LightPath Technologies has added a new mid-wave infrared (MWIR) aspheric lens to its catalogue of aspheric lenses designed for infrared applications. The lens is designed as a collimating lens for quantum cascade lasers (QCLs). QCLs are used in a wide variety of applications including infrared countermeasures (IRCM), and gas analytical instrumentation for environmental sensing. Applications for QCLs and associated infrared optics are growing rapidly as system costs continue to come down.
This new lens provides a combination of optical specifications with a 7mm diameter and NA of 0.56. Systems utilising this lens will achieve larger collimated beams than previously available with off-the-shelf MWIR aspheric lenses, which in turn will allow for enhanced system performance. The new lens is moulded from LightPath’s Black Diamond branded chalcogenide glass, making it a less expensive replacement for high-volume, diamond-turned germanium and zinc selenide optics.