Over the years, LightWorks Optical Systems has pioneered many of the major advances in diamond turned optical components and assemblies.
LightWorks Optical Systems has developed many state-of-the-art processes to optimize dimensional accuracy, optical surface figure, and mechanical stability of diamond turned substrates. Furthermore, one of our flagship products utilizing this process, the IRST Integrated Optical Assembly, has been in production for over two decades.
Our founders were instrumental in developing the Diamond Turning process used to produce the first truly high-performance “snap-together” off-axis imaging system. And our current technical team has expanded on these capabilities even further. We commonly design many features into our products that take advantage of diamond turning’s superior accuracy. These features allow for more accurate alignment plus reduced labor in integration and alignment.
In the past several years, our diamond turned products have seen an exponential growth in demand for many applications. These include: missile warning optical systems, IR sensing systems for Homeland Security, infrared search and track systems, a broad range of transmissive IR optics and systems, snap-together telescope designs, numerous reflective TMA telescopes, and focal plane array back thinning.
LightWorks Optical Systems’ exacting diamond turning assembly and components capabilities provide:
- Environmentally controlled facilities
- Machines customized to LightWorks Optical Systems’ specifications
- On-machine profilometry
- All IR materials, including AMTIR
- Metals, including nickel plating
- CaFL
- Plastic materials
- Binary/diffractive surfaces
- Free form; non-rotational symmetries
- Five axis control
- Customized servo
- Hyperboloids
- Toroids
- Ellipsoids
- Parabloids
- Hyper-hemispherical domes
- Steep aspheric surfaces
- Form TalySurf (surface figure measurements)
- TalySurf machine designed to enable aspheric profile verification over full 90 degree aspheric components on production programs
- Surface roughness < 25 nm
- Design feature precision to < 1 um
- High volume throughput
- Substrate sizes < 700 mm
Diamond-Turning Capabilities:
LightWorks Optical Systems, has single point diamond turning and fly-cutting capability to produce flat, aspheric and diffractive optics up to 24″ diameter.
Diamond Turned applications include:
- Telescope assemblies
- IR lens assemblies
- Aspheric, toroidal and off-axis shapes
- Diffractive and fresnel optics
- Polygons and fold mirrors
- Axicons and waxicons
Forbes Asphere DT Capability
Diamond Turning equipment includes:
- Nanoform 600
- Nanoform 200 with third axis
- Planoform 550 Flycutter for flat components
- Optimum 2400
- Single point aspheric generator
Measuring instruments include:
- Non-contact optical surface mapping microscope
- Form Talysurf™ Series 2 PGI
- Zygo™ GPI XP/D interferometer
Capabilities include:
- Substrates up to 24″ in diameter
- Surface roughness of less than 25 angstroms RMS
- Figure accuracy of 1/8 wave at 632.8 nm
- IR optical materials including AMTIR™, calcium fluoride, germanium, silicon, zinc selenide, zinc sulfide, and Mult-Spectral zinc sulfide
- Metal optics, mirror and mold materials including aluminum, brass, copper, and electroless nickel
- Polymers and semiconductor materials
- Supporting high volume production programs