Etalon

 Solid etalons are used to select a very narrow set of wavelengths in transmission, or to reduce the bandwidth of a source.  The solid etalons available from our catalog are made of high quality UV-grade fused silica, precisely polished for high surface quality, low transmitted wave-front error, and ultra-low wedge.  They are then coated with a partially reflective e-beam dielectric film, with reflectivity ranging from 30% to 97%.  Our catalog etalons are offered purely as a semi-custom part to allow you to select the thickness, wavelength, and reflectivity needed, with delivery in less than 2 weeks.

In addition to semi-custom capabilities, we offer fully customized solid etalons.  The coating, diameter, thickness, and mechanical tolerances can be optimized to your specific application.  Our technical staff is available to help you specify the exact characteristics and performance needed to optimize your solid etalon design.

Application:

Telecom
Medical Laser system
Industrial Q-Switch Laser system
 
 

Capabilities

 
Standard & Semi-custom
Additional Custom Options
Types
Solid
 
Materials
UV-grade fused silica
Infrasil, crystal quartz and Suprasil 1
Diameter
25.4 mm
Up to 100 mm
Thickness
0.25 to 15.0 mm
Minimum 10 μm
Coatings
Partially reflective dielectric,
from 30% to 97% reflectivity
Partially reflective dielectric,
from 10% to 99% reflectivity
Quality
Laser quality
See manufacturing tolerances below
 

Solid Etalon Manufacturing Capabilities

 
Surface Tolerances
Standard
Laser Quality
High Precision
Surface quality (scratch - dig)
40 - 20
10 - 5
5 - 2
Transmitted wavefront error
(P-V @ 633 nm before coating)
λ/2
λ/10
λ/20
Effective finesse
 
0.22 to 13.4
Up to 50
Dimensional Tolerances
Standard
Precision
High Precision
Diameter (mm)
+0.000 / -0.250
+0.000 / -0.025
+0.000 / -0.005
Etalon thickness (mm)
± 0.250
± 0.150
± 0.010
Wedge
≤ 5 arc min
≤ 1 arc sec
≤ 0.5 arc sec
Clear aperture (%)
≥ 85%
≥ 90%
100%