Need an Asphere Fast?

With the world’s largest selection of off-the-shelf Plano-Convex (PCX) lenses, Edmund Optics has an incredible array of starting solutions for your aspheric needs. By modifying the conic constant of any of our off-the-shelf PCX lenses, an aspheric lens can be quickly and accurately manufactured. Just select the starting lens (by choosing your desired diameter and focal length), and let us know the wavelength of your light source. We’ll modify that spherical lens with a grinding and polishing process to produce an aspheric lens with diffraction-limited focusing performance at your required wavelength. If you need other modifications, such as a smaller diameter or custom coating, we can do that too!

Example: If your application requires a 40mm diameter, 80mm focal length lens, operating at 852.1nm, we can quickly modify a standard PCX lens to meet those needs. By introducing a negative conic constant and removing about 400 microns of material, you'll end up with an aspheric lens that significantly outperforms the original PCX lens.

Note: Aspheric lenses produced using the PCX to asphere conversion process should be used in reverse. Whereas traditional aspheres are used with the aspheric side facing the light source, these lenses should be used with the plano side facing the light source.

Figure 1: 40mm Diameter x 80mm Focal Length PCX-to-Asphere Conversion