Welcome to the Spring 2012 edition of ‘Lens Innovation’ - a periodic eNewsletter from Resolve Optics Ltd. designed to keep you informed about the latest technological developments, applications advances and breaking news in the optical design and manufacture industry.

If a particular feature interests you do not hesitate to contact us or follow the link for further information. We welcome your feedback.

Mark Pontin (Managing Director)

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Technology Forum

Does My Application Require Radiation Resistant Lenses ?

In nuclear power, nuclear reprocessing, space, medical and other scientific applications optical glass may be exposed to high energy radiation like gamma, electron, proton and neutron radiation. With the accumulation of higher doses this radiation reduces the transmittance of optical glass (turning brown or grey) especially near the UV-visible edge of the spectrum.

Optical glasses can be stabilised against transmittance loss caused by ionizing radiation by adding Cerium (Ce) to the composition. The extent of stabilization differs from glass type to glass type. Every cerium stabilized glass type shows the letter G and a number as an additional suffix in the glass name. The number in the suffix divided by 10 relates to the additional weight percentage of CeO2 in the glass. BK7G16 for instance was stabilized against radiation by adding 1.6 w% of cerium into the BK7 glass matrix.

Over the last 20 years – Resolve Optics has established itself as a leading supplier of fixed focus and zoom non-browning (radiation resistant) lenses. Drawing upon the same expertise – Resolve has also provided a wide range of custom designed non browning lenses and radiation resistant endoscopes which enable areas with very high radiation to be viewed remotely.

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New Product Focus

Looking for a compact HD zoom lens ?

The need for more compact, high resolution zoom lenses is a desire of many organisations we talk to, especially those operating in the machine vision, high quality CCTV and broadcast industries. The new Z10-HDcf 10x High Definition compact zoom lens range was developed by Resolve Optics to fill this gap in the market.

The Z10 is unlike any other HD zoom lens currently available. Providing users with HD resolution throughout its range of operation – the motorised Z10 is half the size (87.5mm long and 45mm square) and much lighter (< 500g) than other comparable zoom lenses. The high performance f/1.8, 10x tracking zoom on the Z10 ensures the image stays in focus throughout the zoom travel by utilising floating cell technology. The Z10 is also able to focus upon objects up to just 450mm from the lens.

A novel design camera mount cleverly incorporates topside and back focus adjustment so that the lens can quickly and easily be set-up on any camera. A unique customer changeable rear cell enables the Z10-HDCF to be simply adapted for use on camera formats between 1/3- and 2/3-inch including 3CCD formats. The Z10-HDCF compact high definition zoom lens offers an elegant solution for the latest generation of compact Broadcast TV cameras, space restricted machine vision operations and CCTV applications requiring the highest quality images.

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Quick Surveys: What Do You Think ?

Survey 1: The use of social media is growing exponentially year on year. How do you use social media within your business: we don’t use it ; to talk to other people who work in a similar work area ; to keep informed about applications advances ; to keep informed about new products. Results of this survey to be reported in the next issue of Lens Innovation.

Survey 2: In your product development what do you consider the most important. Sourcing the best camera / sensor or a lens optimised to your application ? Results of this survey to be reported in the next issue of Lens Innovation.

Send us your views

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ViewPoint

White Paper: Are off-the-shelf optics always the best solution ?

With advances in technology many industries are finding it increasingly difficult to source off-the-shelf optics for their applications. While there is a huge range of off-the-shelf lenses available typically these lenses are manufactured for the mass market where unit cost is the dominant driving force. When it comes to an application that optically requires anything a little more demanding such as high performance, high-resolution, compactness or a large format image the off the shelf market will force you to accept a compromise in one or more aspects of optical performance.

The result can be restricted product applications, a bulkier less attractive product, short product life and loss of competitive advantage – all of which ultimately lead to lower profitability. As a result, demand for custom lens designs that meet the exact needs of the customer application are rising dramatically.

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Case Study

Process Monitoring Through 10 Metres Of Water

Channel Systems Inc. – a global leader in nuclear safeguards technology required a specialist UV zoom lens to enable their specialist camera to provide inspectors with an effective tool for non-intrusive monitoring of the faint ultraviolet Cerenkov light emitted when gamma rays from nuclear fuel assemblies interact with electrons in the cooling pond water.

Working closely with engineers at Channel Systems – Resolve Optics designed and manufactured a wavelength corrected UV Zoom lens that enabled the company’s DCVD camera to view a nuclear fuel assembly situated 13 metres away from the lens and through 10 metres of water. To meet the challenges of the application the UV Zoom lens was also required to optimally operate from 10 to 55ºC.

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For further information on Resolve Optics specialist lens design and manufacture process click here.

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HOT OFF THE PRESS

iPhone application

Resolve Optics has developed an easy-to-use application for your iPhone that enables you to quickly calculate the field-of-view for different lens focal lengths.

Further information

In-house vibration testing facility

Driven by financial considerations some organisations, whose systems operate in demanding environments, may seek to incorporate non-ruggedised lenses and lens systems in the design of their products. However adopting such a strategy notably increases the possibility of failure of the product during its deployment. Resolve Optics has invested in facilities that enable it to vibration test ruggedised lenses it has developed for demanding military and civilian applications.

Contact Resolve Optics

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Resolve Optics Ltd, Asheridge Road, Chesham, Buckinghamshire HP5 2PT, England.
T: +44 (0) 1494 777100 - F: +44 (0) 1494 775201 - E: sales@resolveoptics.com