High-Accuracy Plastic-Replica Optics

Herbert Meyer

Plastics or organic polymeric materials have frequently been considered and studied for their potential usefulness in fabricating optical elements more economically than when using glass with conventional grinding and polishing methods. In fact, large quantities of acrylic-type, injection-molded lenses are presently being employed in low-cost still cameras where relatively small lens diameter and aperture produce thoroughly satisfactory pictorial results with optics formed from such plastic materials. Aside from refractive and transmissive optical components, the use of reflective elements or mirrors has become of increasing importance and interest, particularly in instrumentation optics covering the visible spectrum and portions of the ultraviolet and infrared spectrums of the electromagnetic radiation. First-surface mirror optics, using replication techniques, can be fabricated by various processes, such as electroforming, plastic casting and plastic precision molding.1–7 The data presented in this paper relate primarily to work performed at Electro-Optical Systems (EOS) on replication of mirror optics by plastic precision molding.

Print ISSN
Published
1965-01
Content type
Original Research
DOI
10.5594/J08315