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Common Treatment and Cleaning Methods for Optical Lenses
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When handling optical lenses, special procedures are followed to maximize performance and longevity. In everyday use, optical components are exposed to contaminants such as dust, moisture and skin oils. These contaminants can increase the scattering and absorption of the incident light by the optical surface, thereby creating a hot spot on the optical surface and causing damage. Coated optical elements are particularly susceptible to such damage.
This guide covers common handling and cleaning procedures for various optical lenses. Due to the different materials, size, and refinement of optical components, it is very important to use the correct processing and cleaning methods. Proper approach to one optical element may damage another optical element. For this reason, we recommend that you read this guide in its entirety before cleaning your optics. If you are using an optical component or its category is not mentioned in this guide, contact the manufacturer of the optical component for treatment and cleaning methods.
The number of clean optical lenses can be reduced, and the use of appropriate treatment techniques can increase their service life. Please keep the optical lens in a clean and temperature-controlled environment. Do not handle the optical lens directly by hand, because skin oil can damage the surface of the optical element. Instead, you can wear gloves to operate the optics. For smaller optical elements, it is more convenient to use optical tweezers or vacuum tweezers. Regardless of the method used to clamp the optical element, only non-optical surfaces, such as the frosted edge of the optical element, are clamped.
Importance: Holographic gratings, grooved gratings, unprotected metal mirrors on the first side, and thin-film beamsplitters that touch the optical surface by hand or optical manipulation equipment (this is not a detailed list). These surfaces are particularly sensitive, and any physical contact can cause damage.
Caution: Most crystals (e. g., calcite, beam splitters, lithium niobate crystals, electro-optic modulators) are susceptible to temperature burst when exposed to thermal shock. Therefore, before opening, we must ensure that the packaging and items are placed in a stable temperature environment. These crystals are more fragile than ordinary optical elements, so care is taken during cleaning.
Never place optical elements on hard surfaces, as contamination of the optical elements or their surfaces can wear the optical elements. Instead, most optical components should be wrapped in lens paper and stored in a storage box designed for optical components. Normally, these boxes will be kept in the environment, the ambient humidity is low, the cleanliness is high, and the temperature is controlled. Optical components are easily scratched or contaminated, and some optical coating components are hygroscopic, so proper storage is essential for the protection of optical components.
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