These lenses minimise temperature-dependent performance, making them useful for extreme environments
Lense manufacturer Resolve Optics supplies athermalised lenses designed to maintain focus over a wide temperature range.
Regular lenses tend to perform best in temperature-controlled environments or areas where temperatures vary only slightly.
“Because the different materials in a lens expand and contract at different rates, it is important that these factors are considered in the design phase to ensure a lens will remain in focus and provide good performance throughout its operating temperature range,” said Resolve Optics managing director Mark Pontin.
However, many environments require extreme shifts in temperature. Athermalised lenses can be helpful here to minimise temperature-dependent performance.
“Developing an athermalized lens design, is especially critical in the infrared (8 – 14 micron) waveband because the coefficient of thermal expansion of most infrared materials is orders of magnitude higher than those of visible glasses, creating large changes in the refractive index,” Pontin added.
Resolve Optics’ althermalised lenses offer stable imaging performance for temperatures varying between -30°C to +60°C or extreme temperatures up to 950⁰C.
