-term goal.

The system revolves around a tactile measurement device produced by Jenoptik’s Industrial Metrology division. In the Wavecontour® process, a precision sphere is driven across the lens surface at a constant contact pressure. This helps create a profile section in nanometer resolution.

The device analyses the shape of the lens in-between polishing phases, without having to remove the lenses from the system, thus eliminating idle time. The resulting data are analyzed for the polishing instrument, which then continues into the processing phase. In all, the method provides reliable accuracy with micron precision at the touch of a button.

The optical machinery manufacturer Schneider GmbH & Co. KG coordinated the project, which also markets the system. Jenoptik’s Industrial Metrology and Optical Systems Divisions were also involved in the project along with Carl Zeiss, the Institute of Measurement and Control Engineering of the University of Hanover, and other university institutes.