Photonics Dictionary

A mold for glass or plastics often made of stainless steel to prevent pitting or oxidation in service. It is polished to the opposite curve of the surface that will be molded, and may be spherical or...

The process of forming a polisher by pressing it with an optical surface.

The optical process, following grinding, that puts a highly finished, smooth and apparently amorphous surface on a lens or a mirror.

Any of the numerous powders used for grinding and polishing glass, crystal or metal, the chief material being emery and carborundum for grinding, and rouge or the oxides of tin, cerium or other...

In fiber optics, a device used to polish a biconic plug to a specified length and surface finish. Also called a polishing disc.

A flat cylindrical device generally used to polish terminated ends in fiber optic connections.

A technique for polishing silicon in which an alkaline suspension containing silicon dioxide particles creates a soft layer of silicon hydroxide, which is then removed, leaving a surface with the...

Custom lapping and polishing services involve specialized processes used to improve the surface finish and dimensional accuracy of components to meet specific requirements or standards. These...

Machinery used to grind and finish a component, such as a lens or prism, to a desired precision. Usually such machines carry a cup-shaped or flat tool (lap) into close contact with the part. An...

A small optical polishing machine intended for polishing the surface of a metal specimen before etching for examination under a microscope. Although shaping and polishing machines for this purpose...

Pitch for polishing mixed with other materials to give it the right viscosity so that it will follow the fine-ground lens surface and yet maintain contact at all times.

Polishing with a plastic pad.

A method of polishing an aspheric surface by mechanically distorting the optic while polishing the surface to a perfect sphere. When the stress is released, the substrate assumes the desired aspheric...

A polishing machine in which the rouge slurry is contained in a bowl and is constantly diverted mechanically so that it flows over the work.

Powder used to produce a smooth optical surface through abrasive polishing. Compounds may produce a surface finish specified for each.

The scale for floating hydrometers used to measure the specific gravity of a polishing suspension. The depth of immersion is a linear function of the inverse of the density. The Baume scale is linear...

A piece of glass polished flat on one side, with a pair of polished faces that form an angle close to 180° on the other side, the dividing edge running down the middle of the plate. It is used...

A lens, both surfaces of which are ground and polished into a toric or cylindrical form.

A supporting member used to hold optical parts during grinding and polishing. It also describes the assemblage of optical parts on the supporting member; e.g., a block of lenses or block of prisms.

The process whereby blanks are attached to a block in a position for grinding or polishing.

Pitch, wax, resin or other cement suitable for holding optical parts to a spindle during grinding and polishing processes.

In the optical field, a piece of glass to which a lens or prism is cemented. The unit is ground and polished as a whole to obtain a sharp edge on the finished piece.

1. A group of optical fibers that are fused and then treated to produce a vacuum-tight optical fiber cone or plate. 2. An artificial crystal in its raw state, after generation but prior to cutting or...

The final correction of a polished surface or of an angle to the specified precision.

A surface imperfection caused by a polisher running dry too long. It occurs with felt or plastic polishers, and may appear as a reddish brown.

A polishing material that has a quicker polishing action than rouge (ferric oxide) and that is cleaner to handle.

In optics, degreasers or ultrasonic arrangements used for removing pitch, cement or polishing material from lenses during manufacture. It also may refer to manual cleaning devices used immediately...

Also called shining. Grinding and polishing one surface of a blank to permit a more thorough examination for quality.

Concave and convex spherical mirrors are types of curved mirrors that have surfaces shaped like segments of spheres. These mirrors are commonly used in optics for various applications, including...

The naturally occurring crystalline form of silicon dioxide. It is slightly birefringent and exhibits rotary dispersion of light rays transmitted along the crystal axis, both right-hand and left-hand...

A custom optic refers to an optical component that is designed, manufactured, and tailored to meet specific requirements or applications. These optics can include lenses, mirrors, prisms, filters, or...

A concave surface that has too much negative power; i.e., its radius of curvature is too short. This condition can be corrected if material is removed from the center section of the polisher.

A tool made by imbedding small particles of diamond in the working edge. In the optical field, the most commonly used diamond tools are glass saws, cup-shaped tools for curve generators, and diamond...

Diamond turning, also known as diamond machining or diamond cutting, is a precision machining process used to produce high-quality optical surfaces and components with extremely tight tolerances. It...

Diamond turning refers to a precision machining process used to produce complex optical components, particularly lenses and mirrors, from materials such as metals, plastics, and crystalline materials...

A hole filled with dirt such as a polishing abrasive and located in an optical surface. See dig; scratch.

An optical resonator in which feedback is accomplished by two parallel planes. In diode lasers, the planes are obtained by cleaving, polishing, etching, etc.

A plate consisting of fused optical fibers with both surfaces ground and polished, and having the entrance surface curved to match the image curvature of the input lens system. The plate transmits to...

The process whereby the shape of an optical surface is altered by polishing.

A method used to produce precision spherical and aspheric molded glass lenses without grinding or polishing.

A polishing machine designed to permit adjustment of the polisher speed and motion for the control of flat surfaces.

1. A term used to describe the clouded appearance of an incompletely polished surface that scatters light. 2. The accumulation of moisture on an optical surface. 3. The extra spectral blackening of a...