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Optical Material Properties

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Optical Material Properties

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There are many things to consider before one can decide which material to use for the lenses in their applications. The most important material properties to take into consideration regarding a lens are: Index of Refraction Also known as the refractive index, is the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to its speed in the medium as light propagates through the medium. The refractive index is a description of how much the light slows down when it passes through certain optical material. This value also determines the angle at which light is refracted when entering or leaving the substance. Index of refraction ranges from 1 for vacuum, to about 1.8 for most common used optical glass. The index of refraction for any glass material varies slightly at different wavelength of light, resulting in unequal propagation for each individual wavelength, causing chromatic aberration. Generally, glasses that have high-index of refraction have higher dispersion, resulting greater chromatic aberration. These glasses are called flint glass, and are normally paired with a crown glass (glass with low index of refraction) to produce an achromat, which is used to correct for chromatic aberration.

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