"window" glass for 400-550nm

[Markus Unread]

I'm trying to come up with ways to ruggedize some of my lasers so that they can be used in drizzly weather. I can wet-proof things well, but I am uncertain about "window" glass. It would be great to find some thin anti-reflective glass, but I was even wondering about making sealing caps with, say, slide-cover glass as the window. Too much reflection for a 445?

Any suggestions would be welcome.

PS- I sort of expect the windows to be semi-disposable?

Thanks!
Mu

 

[Benm]

Microscope slides and such dont have any anti-reflective material, so wouldn't be a good choice. Provided you can cut the windows to size and shape yourself, i'd try the anti-reflection glass used for picture frames.

The coating on those is usually magnesium fluoride, and reduces the reflection from about 4% to 1%. The advantage of this material is that it is quite hard, so if you want something rugged, it would be better than dielectric coatings that come off when you clean water/dirt off the laser.

 

[Prototype]

http://laserpointerforums.com/f51/presenting-mokume-heatsink-43427.html

Scroll down to the bottom bit of Post One, the lens he used should work for you. (I think)

 

[andy_con]

if you want quality pay for it, if you want crap pay for it

heres quality

TECHSPEC® Anti-Reflection (AR) Coated High Efficiency Windows - Edmund Optics

i use this stuff for my projector windows and its awesome

 

[Benm]

Its not that expensive, is it? $13 for a 2 inch window would be fine for a projector.

Is the coating on those durable though? For a projector it doesnt matter, but on a ruggedized portable its like to face a bit of abuse. MgF2 is about as hard as glass - but it doesnt allow coatings that reduce reflection below about one percent.

 

[Markus Unread]

Its not that expensive, is it? $13 for a 2 inch window would be fine for a projector.

Is the coating on those durable though? For a projector it doesnt matter, but on a ruggedized portable its like to face a bit of abuse. MgF2 is about as hard as glass - but it doesnt allow coatings that reduce reflection below about one percent.

Yeah. It would be cost effective for me to get a 3x3 and cut into little windows, but I can't seem to find out what their CDAR coating is made of.

Also, for the cost of the UCL lenses, I'd just buy them as is. :yh: