• Gradient index lenses for high power laser delivery
• Aspheric performance
• Smaller focused spot size
• Single lens replacement for conventional doublets
• High performance, cost effective
• Standard designs with diameters from 5 mm to 80 mm
• GRADIUM® Lens Optical Design Specifications
• GRADIUM® Lens Anti-Reflective Coatings

Ideal for high power applications, GRADIUM® lenses and their gradient-index structure often allow a GRADIUM® singlet to replace a conventional spherical doublet. GRADIUM® lenses can be custom designed for visible or near infrared applications in diameters from 5 mm to over 100 mm. GRADIUM® doublets are also available for better achromatic performance and can equal the performance of conventional triplets.

GRADIUM® lenses are made from LightPath’s proprietary axial gradient index glass. Its unique refractive qualities can be exploited to reduce spherical aberrations – resulting in performance similar to single-term aspheres. They have been very well received for use in high-power industrial laser systems; many of the world’s largest Nd:YAG and fiber laser manufacturers now incorporate GRADIUM® optics in their laser delivery systems.

GRADIUM® lenses have been applied as simple singlets or doublets in complex multi-element systems. LightPath’s achromatic doublets are designed for use with collimated, polychromatic light in the visible spectrum. The GRADIUM® glass element is used to reduce the spherical aberration which is a common side effect of a cemented doublet design.

GRADIUM® glass offers the additional benefit of chromatic correction. The dispersion, as well as the optical index, varies in a controlled fashion within the lens. A finished lens can be viewed as a seamless, contiguous combination of many glass types. This continuous variation results in a transfer aberration correction not possible with homogeneous lenses.

GRADIUM® lenses should be used wherever small spot size, high numerical aperture (NA), increased beam energy, or excellent wavefront quality is important. A GRADIUM® singlet does not have the limited laser damage threshold of a conventional cemented doublet, so laser power can be increased, leading to increased production throughput.

LightPath would be happy to design a custom GRADIUM® lens to meet your individual specifications. We can customize the focal length, diameter, and design wavelength to meet your specific needs. Lenses can also be provided with custom anti-reflective coatings or mounted in custom housings.

GRADIUM® DuraYAG™ Optics Module

Anti-Reflective Coatings

All of LightPath's Nd:YAG lenses and modules are available with high quality anti-reflective coatings. The VC-8 coating is designed to withstand the high power, rugged environment of YAG laser manufacturing. Reflectivity is typically less than <0.15% per surface and guaranteed to be <0.25% at 1064nm. GRADIUM® lenses and DuraYAG™ modules have been tested at the Fraunhofer Institute and are suitable for applications up to 4000 watts CW. If you need coatings for applications which are greater than 4000 watts CW, a LightPath representative would be happy to discuss your requirements.

24-Hour Quick Replacement Priority Plan

LightPath's Quick Replacement Priority Plan provides 24 hour delivery of your DuraYAG™ module to replace an assembly that has failed. LightPath offers GRADIUM® lenses and modules off-the-shelf for most common YAG laser systems and heads including Trumpf®, Rofin-Sinar®, GSI Lumonics®, Precitec® and others. Customized optics and modules can also be designed for your specific application.