Apr 12 2010
LightPath Technologies has launched a lens assembly that forms the basic optical element for a thermo imager.
LightPath Gradium Lenses
LightPath’s President and CEO, Jim Gaynor, informed that the new product will cater for the fast expanding night vision and thermal imaging markets. The markets for the thermal imaging systems have an overall estimated value of more than $2.5 billion at present.
These lenses are utilized for a broad range of applications, such as homeland security, automobile vision enhancement systems for drivers, predictive maintenance, and firefighting. The f/1.3, 14.9 mm focal length Long Wave Infrared (LWIR) lens assembly is specially designed for uncooled infrared (IR) sensors.
This IR Lens Assembly will be showcased by LightPath Technologies during the Orlando, Florida Defense, Security and Sensing conference from April 6 to 8, 2010.
This lens assembly puts together the Black Diamond molded chalcogenide IR lenses from LightPath. The combination of special material characteristics of Black Diamond glasses with the opto-mechanical design offers athermalization to ensure temperature stability in the -40 to 85°C range, without any added cost. These lenses are a reduced cost alternative for mass volume diamond-turned zinc selenide and germanium-based optics. This particular design provides for a field-of-view that is 60° if combined with a 15 mm sensor having a pixel pitch of 25 µm.
Gaynor revealed that his company is focusing on the diversification of its IR optical assembly product line.