Knight Optical

Knight Optical's premium-quality achromatic optics are ideally suited for projects demanding optimum minimisation of chromatic aberrations. Our extensive range of components includes stock or customised retarders as well as custom-made lenses (such as IR doublet and relay varieties) to meet your project’s exact requirements.

For maximum transmission, Knight Optical offers a range of AR coatings to reduce optical reflectivity. Available as single-layer (for 0.9–20 µm wavebands) or multi-layer options (for 3–5 µm, 5–8 µm or 8–12 µm wavebands), our AR coatings boast industry-leading performance. Furthermore, AR options can be customised to meet specific wavelength requirements.

A cost-effective alternative to multi-lens systems, aspheric optics are commonly used to correct spherical aberrations that may hinder optical performance. Available from stock or as custom-made components, our wide range of high-quality aspheric optics include precision-grade, plastic, fire-polished and diamond-turned lenses.

Knight Optical provides a wide-ranging supply of ball lenses to meet project-specific wavelength requirements. Material options include: quartz (260-2500nm), sapphire (0.17–5.5 μm), ruby (250 nm to NIR), BK7 (or equivalent) (250–2500 nm), UV-grade fused silica (170–2500 nm), as well as B270 (320–2600 nm) and borosilicate (or equivalent) (310–2700 nm) material options.

Available in singlet, doublet (positive and negative focal lengths) and triplet varieties, Knight Optical can supply customised beam expanders for a range of laser-based, cutting-edge projects. Whether your application works in the ultraviolet (UV), visible, near-infrared (NIR), mid-infrared (MIR) or far-infrared (FIR) spectrum, opting for our custom-made components allows you to specify suitable substrates for your required wavelength.

As the name suggests, beam homogenisers are used to produce uniform beam profiles. Used for the most forward-thinking laser-based applications, our beam homogeniser range is only available in a custom-made option to meet the precise needs of each application. Commonly specified in BK7 (or equivalent) and UV-grade fused silica substrates, Knight Optical's custom-made homogenising rods are also available with rod holders for seamless integration.

Meeting a wide range of specifications, Knight Optical offers both plate and cube (non-polarising and polarising) beamsplitters for ultimate precision when splitting incident light beams. Offered in a choice of three grades, plate beamsplitters can be supplied in standard, economy and precision λ/4 options.

Available as a custom-made component or from our vast range of stock in up to 250 mm diameters, thicknesses up to 38 mm and in AR-coated or uncoated options, Knight Optical's condenser lenses provide a high-quality, economical optical solution for applications such as enlargers and illumination lighting systems.

Knight Optical's corner cube prisms are available as custom-made components in bespoke sizes and substrates to meet the precise needs of your beam-steering and surveying applications. What's more, we offer the option of mounted and unmounted variants for a range of projects.

Knight Optical's expertise not only lies in our technical knowledge and sound optical advice but also within our capabilities to meet every specification. This is made possible thanks to our custom-made optical components, which enable our customers to specify the dimensions, substrates, tolerances and coatings of their optics.

With an extensive range of diaphragms available from stock or as custom-made apertures, Knight Optical offers pinhole, slit and iris diaphragms (in stainless-steel and sprung steel leaves and in fully- and part-closing options). Delivering ultimate precision, pinhole and slit variants are offered in two grades; standard and high-powered.

Providing unparalleled transmission, reflection and absorption, our dichroic filters (offered as custom-made optics or from our wide range of stock) feature clear transitions between transmitted and reflected wavelengths.

Available in longpass, shortpass (which can both serve as hot and cold mirrors), bandpass, bandblocking and colour correction filters, as well as filter sets, our collection of dichroic filters offers minimal absorbance characteristics.

We offer a range of dielectric coatings for optimum reflectivity. Available for a variety of components including beamsplitters, front-surface mirrors and rod and cone mirrors, to name but a few, our dielectric options include visible, near-infrared (NIR), infrared (IR) (2000 nm +) and large parts (1000 mm).

We offer a range of dielectric-coated mirrors for a variety of state-of-the-art applications working in the visible, near-infrared (NIR) and IR (2000 nm +) spectral regions. Our portfolio includes – but is not restricted to – custom-made concave mirrors with 99% dielectric mirror coatings for high-performance visible and NIR applications, as well as customised plane options with 99.9% dielectric-coated mirrors for laser use in visible applications. For more information on our dielectric coatings, contact a technical sales adviser today.

