Ball Lenses

Deposition Sciences, Santa Rosa, CA, has released Iso-Sphere^TM Antireflection (AR) Coated Ball Lenses for fiber optics, telecom, and datacom applications. The ball lenses are an optical method for collimating the output of an optical fiber or laser diode and can be used in fiber-to-fiber, diode-to-fiber, and fiber-to-detector coupling tasks. DSI’s IsoDyn^TM low-pressure chemical vapor deposition technology creates a uniformity of the AR coating, eliminating the need for orientation of the lens in the customer’s device.

The scratch-resistant devices are available in a variety of glass indexes and sizes from 200 microns up to 10 mm diameter. They feature transmission values of greater than 99.5% in indexes of up to nd 2.0 @550 nm. Meeting MIL-C675 testing standards for severe abrasion, adhesion, humidity, and salt fog tests, the ball lenses work well in oil field exploration and refining, aircraft, marine and undersea tasks, and aerospace applications.