In todays Optics Spotlight we are showing various windows manufactured by Cosmo Optics. In the photo to the right you will see three different kinds of windows. The small uncoated window in the back is made of Fused Silica and holds a tight wedge – less than 2 arc seconds. It’s diameter is 25.85 mm, its surface quality is 60/40, and its irregularity is 1/2 fringe. The three optics grouped together on the left are laser windows. The large optic on the right is a silicon window that sports a quarter wave of flatness and as you can tell also has a coating.
Optical Windows are flat, plane-parallel plates that are often used as protective barriers for detectors and sensors of outside environments. Material transmission and mechanical properties are two variables that are considered when selecting Optical Windows. Cosmo Optics can manufacture windows from a variety of substrates such as N-BK7, UV Fused Silica, Zinc Selenide, Germanium, and many more visible and IR materials. Cosmo Optics uses conventional grinding and polishing as well as double sided lapping/polishing to achieve the quality and specifications our customers demand in optical windows. We can also manufacture Optical Windows from 1.5mm to 50 inches in diameter and up to a 10th wave in flatness. Last but not least, if you care about metrology we have a 4″, 6″, and 12″ Zygo interferometers to measure transmission and flatness specs.