• Edmund Optics

Ball Lenses

Edmund Optics offers Ball Lenses. These are excellent for severe environments, with high strength and hardness; and high chemical stability. Sapphire half-ball (hemispherical) lenses feature a very short back focal length with the convenience of a flat surface for easy mounting. Sapphire features a high index of refraction and excellent broadband transmission characteristics. The lenses are very chemically stable and are great for severe environments, high temperature applications, and applications requiring high melting points. Typical applications include fibre communication, endoscopy, microscopy, optical pick-up devices, and laser measurement systems. Specifications: sapphire material - Al2O3; ruby material - ruby doped Al2O3; index of refraction - 1.77; diameter tolerance - ±0.0001"/±2.54µm; sphericity - 0.000025"/0.64µm; specific gravity - 3.98; melting point - 2053°C; compressive strength - 300,000 psi; porosity - 0; chemically - inert; and thermal expansion - 8.4 x 10-6/°C.