Lithium fluoride wedge plates are high-performance optical components known for their exceptional ultraviolet and infrared transmission, superior chemical stability, and precise beam deviation control. Manufactured from high-purity LiF, these wedge-shaped plates offer outstanding optical clarity, minimal scattering, and durability, making them essential for laser optics, spectroscopy, aerospace applications, and precision scientific instruments. Their moisture resistance and thermal stability ensure reliable performance in demanding optical environments.
Product Overview
Lithium Fluoride (LiF) wedge plates are specialized optical elements, typically made from lithium fluoride crystals, featuring a unique wedge shape. This design helps prevent interference effects (Etalon effect) caused by reflections from high-parallelism windows and reduces optical feedback interference in the laser cavity, thereby improving laser output stability and avoiding mode hopping. Lithium fluoride is a high-performance optical crystal with a wide transmission range, particularly known for its excellent transmission in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) range, the highest among known materials. It is widely used in ultraviolet and infrared optical systems, including windows, lenses, and prisms.
Key Features
- Wide Transmission Range: Lithium fluoride has a broad transmission range from 110 nm to 6600 nm, making it suitable for ultraviolet, visible, and infrared optical systems.
- High Transmission: Especially in the vacuum ultraviolet range, lithium fluoride offers the highest transmission among known materials.
- Excellent Infrared Properties: In the mid-to-long infrared (3-5 µm and 8-14 µm) ranges, lithium fluoride provides outstanding transmission, making it ideal for infrared lasers and night vision devices.
- High Transparency: The material’s exceptional transparency ensures stable optical performance.
- High Temperature and Chemical Resistance: Lithium fluoride has good high-temperature resistance and is chemically stable, making it suitable for harsh environments.
- Interference Effect Prevention: The wedge design effectively eliminates interference effects caused by reflections from high-parallelism windows, reducing feedback interference in laser systems.
Applications
- Ultraviolet Optical Systems: With its high transmission in the ultraviolet range, lithium fluoride wedge plates are widely used in UV optical systems, including UV lasers and spectrometers.
- Infrared Optical Applications: Used as key window materials in infrared lasers and night vision devices, providing excellent optical performance.
- Optical Instruments: Widely used in the manufacture of optical lenses, windows, and prisms, enhancing the performance and stability of optical systems.
- Aerospace Optical Systems: Suitable for optical windows and lenses in spacecraft, providing high transparency and stability.
- Laser Systems: Used in laser systems, particularly in environments where high laser output stability is required, ensuring stable laser performance.
- Environmental Detection and Protection: Lithium fluoride wedge plates can also be used as protective windows for electronic sensors and environmental detectors, effectively isolating the internal components from external conditions to ensure their safety.
Optical Property | Value |
Transmission Range | 0.11-7 μm |
Transmittance | >94.8%@0.6μm |
Reflection Loss | 5.2%@0.6μm (both surfaces) |
Absorption Coefficient | 5.9×10⁻³@4.3μm |
Structure | Cubic Crystal System |
Cleavage Planes | <100 |
Physical Property | Value |
Density | 2.639 g/cm³ |
Melting Point | 848 ℃ |
Thermal Conductivity | 11.3 W/(m·K) @ 314K |
Thermal Expansion | 37.0×10⁻⁶/K @ 283K |
Knoop Hardness | 415 kg/mm² |
Specific Heat Capacity | 1562 J/(kg·K) |
Dielectric Constant | 7.33 @ 1 MHz |
Young's Modulus | 64.79 GPa |
Shear Modulus | 55.14 GPa |
Bulk Modulus | 62.03 GPa |
Poisson's Coefficient | 0.22 |
Chemical Property | Value |
Solubility | 2.7 g/L @ 20℃ |
Molecular Weight | 25.9394 g/mol |
Parameter | Range |
Diameter Range | 2-300 mm |
Thickness | 0.12-60 mm |
Surface Finish | 80-50, 60-40, 40-20, 20-10, 10-5 |
Surface Accuracy | λ/2, λ/4, λ/8, λ/10 |
Parallelism | <3' - 30" |
Aperture Transmission | >90% |
Coating | Customizable |