Sterling Precision Optics, Inc.

• Colored Glass Filter MaterialBlanks

Optical Filters transmit light of different wavelengths to attenuate or enhance an image and to transmit or reflect specific wavelengths. All Optical Filters pass, absorb, andor reflect light. There is a large variety of Optical Filters available from Sterling Precision Optics, Inc. Here is a listing of the most commonly used in the optical industry today

• Heat Absorbing Glasses RecommendedHA-30 HA-15 HA-50

Tempered or toughened glass has been processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength, both physically and thermally when compared to normal glass. Tempered glass is made by processes which creates balanced internal stresses. The greater contraction of the inner layer during tempering induces compressive stresses in the surface of the glass balanced by tensile stressed in the body of the glass. A strain pattern can be viewed from tempering when observed with polarized light or by using a pair of polarizing sun glasses. Sterling has perfected the “Maltese Cross Strain Pattern” which indicates a very hard temper with compressive stress exceeding 100MPa. This tempering formula is used for heat absorbing filters that experience extreme heating and cooling fluctuations. Sterling is unique in that we have an in-house Tempering Department. Since the 1950’s Sterling has gained national and international recognition for tempering both large and small optical components. Sterling has been successful in tempering Optical Filters as thin as 1mm. We have six tempering and sagging ovens in our Tempering Department. By far the most common optical component that requires tempering is a Heat Absorbing Filter.

Sterling Precision Optics, Inc. has been making Optical Lenses since 1956. Our first “shop” was in a store front in Blue Island, Illinois, USA. However the oldest lens artifact is the Nimrud lens, dating back 2700 years to ancient Assyria. David Brewster proposed that it may have been used as a magnifying glass, or as a burning-glass to start fires by concentrating sunlight. Another early reference to magnification dates back to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs in the 8th century BC, which depict "simple glass meniscal lenses". Sterling Precision Optics, Inc. manufacturers very wide range of high quality lenses for a variety of applications. Listed below are the major types of lenses that Sterling manufacturers in its facility in Evanston Illinois, USA. We have been making lenses since 1956 and have thousands of radius gages and tooling to make your lens quickly. We also stock NBK7, Crown Glass, Pyrex and UV grade fused silica, which are the most common materials used to make optical lenses.

• MaterialsPlate Glass

An Optical Window is a mechanically flat, sometimes optically flat, depending on resolution requirements, ) piece of transparent (for a wavelength range of interest, not necessarily for visible light) optical material that allows light into an optical instrument. A window is usually parallel and is likely to be anti-reflection coated, at least if it is designed for visible light. An optical window may be built into a piece of equipment (such as a vacuum chamber) to allow optical instruments to view inside that equipment.

Optical Mirrors are designed to reflect light for a variety of applications, including beam steering, interferometry, imaging, or illumination. Optical Mirrors are used in a wide range of industries, such as analytical instruments, life sciences, astronomy, metrology, semiconductor, defense, and solar. Sterling Precision Optics offers a board range of Optical Mirrors in a multitude of reflective coating options, including Protected Aluminum, Enhanced Aluminum, Protected Silver, Protected Gold, or Dielectric.

Sterling Precision Optics, Inc. is an industry leader for the supply of NVG filters to the Night Vision Industry; Sterling offers a wide range of monolithic glass Night Vision Filters which meet the U.S. Military specification MIL-STD-3009. Sterling also offers NVG Filters for the new and expanding Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology which is being adopted for military and aerospace applications. The new NVG Filter Glass meets MIL-STD-3009 at a reduced weight through decreased thickness of the filter. Night vision, also known as image intensification, allows humans to see in low to zero light conditions. Night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches; sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range. A device (NVD) works by collecting photons through a lens (NVIS). Then they pass through a photocathode which converts the photons into electrons. These electrons then pass through a microchannel plate, consisting of millions of closely spaced channels. In here the electrons can hit the walls so they will release thousands of additional electrons. Finally, the multiplied electrons will hit a phosphor screen where they get turned back into light. This light is thousands of times brighter than the original light and is in the visual spectrum of the human eye. The intensified light is in the same orientation as it came in providing a clear view of objects in the dark.