UV Fused Silica Plano-Convex Lenses, UV AR-Coated
Lens Shape	Plano-Convex
Substrate Material	UV-Grade Fused Silica
UV AR Coating Range	290 - 370 nm
Reflectivity Over Coating Range (AOI = 0°)	Ravg <0.5%
Lens Diameter	Ø1" Lens in a SM1-Threaded Mount (1.035"-40)
Diameter Tolerance	+0.00 mm / -0.10 mm
Design Wavelength	587.6 nm
Index of Refraction (@ 587.6 nm)	1.460
Surface Quality	40-20 Scratch-Dig
Damage Thresholda	5 J/cm2 (355 nm, 10 ns, 10 Hz, Ø0.350 mm)
Surface Flatness (Plano Side)	λ/2
Spherical Surface Powerb (Convex Side)	3λ/2
Surface Irregularity (Peak to Valley)	λ/4
Centration	≤3 arcmin
Clear Aperture	>90% of Dia.
Focal Length Tolerance	±1%

• Limited by the antireflection coating.
• Much like surface flatness for flat optics, spherical surface power is a measure of the deviation between the surface of the curved optic and a calibrated reference gauge, typically for a 588 nm source, unless otherwise stated. This specification is also commonly referred to as surface fit.

Features

• Ø1" Lens Mounted in a SM1-Threaded Mount
• UV AR Coating for the 290 - 370 nm Range
• Fabricated from UV Grade Fused Silica
• Surface Quality: 40-20 Scratch-Dig

Thorlabs' UV Grade Fused Silica Mounted Plano-Convex lenses are available either uncoated or with a UV antireflection coating for the 290 - 370 nm range deposited on both surfaces. UV-grade fused silica offers high transmission in the deep UV and exhibits virtually no laser-induced fluorescence (as measured at 193 nm), making it an ideal choice for applications from the UV to the near IR. In addition, UV fused silica has better homogeneity and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion than N-BK7.

The additional UV antireflection coating on these plano-convex lenses is particularly desirable for applications with multiple optical elements. Since approximately 4% of the incident light is reflected at each surface of an uncoated substrate, the application of a UV AR coating improves transmission, which is particularly important in low-light applications, and prevents the undesirable effects (e.g., ghost images) associated with multiple reflections.

Plano-convex lenses have positive focal lengths and are the most popular type of lens element. They are commonly used to focus a collimated incident beam; in such cases the collimated light source should be incident on the curved surface to minimize spherical aberrations. When image quality is not critical, plano-convex lenses can also be used as a substitute for achromatic doublets.

When deciding between a plano-convex lens and a bi-convex lens, both of which cause collimated incident light to converge, it is usually preferrable to choose a plano-convex lens if the desired absolute magnification is either less than 0.2 or greater than 5. Between these two values, bi-convex lenses are generally preferred.

Thorlabs also offers unmounted versions of our UV-grade fused silica lenses, either uncoated or with AR coatings for one of the following wavelength ranges: 290 - 370 nm (UV), 350 - 700 nm (-A), 650 - 1050 nm (-B), or 1050 - 1620 nm (-C).

This high-performance multilayer AR coating has an average reflectance of less than 0.5% (per surface) across the specified wavelength ranges. This AR coating is designed for angles of incidence (AOI) between 0° and 30°. More detailed AR coating curves are shown below for the -UV coating on the lenses sold on this page. This curve shows the angular dependence of the coating from 0° to 30° (specified) and at 45° (outside of specified region). For optics intended to be used at larger incident angles, consider ordering a custom coating optimized for a 45° angle of incidence; these coatings are recommended for use with incidence angles from 25° to 52°. For more information, please contact Tech Support.

Raw reflectivity data is available in the Excel format clicking here.

The reflectivity curve for the UV AR coating deposited on the UV fused silica substrate for incident light at a range of inclination angles between 0° and 45°.
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This transmission curve is for a 10 mm thick uncoated sample of UV fused silica when the incident light is normal to the surface. Please note that this is the measured transmission, including surface reflections.
Click Here for Raw Data
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