Manufacturing and Assembly
Diamond Turned Components and Assemblies

LightWorks Optics has developed many state-of-the-art processes to optimize dimensional accuracy, optical surface figure, and mechanical stability of diamond turned substrates. Furthermore, one of our flagship products utilizing this process, the IRST Integrated Optical Assembly, has been in production for over two decades.

Our founders were instrumental in developing the Diamond Turning process used to produce the first truly high-performance “snap-together” off-axis imaging system. And our current technical team has expanded on these capabilities even further. We commonly design many features into our products that take advantage of diamond turning's superior accuracy. These features allow for more accurate alignment plus reduced labor in integration and alignment.

In the past several years, our diamond turned products have seen an exponential growth in demand for many applications. These include: missile warning optical systems, IR sensing systems for Homeland Security, infrared search and track systems, a broad range of transmissive IR optics and systems, snap-together telescope designs, numerous reflective TMA telescopes, and focal plane array back thinning.

In early 2008, we expanded our diamond turning and diamond fly-cutting capacity by introducing the capability to produce in higher volumes. In total, we now have seven diamond turning centers.

LightWorks Optics' exacting diamond turning assembly and components capabilities provide:

• Environmentally controlled facilities
• Machines customized to LightWorks Optics' specifications
• On-machine profilometry
• All IR materials, including AMTIR
• Metals, including nickel plating
• CaFL
• Plastic materials
• Binary/diffractive surfaces
• Free form; non-rotational symmetries
• Five axis control
• Customized servo
• Hyperboloids
• Toroids
• Ellipsoids
• Parabloids
• Hyper-hemispherical domes
• Steep aspheric surfaces
• Form TalySurf (surface figure measurements)
• TalySurf machine designed to enable aspheric profile verification over full 90 degree aspheric components on production programs
• Surface roughness < 25 nm
• Design feature precision to < 1 um
• High volume throughput
• Substrate sizes < 700 mm

Optical Design and Engineering | Mechanical Design and Engineering | Manufacturing Engineering, Integration and Test | Turnkey Solutions | Aspheric and High Complexity Components | High Volume Production