Infrared lenses are produced from substances like germanium, from materials with low absorption in the infrared spectrum. It is very important to use these specialized components instead of a more common substance. Glass is not a good choice for an infrared lens. When using an IR lens, it is important to know that Infrared lenses don’t work the same way as a regular lens like those made from glass. With cameras that use glass lenses, the camera function the same way the human eye functions, receiving radiation in the visible light spectrum and turning it into an image. Infrared cameras, on the other hand, make images from heat, aka infrared or thermal radiation. Since the way infrared radiation or Infrared light behaves is different from normal light, it explains why infrared camera lenses need to be made from different materials than regular cameras. The properties for a given material in the visible world might have no bearing on its properties in the infrared. Apart from germanium, and plexiglass sheeting, plastic also transmit infrared rays. In most system using IR lens optical window is needed, one would ask what is optical window But for the plexiglass blocks the transmission of visible light but transmits infrared light. Infrared Plastic lens has the same property as that of acrylic sheeting, with the only difference being the light transmission. Because infrared acrylic sheeting is black and only transmits infrared rays, it is an ideal material for applications where you want to hide something such as a video camera, or entertainment audio equipment, and security camera, Common optical plastics have poor transmission of infrared wavelengths due to their chemical composition. For this reason, they are not normally used for high-end infrared imaging applications. To overcome their low infrared transmission is to use extremely thin components, such as Fresnel or diffractive lenses. Fresnel lenses contain concentric annular rings, where the thickness of each ring is minimized, reducing the overall element thickness. When Coating a plastic IRe material must not be coated in an elevated temperature and radiation environment, Because of their limited temperature and UV resistance. During the deposition of thin films onto plastic, the coating chamber temperature is significantly lower than that for glass optics. This requires deposition techniques such as ion-assisted deposition to apply anti-reflective, conductive, mirror, and beam splitter coatings. Multi-Layer dielectric coating is mostly used for plastic Infrared lenses. Through the aro corp you can visit alpine research optics to start shopping for the best lens of choice.
Features Of Plastic Infrared Lens
- Common optical plastics have poor transmission of infrared wavelengths due to their chemical composition
- Plastic lens is very strong, durability, versatility you need to use in any application, whether inside or outside
- They are not normally used for high-end infrared imaging applications
- Plastic Infrared lens transmit Only infrared light while blocking Ultraviolet light and ordinary light
- Infrared plastic, have the same physical, and structural properties as that of acrylic sheet
- Plastic Infrared Lens is impact resistant than glass and is half the weight of glass
- Typical broadband antireflection coatings reduce reflection to about 0.5% per surface across the entire visible spectrum
- Infrared plastic lens is less expensive than glass and polycarbonate counterpart, but also stronger and lighter
- Narrowband, multilayer antireflection coatings can achieve surface reflectances less than 0.2%
