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About Cylindrical Lenses

Cylindrical lenses have at least one surface that is formed like a portion of a cylinder. Cylindrical lenses are used to correct astigmatism in the eye, and, in rangefinders, to produce astigmatism, stretching a point of light into a line. Some styles of cylindrical lenses have antireflective coatings to increase the transmission of light through the lens.

Cylindrical lenses are available in either plano-concave or plano-convex configurations. Plano-concave lenses have a negative focal length and are used for image reduction or to spread light. Plano-convex lenses have a positive focal length, which makes them ideal for collecting and focusing light for many imaging applications.

Three main material types are used in the design of cylindrical lenses. These include glass materials, plastics and a wide “other” grouping. Glass is a popular material because it tends to reflect in the infrared range. Within this grouping, crown glass and flint glass are the principle types. Crown glass is harder than flint glass, and has a lower index of refraction and lower dispersion. Both types are used in the production of compound lenses. Crown glass has an Abbe v-value larger than 50 or 55, depending on its index. It generally has an index of refraction of 1.495-1.54. Flint glass is softer than crown glass, has a higher dispersion and usually a higher refractive index. Flint glass has an Abbe v-value of 35-40. It generally has an index of refraction of 1.595-1.64.

Plastic cylindrical lenses tend to absorb light in the ultraviolet range. Some of the more common types of plastics used include acrylics, amorphous polyolefin, polycarbonate, and polystyrene.

Other materials used for cylindrical lenses are preferred for their applications in a particular area of the spectrum or for a wide transmission bandpass. Some of these “other” materials include calcium fluoride (transmission from 150nm through 7000nm), germanium (transmission in the infrared from 2000nm to 4000nm), sapphire (transmission range extending from 150 nm to 6000nm), zinc selenide (transmission from .69m to 18m), and UV grade fused silica (improved transmission in the ultraviolet region compared with crown glass).

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Products & Services Related to Cylindrical Lenses

Achromats

Achromats consist of two or more elements, usually of crown and flint glass, that have been corrected for chromatic aberration with respect to two selected wavelengths. They are also known as achromatic lenses. This area includes micro achromats as well.

Fresnel Lenses

Fresnel lenses resemble a planoconvex or planoconcave lens that is cut into narrow rings and flattened. If the steps are narrow, the surface of each step is generally made conical and not spherical.

Gradient Index Lenses

Gradient index (GRIN) lenses focus light through a precisely controlled radial variation of the lens material's index of refraction from the optical axis to the edge of the lens.

Optical Lenses

Optical lenses are transparent components made from optical-quality materials and curved to converge or diverge transmitted rays from an object. These rays then form a real or virtual image of the object. This area includes micro lenses.

Spherical Lenses

Spherical lenses, also known as singlets, are transparent optical components consisting of one or more pieces of optical glass with surfaces so curved that they serve to converge or diverge the transmitted rays from an object, thus forming a real or virtual image of that object. This area includes micro spherical lenses as well.

Engineering Web: Cylindrical Lenses

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Cylindrical lenses - SUSS MicroOptics SA Circular lenses, linear array Cylindrical lenses Cross-cylindrical lenses Square lenses See SUSS MicroOptics Information
Cross-cylindrical lenses - SUSS MicroOptics SA Circular lenses, linear array Cylindrical lenses Cross-cylindrical lenses Square lenses See SUSS MicroOptics Information
Lens (optics) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia More complex are aspheric lenses. These are lenses where one or both surfaces have a shape that is neither spherical nor cylindrical.