Custom Domes

Knight Optical can provide custom optical domes to our customers manufactured to individual specifications.

Our high quality domes can offer both excellent transmission and durability which is often essential when used in applications such as underwater imaging.

The substrate plays an important role, with different materials offering different advantages dependent on the application:

• N-BK7 (or equivalent) offers a tough, cost effective solution for VIS to NIR applications, it has high transmission between 300-2000nm and is virtually free of bubbles and inclusions. Knight Optical can provide precision BK7 optical domes directly from stock in 25mm to 100mm diameters, whilst custom domes can be manufactured in diameters of 350mm or more.
• UV fused silica is ideal for wavelengths below 400nm as UVFS transmits down to 180nm, we stock 50mm and 100mm UVFS domes.
• Sapphire is used for its rugged properties and is suitable for harsh environments where a softer material would risk damage. It is often the material of choice for domes that will be under a lot of pressure.
• Acrylic is lightweight and cost effective to produce in bulk. We can provide acrylic domes up to 2m, and a flange can be included to help with the mounting process. Hyper hemisphere domes are also
• Moulded glass, including filter glass, can be ideal when the optical domes specification is more niche.
• Optical domes can also be manufactured in materials transmitting in the UV and IR regions, this includes materials such as germanium, silicon, zinc selenide, and zinc sulphide.

Precision optical domes are used in a variety of industries including subsea, aerospace, military and meteorology. They are most often used as protective optic as their hemispherical shape makes them naturally stronger in high pressure environments and also allows for a wider field of view, when compared to their flat window counterparts, and critically, they do not disrupt the optical path.

Read our blog on dome ports vs flat ports.
 
Knight Optical can supply custom optical domes to meet your individual requirements, whether the domes are small or large, or need specialist coatings. All domes are tested in our state-of-the-art metrology department to ensure they meet your requirements.

Contact our multilingual technical sales team and discover how Knight Optical’s high quality domes and service can improve your instrumentation and supply chain experience.