Choose from our range of three diffraction gratings – the holographic research range, ruled research range and commercial range. Alongside our trio of ranges – available from stock or as custom-made optics – we also offer holographic diffraction grating films as customised components.

Specified for a variety of imaging applications within the military and design and entertainment industries, our diffusers are recognised for their first-class reliability. With an array of options available to meet your demands, our diffusers include anti-Newton, PVC plastic, ground glass, flashed opal, shaped (holographic) and Optolite™ HSR.

Commonly specified within the laser sector due to their ability to continually change refractive indices, our GRIN lenses are only available as custom-made components to meet the precise needs of your project. Our customised options allow you to tailor GRIN lenses with millimetre-perfect dimensions, tolerances and coatings.

Alongside our optical components for the ultraviolet (UV) and visible spectral regions, we also offer a wide variety of IR optics as custom-made components or from our vast range of stock. Our IR range varies from near-infrared (NIR) (700 nm to 1.2 μm) and mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) (3 to 5 μm) to far-infrared (FIR) (8 to 30 μm+).

Our high-quality laser mirrors are supplied in a wide range of laser-based options, including YAG, excimer, argon-ion and diode & broadband. Only available as custom-made optics, we offer laser mirrors for a variety of wavelengths; from the ultraviolet (UV) (200 to 400 nm) to the infrared (IR) spectrum (1 to 40 μm).

Our components are specified for some of the industry's leading laser applications. Used within a wide range of laser-based devices – including use within aerospace, medical and automotive sectors – our laser optics include dielectric mirrors, planoconvex lenses, Brewster windows, neutral-density (ND) filters, right-angle prisms, aspheric lenses; and many more.

Whatever the application, we have a wide range of stock and custom-made lenses available for devices operating within ultraviolet (UV), visible, near-infrared (NIR) and infrared (IR) wavelengths. From aspheric, ball & half ball and drum & half drum to biconvex, concave, cylindrical lenses">cylindrical lenses, our lens portfolio meets a range of project demands.

Available as custom-made components only, Knight Optical's micro lenses are specifically tailored to each project's requirements. Commonly deployed for a range of high-specification technological innovations, such as mobile phone cameras, our micro lenses are available in several variations; for example, doublets, spherical, aspheric, cylindrical and plane with positive power.

As well as an array of laser mirrors, we also offer a variety of stock and custom mirrors. Amongst our wide-ranging portfolio, we provide parabolic and rod & cone mirrors, parabolic & ellipsoidal reflectors, concave and elliptical mirrors as well as back-surface and front-surface mirrors. What's more, custom-made mirrors can include wavelength-specific coatings for optimum operation.

Offering excellent control over beam shape and size, Knight Optical's apertures are available in two grades: standard and precision. Choose from a comprehensive stock range or customise your apertures to meet the exact needs of your project. Our series of apertures comprises pinholes, slits and iris diaphragms in sprung steel leaves or stainless steel leaves.

Not only are our team of highly skilled technical sales advisers well-placed to offer optical-related information, but they are also trained in optical design. Delivering cost-effective, sound guidance and using industry-leading Zemax software, our advisers are capable of evaluating the most intricate designs, providing you with a genuine turnkey optical solution.

For exceptional protection, our stock and custom-made optical domes are known for their durability within extreme environments. Our material options comprise BK7 (or equivalent) for maximum transmission from 300 nm up to 2 μm, acrylic – commonly used for skylights and meteorology systems – UV fused silica for applications operating in the deeper UV range and sapphire, offering transmission over 80% in the 2–5 μm range.

Our stock and custom-made optical filters are employed for a wide range of high-tech applications by discerning engineers and R&D professionals within sectors such as military & defence, electronics and research markets. With both stock and custom-made filters available, our collection includes bandpass, longpass, shortpass, neutral-density (ND), dichroic, IR-cut, colour glass, heat glass and ANPR/ALPR filters.

Used as a reference surface, our optical flats are provided in single-sided zerodur and quartz varieties, ideally suited to comparing substrate flatness. Alongside high-quality, long-lasting stock and custom-made optical flats, our state-of-the-art metrology laboratory also offers a reconditioning and certification service to repair damaged optical flats as well as monochromatic light units.

