Feb 18 2016
Meller Optics, Inc. has introduced a line of sapphire and ruby balls which can be precision ground into lenses featuring short focal lengths for micro air vehicles or fly-sized insect drones used in military surveillance.
Suitable for fabricating short focal length micro lenses, Meller Sapphire & Ruby Balls can be precision ground into plano-convex lenses.
Meller Sapphire and Ruby Balls feature 9 Moh hardness, which is second only to diamond and, come in 42 inch and metric sizes from 0.1mm to 0.5" dia. with 0.000025" sphericity and ±0.0001" basic diameter tolerance. Suitable for fabricating short focal length micro lenses, they can be precision ground into plano-convex lenses with surface finishes to 80-20 scratch-dig.
Unaffected by fast moving dirt and impervious to most chemicals, solvents, and detergents, Meller Sapphire and Ruby Balls crafted into lenses for micro air vehicle applications are available A/R coated and provide 85 to 98% typical transmission, depending upon application. Applications for balls include bearings, check valves, stylus tips, and fiber optic lens systems.
Meller Sapphire and Ruby Balls are priced according to material, size, and quantity; delivered from stock. Samples and price quotations are available upon request.
Source: http://www.melleroptics.com/