Our World is Flat™
Optical Materials Overview
Optical materials refer to a broad range of glass types with the purity, transparency, and hardness necessary for optics applications within the UV, Visible or Infrared spectrum. Although these substances share similar properties, each one has characteristics suited to specialized applications. When specifying the material for your application, consider how its optical, mechanical, and thermal properties will influence performance in relation to the instruments, sensors, or assemblies of the optical system. Key among the properties engineers consider when selecting an optical material are the transmission region, the density of the material which will impact weight and overall manufacturability.
Sydor Optics works with a variety of high-performance optical materials, including fused silica, fused quartz, crystal, display glass, infrared glass, low expansion glass and colored filter glasses. Here we will review the defining characteristics of our most popular materials.