What are the different types of optical domes?

Optical domes are special types of optical windows that are highly curved. For example, they can have a hemisphere shape, but it is also possible to use domes with custom shapes, and we have different sizes available.

Infrared optical domes are important for defense applications, and sapphire is often the material of choice. Next to diamond, sapphire is the hardest natural substance, resistant to scratches and abrasion. It is also able to withstand high pressures and transmits 80% of the light in the 2-5µm wavelength range. Other options for infrared domes are zinc selenide, germanium, calcium fluorite, zinc sulfide and silicon.

Silicon has primary transmittance in the 3-5µm range and has low density and high thermal conductivity. It is the most cost effective of our infrared material family.

Zinc selenide domes have a wide wavelength length from 3 µm to 16 µm, but ZnSe is softer than most other commonly used IR substrates and therefore should not be used in harsh environments. It also has a high refractive index, but with a transmission-enhancing film high transmittance can be achieved. It is a good choice for thermally demanding environments.

Our germanium IR domes have a transmission range of 2-14 μm. They are durable and although not as hard as sapphire, we can offer diamond AR coatings (hard carbon or DLC) to provide the best resistance to harsh environments.

Our polycrystalline zinc sulfide domes are hot-pressed under vacuum and offer multi-spectral transmission – from 3-5µm and 8-12µm with an average transmission of 70%. This hot-pressed zinc has excellent thermal properties and the AR/AR coating enhances the transmittance. The manufacturing process allows us to customize dome shapes and sizes and enables us to make larger domes or domes with various radii of curvature.

MgF 2 translucent ceramic domes are also hot press molded, and these domes exhibit high transmittance between 2 and 7.5 mm. They are commonly used for missiles and launch tubes because of their high hardness and 20,000 psi flexural strength rating.

On all of our domes, we are able to provide anti-reflective coatings. These coatings provide better light transmission and therefore can greatly improve the image. For harsh environments where light transmission is second only to ruggedness, we can provide specialized coatings to improve durability.

Optical domes are hemispherical windows that provide a protective boundary while allowing a clear view between two environments. They are typically made of two parallel surfaces. CLZ Optics manufactures optical domes in a variety of substrates for visible, infrared or ultraviolet light. Our dome sizes range from 5 mm to over 200 mm, and custom sizes are available upon request.

CLZ Precision Optics is one of China’s leading optical manufacturing companies. We manufacture a wide range of High Precision Optical Components for many different fields like Medical, Life Sciences, Defense and other fields.