HRDT — High Refraction Diamond Turning for NIR Applications

Until now, polymers for high index, heat-resistant, NIR optics could only be molded; prototypes required 8–12 weeks minimum, mold costs raised production break-even points.

Using Ultem™, HRDT can reliably achieve a surface as smooth as 60 Angstroms, with even smoother surfaces theoretically possible. HRDT, a patent-pending process from Syntec Optics, enables direct diamond turning, lowering costs by 2 to 5X:

• Suits spherical, aspherical, toroidal, cylindrical, cone and plano shapes

• Works for lens surfaces with multiple diffractive structures

• Supports polyetherimide and polyethersulfone thermoplastic resins