Prisms

Prisms are used to steer light: routing it to a new location, dispersing its wavelengths, or altering its image. At CVI Laser Optics, we manufacture a wide variety of prisms that have been carefully designed for use in the most demanding laser applications. These prisms are available in a variety of materials to facilitate use at wavelengths from the UV to NIR, even at high power. Optional AR coatings on the entrance and exit faces of many prisms increase overall transmission, while high surface quality reduces scatter.

In addition to the prisms already mentioned, we can manufacture several other types, all with customized dimensions, wavelength, and material. Dielectric or metal coatings can be applied to prism faces, such as on the hypotenuse of a right angle prism to enable use as an internal or external mirror. Our high precision angular tolerance and exceptional manufacturing quality ensure that you will get the performance you need for your system.

Capabilities

  Standard Custom Options
Types Pellin Broca, wedge, right angle 90° & 180° All other types of prisms
Materials N-BK7, UV-grade fused silica, crystal quartz    CaF2, Calcite, other optical glasses
Dimensions 12.7 to 76.2mm 5 to 101.6  mm
Coatings
  • Narrowband V-coat AR
  • Broadband Multilayer AR
  • Dielectric or metal coatings
  • Black overcoat on hypotenuse
  • Other wavelength AR (193 - 2100 nm)
Quality Precision and laser quality See manufacturing tolerances below

Prism Manufacturing Capabilities

Surface Tolerances Precision Laser Quality
Surface quality (scratch - dig) 20 - 10 10 - 5
Surface roughness (Å, RMS) 20 5
Flat Irregularity,
(P-V @ 633 nm before coating)
λ/4 λ/10
Dimensional Tolerances Standard Precision
Length & Width (mm) +0/-0.25 +0/-0.10
Thickness (mm) ±0.25 ±0.10
Angular deviation ≤ 6 arc min ≤ 15 arc sec
Clear aperture (%) ≥ 85% ≥ 85%