Rapid Prototyping

LightForge™ is a newly upgraded low-cost rapid fabrication service from PowerPhotonic, giving optical designers the ability to create innovative new freeform surfaces, test new ideas and verify designs for production without incurring expensive upfront engineering charges and lengthy prototyping lead times.

The LightForge™ wafer scale optics fabrication service allows optical designers to create a completely bespoke – freeform – optical surface and have the fabricated part shipped in as a little as 2 weeks, and for less than $3,000.

LightForge™ substrate choice is either 25.4mm square or 25.4mm round; each with a 15mm x 15mm clear aperture, whose surface is defined by a grid of points X, Y and Z.  X and Y on a 10µm x 10µm grid.  Z can be up to a maximum of 65µm with a 1µm resolution.  Within the clear aperture, designers are free to utilise the space for multiple optics as long as they fit within the 15mm x 15mm boundary.

Zemax surface designs can be easily translated into the required X,Y,Z LightForge™ format using a PowerPhotonic developed macro.

LightForge™ can be used to create a wide range of refractive optical elements, from generic functions such as beam transformers and microlens arrays, to unique components such as diode laser smile correctors and wavefront compensator phaseplates, to completely custom surface shapes.  The scope of what can be done is limited only by the designer’s imagination.  LightForge™ optics come with a variety of options including a broadband anti-reflection coating and a mounting disc that enables quick and easy deployment using industry-standard 2-inch lens mounts.

The LightForge™ fabrication service can be used for rapid prototyping as a precursor to volume production, or for one-off designs.

Key Features

• Rapid prototyping and fabrication service
• Upload design via web portal
• WYSIWYG
• 2 week typical turnaround
• Fixed menu pricing (<$3k per custom optic)
• Fixed design rules
• AR coating and mounting option available
• From Zemax to LightForge™ in one simple step

Benefits

• Industry’s lowest cost and fastest freeform optical fabrication service
• Provides a cost effective and superior performance alternative to standard products
• Improves system performance beyond the capability of standard products
• Addresses applications that are not supported well by standard products

Applications

• Diode laser systems
• Fiber and solid state lasers
• Directed energy
• Laser wavefront correction
• Homogenisers
• Beam shapers
• Lens Arrays
• Imaging systems