Photonics Dictionary

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.

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

1. The grinding or edging of a lens so that the geometrical center and optical center do not coincide. 2. The shifting of an optical element from the system's optical axis, sometimes done on purpose...

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...

The finishing of the edge of an optical element by grinding.

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...

The process in the manufacture of an optical system that gives it the required geometric shape.

A tool of cast iron or another suitable medium used with a slurry of silicon carbide, aluminum oxide or emery for grinding optical surfaces.

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...

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

The removal of a sharp edge on an optical element by grinding, to prevent accidental chipping of that edge during subsequent handling.

A defect on a polished optical surface whose length is many times its width. Block reek is a chainlike scratch formed in polishing. A runner cut is a curved scratch caused by grinding. A sleek is a...

The name of the mixture of liquid and grinding or polishing compounds used in processing optical materials.

1. In optics, one of the exterior faces of an optical element. 2. The process of grinding or generating the face of an optical element.