Advanced Molded Glass Lenses

There is a critical need for lighter, smaller, inexpensive, and higher performance optical components in many military programs such as Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS), Enhanced Night Vision Goggle (ENVG), Monocular Night Vision Device (MNVD), Aviators Night Vision Imaging System (ANVIS), Sniper Night Sight (SNS), Clip-on Sniper Night Sight, and Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder (LLDR). Precision glass molding technology can meet these demands through its ability to mass produce complex geometries with high degrees of accuracy and precision. Rochester Precision Optics (RPO) is proposing innovative research which will further advance molded optics technology and assist in the reduction of size and weight of optical systems throughout the optics industry. RPO will demonstrate the feasibility of creating novel surfaces such as diffractive and antireflection microstructures by producing and testing the performance of lenses with these features, and extending molding technology to encompass larger diameters and achieve higher manufacturing yields. We will also develop and optimize glass molding simulation technology to predict the behavior of the glass during the molding process. Such technology will lower the cost of molded optics and reduce the time required to develop new lenses.