Lenses can be found in objects that range from microscopes, lasers and other pieces of medical equipment, in the automobile industry for sensors and in self-driving vehicles and for security equipment.

What is optical design?

The business of lens design and manufacture is based on specifications of a particular client or object into which the lens will be housed. Optics is the science of light and is a branch of physics. Optics encompasses all aspects of the way light behaves in specific settings. The science of optics can answer the questions of: Why is the sky blue? How does a laser work? And why do magnifying glasses make object look larger?light_spectrum-0

Visible light is typically thought of when someone mentions optics, but there are many aspects of optics that deal with “invisible” light or bands of light on the electromagnetic spectrum. Optics measures light in various wavelengths and radio wavelengths.

What do optical engineers do?

Those who work in the optical field use optics in various forms to solve problems, design and build devices and help bend light into useful objects. The engineers need to understand and apply substantial details of the science of light and have an understanding of what is physically possible. Optical engineers also need to understand what is practical and what can realistically be accomplished to accommodate design needs.

An optical engineer could be involved in the design and production of lenses that will be used in lasers, telescopes, microscopes, fiber optic systems and more.

A lens designer becomes involved in the lens elements that will be housed in an optical system. Today’s lens designers are typically called optical designers. An optical lens designer could be involved in optical systems that include:

  1. Prisms
  2. Mirrors
  3. Scanners
  4. Filters
  5. Diffraction gratings
  6. Holographic elements
  7. Other optical components

Today’s lens designers could be involved in the lens design of reading glasses and bifocals, cameras, binoculars, movie projectors, medical endoscopes, lasers and more.

When lenses are designed, the engineers must first understand what the lens will be used for, what type of data needs to be collected or what function it will perform and a scope of the problem to be solved as well as the environment in which the object that is housing the lens will be used.

Universe Kogaku designs and manufactures optical lenses for industrial, medical, high tech and electronic applications. Standard and custom lens assemblies are also available for scanners, CCTV, CCD/CMOS, medical imaging, surveillance systems, machine vision and night vision systems.