Photonics Dictionary

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 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.

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...

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.

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 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.

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.

The process whereby a rotating wheel carries grains of an abrasive, suspended in a vehicle, across the surface of the optical glass to be ground. The workpieces are forced downward by pneumatic...

Freeform mirrors refer to reflective optical components that deviate from traditional symmetric or rotationally symmetric shapes, such as spheres or paraboloids. Unlike conventional mirrors, which...

The curved mark formed when, in the process of generating, a loose or coarse diamond particle from the generating tool scores the work so deeply that subsequent fine grinding or polishing cannot...

A lens blank is a piece of optical material in a raw, unfinished state, typically in the form of a disk or block, from which lenses are eventually fabricated. Lens blanks are made from various...

The production of rough glass lens blanks that are pressed while red-hot to the approximate size and shape of the finished lens, ready for fine grinding and polishing. Large companies often do their...

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a precision optics polishing technique used for shaping and finishing optical surfaces to achieve extremely high levels of smoothness and accuracy. It is...

An accurate metal prism or plane parallel plate that is cemented to an optical element and remains with it during a series of grinding or polishing processes. The metal element contains threaded...

A mirror blank refers to the initial piece of material from which a mirror is made. It is typically a flat or slightly curved piece of glass or other substrate that serves as the starting point for...

A molded lens is an optical lens manufactured using a molding process, typically involving the shaping of a material, such as glass or plastic, into the desired lens shape. This process involves...

A bubble at a polished surface that has been opened by grinding or polishing.

A casting consisting of an optical material molded into the desired geometry for grinding, polishing or, in the case of optical waveguides, drawing to the final optical-mechanical specifications.

Optical glass refers to a type of glass specifically engineered and manufactured for use in optical components and systems, such as lenses, prisms, mirrors, and filters. Optical glass is...

Optical manufacturing tools and machinery encompass a wide range of equipment, instruments, and systems used in the fabrication, shaping, finishing, and testing of optical components and systems....

The grinding and polishing of rock samples, to a thickness of less than 0.05 mm, for study with petrographic microscopes. When mounted on a slide and protected with a cover, these samples, examined...

Pyramid error in optics refers to an aberration in the shape of an optical surface, particularly in the context of mirrors. It is a type of distortion that can occur when the surface of a mirror...

The approximately concentric waves that form on a surface that has been polished without an oscillation of the polishing lap.

A very fine powdered ferric oxide used in polishing lenses.