Windows are often used to create a physical barrier between two different environments - preventing two gases from mixing together, separating liquids from air, keeping a sealed system in vacuum. In many optical systems, a window is used to protect more expensive optical components (within an assembly) from back-splatter, out-gassing or other possible damage.

A window is the simplest of all optical components. While it can take nearly any form, most windows are either round or rectangular in shape. All windows are fabricated from optically transparent material, with two flat (or plano) polished surfaces.

Very often, in demanding optical applications - a window is specially fabricated with anti-reflection (AR) coatings on the external, polished flat surfaces. This AR coating improves the amount of light transmitted through the window by reducing surface losses due to reflection.

Rainbow Research Optics, Inc. manufactures and delivers precision grade and commercial quality windows from a wide range of optical materials to address applications in the ultraviolet (UV), visible, and infrared (IR) wavelength ranges. Standard optical glasses include BK 7 and synthetic fused silica, in addition to specialty optical materials like calcium fluoride (CaF2), germanium (Ge), magnesium fluoride (MgF2), silicon (Si), zinc selenide (ZnSe), and zinc sulfide (ZnS).

Window fabrication is facilitated using double-sided polishing equipment. These double-sided machines polish and finish both window surfaces simultaneously. In addition to saving labor, double-sided polishing ensures the best possible parallelism between the polished faces - often better than 1 arc sec.

So, for all of your window requirements, give Rainbow Research Optics a call to specify a custom window requirement, order a catalog window component, or discuss with our technical staff how to design the right window for your application.

Standard Windows