Optics for Commercial and Military Imaging Applications

Precision Optics

G&H manufactures precision optical components and assemblies for applications in research, industry and defense. Our products for laser cavity and beam conditioning include active and passive components as well as nonlinear crystals. Our custom lenses and housed subassemblies find application in transmission and imaging. Much of our business involves creating high quality, custom optics for volume OEM applications and unique optics for research. Our ring laser gyro mirrors are used by every commercial airline in the world. We have provided 0.5x0.5 m KDP waveplates into national ignition facilities. From components to modules, the deep vertical integration of our supply chain allows us to maintain control over design, materials and processes, while ensuring quality and security of supply.

We manufacture optical components in a wide variety of materials. We offer precision optical finishes on engineered parts, including crystals. Our in-house coating capability delivers high quality AR, HR, broadband and narrowband coatings. Hy-Per Bond™, our adhesive-free bonding process, creates strong, environmentally stable joints with zero outgassing. Our knowledge of optical and mechanical properties of materials combined with the ability to handle all aspects of component manufacture within a single company ensures the highest quality product, from a lens to a complex, multi-faceted CNC machined glass part. All precision optics sites are ISO9001 compliant. We support our customers in the defense, aerospace, industrial, and life sciences sectors through:

compliance with international export regulations
quality accreditations
commitment to continuous improvement
maximum security of supply
adherence to demanding technical specifications
low cost sourcing for uncontrolled components

Laser Cavity and Beam Conditioning

G&H manufactures optical components used within laser cavities and for external beam shaping. We customize and optimize these components for each customer’s individual application.

Corner cubes, prisms, alignment wedges
Waveplates, retarders, depolarizers
Mirrors, output couplers, calibrated leaky mirrors, attenuating filters
Acousto-optic and electro-optic components
Laser rods, frequency multiplying crystals

Low power continuous wave (CW) laser systems achieve maximum performance when designed using optics exhibiting extremely low scatter and absorption. These systems benefit from superpolishing techniques and Ion Beam Sputtered (IBS) coatings. High laser power industrial and defense systems require high laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) performance for nanosecond pulses; they may also require bandpass, band blocking, and polarizing functions across wide environmental conditions. Our custom dielectric coatings can meet these needs. Our technical team of engineers and optical designers are here to advise our customers in achieving the best compromise between performance and cost.

Transmission & Imaging

Transmission and imaging is a broad field involving the use of precision optical components, mounted optics, sub-assemblies and integrated modules. It may involve UV, visible, SWIR (short-wave infrared), MWIR (mid-wave infrared), or LWIR (long-wave infrared) light. Transmission Imaging

Lenses are crucial to the performance of transmission and imaging systems. G&H has developed considerable expertise and manufacturing capabilities in precision lens manufacturing. Our aspheric lenses are used to reduce the lens count in multi-lens arrays, offering weight and cost savings. We use single point diamond turning to create long-wavelength, large diameter diffractive aspheric lenses with high optical performance and reduced weight.

Spherical, aspheric, and single point diamond turned lenses
Magneto-rheological finishing (MRF®) linked to sub-aperture stitching (SSI) interferometery
Optical coatings from deep UV, through visible and IR, to LWIR
Doublets, triplets, housed subassemblies
Advanced optical metrology

Our dedicated optical and mechanical engineers use powerful design tools to create custom individual components. Optical modules are assembled in controlled cleanrooms direct from the component manufacturing floor. Our vertically integrated supply chain enables us to create lens subassemblies and modules with less risk of damage and contamination while retaining complete control over our supply chain.

Research Grade Mirrors & Substrates

We have developed superpolishing capabilities when combined with robust Ion Beam Sputtered (IBS) coatings create high surface figure and surface quality mirrors:

Laser cavity and beam routing mirrors – high LDT coatings, enhanced metal coatings
Synchrotron mirrors – low scatter, high surface figure, high surface quality
Silicon carbide (SiC) mirrors – low mass, thermally stable mirrors for aerospace applications
Ring laser gyro mirrors (RLGs), frames, and diaphragms – for navigation and guidance systems in aerospace and defense