Whether your application works in the visible, ultraviolet (UV), near-infrared (NIR) or infrared (IR) spectrum, we have a wide variety of wavelength-specific substrates for customisation or from our extensive stock range. From BK7 (or equivalent), UV-grade fused silica and quartz to germanium, sapphire and zinc selenide – plus many more substrate alternatives – our components are capable of meeting any requirement.

Our window substrate offering ranges from optical domes, plastic, precision grade N-BK7 (or equivalent), borosilicate (or equivalent) and float glass windows to B270 (or equivalent), quartz, UV fused silica and IR quartz, white float and toughened windows; as well as light guides. Dependent on material, Knight Optical's windows can be supplied from a vast range of stock or as custom-made optics.

Available either from stock or as a custom-made optic and meeting the demands of a variety of applications working from the ultraviolet (UV) (200 to 400 nm) through to the infrared (IR) (1 to 40 μm) spectrum, our parabolic mirrors are available for customised production in a range of substrates and coatings. Whereas, our stock parabolic mirrors are manufactured in a metal substrate – such as aluminium – and coated in either enhanced aluminium, silver or gold.

Available in two categories, high-powered and standard grade, our high-quality pinholes provide optimum control over beam size. Our stock laser-drilled apertures are ready for next-day dispatch, in options ranging from 0.5 μm to 1000 μm and in mounted and unmounted varieties. Alternatively, if you are searching for a more tailored approach to your specification, Knight Optical also provides custom-made pinholes in a variety of materials, mounting options and sizes.

From plastic lenses and screen diffusers to acrylic domes and PMMA acrylic windows, we offer a wide range of plastic optics for applications seeking cost-effective optical solutions. Dependent on component, we are able to offer plastic optics in custom-made options or from our vast range of stock. For more information on our plastic substrate offerings, please contact a member of the technical sales team today.

At Knight Optical, we stock a vast range of polarisers suitable for a variety of high-precision projects; with optics covering the <0.2 to >2 μm wavebands. For applications requiring customised optical solutions, we also provide custom-made polarisers for seamless integration with high-tech devices. Our polariser offering comprises sheet, circular, crystal and cube polarisers as well as Lyot depolarisers and polariser assemblies.

We offer an extensive range of stock and custom-made prisms which are suitable for a wide array of projects and applications. Our prism offering includes the following varieties: Fresnel, deviating penta, dispersing, equilateral, Pellin–Broca, Littrow, inverting, Amici roof, Porro, Dove, reflecting rhomboid, wedge, corner cube, polygons as well as anamorphic pairs and light pipe homogenising rods.

As well as a wide array of stock, Knight Optical can provide custom-made high-precision corner cube retroreflector prisms manufactured in a range of substrates. Our retroreflector prisms are well-known for their exceptional parallelism between incoming and exiting beams and can be provided in mounted and unmounted options to meet the precise needs of your application.

Knight Optical’s rod lenses are available in four varieties; plain, 45º type, laserline generator and graded-index (GRIN) type. Our plain range of Lenses can be manufactured in borosilicate (or equivalent) substrates for the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths, or UV-grade fused silica for applications working in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum – down to 185 nm. 45º type, laserline generator and graded-index (GRIN) types are available as custom-made optics only.

Essentially dielectric interference filters with a continuous refractive index variation and often referred to as gradient-index filters, our rugate filters are available as custom-made components to meet the specific requirements of your end application. This option allows you to specify the tolerance, size, shape, substrate and optical coatings best suited to your project.

Here at Knight Optical, our wide-ranging portfolio of UV optics are employed for a vast range of applications. Choose from our array of stock – including beamsplitters, filters, lenses and mirrors – or take advantage of our optical expertise with custom-made UV optics – which include calcium fluoride components, UV ground glass diffusers, optical Flats, polarisers, windows and prisms.

Known for their outstanding reliability and high quality, Knight Optical's retarders are used for the most cutting-edge applications. With options suitable for the UV, visible and near-infrared (NIR) (0.7 to 1.5 μm) wavebands, our range consists of liquid crystal variable (custom-made only), achromatic, mica, zero order quartz, low order quartz, Fresnel rhomb (custom-made only), plastic and Rochon (custom-made only) varieties.

Offering ultimate control over beam steering, our wedge prisms are available in UV (which can be manufactured from calcium fluoride or UV-grade fused silica to work efficiently at 175 nm and transmit 85% at 185 nm), visible and near-infrared (NIR) substrates. Available as custom-made components, Knight Optical's wedge prisms can meet the needs of every project.