High-precision glass optical devices with complex shapes are key components of innovative products in large-scale and growing markets such as laser technology, medical technology, digital imaging, automotive industry and sensor systems. Glass optical devices of this nature can be manufactured economically in the isothermal precision glass moulding process.

It involves heating and moulding glass billets in the form of spherical, polishing discs or wafers between two ultra-precision half-dies, and then cooling them under controlled conditions. The net-shape optical device can then be released from the die. We use a specially developed internal anti-wear coating to ensure an economical tool life despite high forming temperature and force.

Precision glass moulding opens up a variety of geometric shapes and glass types. Compared with traditional grinding and polishing processes, precision glass moulding is a duplication process, which is very suitable for manufacturing optical elements with special complex geometric shapes, such as aspheric surfaces, diffraction structures, lens arrays or free-form optical elements.