SELFOC Microlenses are flat-ended gradient-index

lenses A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

. The

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, o ...

variation in the material is created by

ion exchange Ion exchange is a reversible interchange of one kind of ion present in an insoluble solid with another of like charge present in a solution surrounding the solid with the reaction being used especially for softening or making water demineralised, ...

. They are used as

collimator A collimator is a device which narrows a beam of particles or waves. To narrow can mean either to cause the directions of motion to become more aligned in a specific direction (i.e., make collimated light or parallel rays), or to cause the spat ...

s or lenses for filter components. The flat ends make alignment easy. They were developed by

Nippon Sheet Glass is a Japanese glass manufacturing company. In 2006 it acquired Pilkington of the United Kingdom. This makes NSG/Pilkington one of the four largest glass companies in the world alongside another Japanese company Asahi Glass, Saint-Gobain, and ...

References

SELFOC Microlens Technical Charts

SELFOC Lens Calculations - Distance

SELFOC Mircolens Calculations - Magnification

External links

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Lenses {{optics-stub