Use Cases for Cylinder Lenses - custom-optics.rossoptical.com

Unlike conventional spherical lenses, a cylindrical lens features curvature along only one axis. A plano-convex cylindrical lens, for example, effectively focuses parallel rays into a line, proving to be a crucial optical component in various applications.

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Cylinder lenses are primarily used for beam shaping applications. The term "shape" in this context pertains to the beam's brightness profile across its cross-section, which is perpendicular to the direction of travel. By employing cylindrical lenses, designers can independently adjust the focal lengths along each axis. Consequently, a combination of cylindrical lenses with varied focal lengths can serve as an effective substitute for more costly aspheric lenses.

Here are three key use cases for which cylinder lenses are ideally suited:

• Line Generators: One of the primary applications of cylindrical lenses is expanding light beams into a two-dimensional "fan" shape. This fan shape generates a line when it illuminates an object, making it integral to devices such as barcode scanners and laser levels.
• Side-Emitting Diode Laser Collimators: Diode lasers with rectangular apertures produce astigmatic beams, causing them to expand at different rates along horizontal and vertical axes. Utilizing a cylindrical lens, which focuses light along a single axis, can correct these mismatched focal lengths, resulting in a uniformly circular beam.
• Anamorphic Illumination: To illuminate a rectangular area efficiently, merely blocking out the unwanted light from a circular beam proves wasteful. Instead, employing two crossed cylindrical lenses in sequence can generate a rectangular illumination field with minimal light loss. This method has been successfully applied in street lighting setups.

These scenarios illustrate how cylindrical lenses can replicate aspheric behavior without incurring the high costs associated with traditional aspheric lenses. By strategically employing cylindrical lenses, significant cost reductions can be achieved in optical systems while simultaneously enhancing performance. At Ross Optical, we offer a diverse range of specialized cylindrical optics and have the capabilities to custom-fabricate cylinder lenses for particular needs.

For detailed insights regarding cylindrical lenses for imaging sensors, reach out to us for an expert consultation. Our engineering team is eager to collaborate on your project and ensures its success!

Discover more about cylindrical optics for beam shaping and their applications in various fields as we dive deeper into the fascinating world of optics.