This section provides an overview for cylindrical lenses as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 14 cylindrical lens manufacturers and their company rankings.
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A Cylinder lens (Cylindrical lens) is a lens in the shape of a cylinder (cylindrical). It has a mantle shape with a portion of the side surface of the cylinder cut out.
The incident plane of the lens is divided into two components, the x-axis, and the y-axis. Only one axis has a curvature that acts as a lens, while the other has no curvature and acts merely as a window. Therefore, only one direction of the image is enlarged/reduced.
This is used to change the magnification of the image in only one direction.
Cylinder lenses convert a laser beam into a line (laser line generator) to focus light on a slit aperture or line sensor. They can also collimate an elliptical beam of a semiconductor laser with different spread angles in two orthogonal directions into a circular beam to obtain a parallel beam (collimating).
For image processing applications, it is used to correct astigmatism and to enlarge/reduce the height of an image in only one axis direction.
Specifically, they have significant roles in laser printers, photocopiers, barcode scanning, laser projectors, holography equipment, laser markers, etc.
Cylindrical lenses can have a variety of shapes, including rectangular, square, circular, and elliptical. Plano-convex shapes diverge light, while plano-convex shapes focus light. Extending the total length of a cylindrical lens along a non-curvature axis does not affect the optical power of the lens.
For example, when a narrow laser beam is injected into a cylindrical lens, a flat laser beam is emitted because the beam is diffused in the direction with curvature (direction perpendicular to the matrix). In contrast, in the direction without curvature (along the matrix), the beam is the thickness of the original laser beam.
When looking at the laser surface spread like a sheet with a camera, objects crossing the sheet will shine through, and the position, size, and speed of these objects can be examined. A typical example is the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method.
Also, when a sheet of light is shone on a wall, a straight line is drawn, which can be combined with a level to project a highly accurate horizontal line. This is called a laser marker and is utilized on construction sites.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Newport Glass is based in Stanton, California. Newport Glass stocks fabricate from and distribute material made by glass manufacturers such as Hoya, Ohara, Schott Glass, and Corning. Newport Glass serves numerous industries including aerospace, commercial, industrial, electronics, optical, and more. Newport glass specializes in over 30 material categories including fused silica, ceramic, plastic, and over 300 types of optical materials. Additionally, Newport provides services including sawing, refinishing, curve engineering, and custom molded parts.
SUMITA New Glass & Fiber Optics, established in 1953, is a manufacturer and supplier headquartered in Saitama, Japan, specializing in the production and distribution of light and optical glass products. The company's range of products includes optical glass materials, aspherical/specialty lenses, optical devices, small lens units, and fiber optic components. These products find applications in industrial equipment, automobiles, medical devices, energy, and measurement devices. They hold certifications such as ISO9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, and ISO14001:2015.
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