On-Axis Parabolic Mirrors

Parabolic mirrors are the most common type of aspherical mirrors used in optical instruments. They are free from spherical aberrations, and thus focus the parallel beam to a point or point source to infinity. On-axis parabolic mirrors offer some advantages compared to off-axis paraboloids in that the achievable f-number is higher therefore allowing more energy to be concentrated. Generally also alignment of on-axis parabolic mirrors is less critical, thus easier.

Using proprietary production techniques - Optical Surfaces highly experienced and skilled production team are able to produce fast focusing on-axis parabolic mirrors with a surface accuracy of better than lambda/10 P-V and smoothness of 20/10 scratch/dig. Combining this excellent surface quality achieved during manufacturing with high reflectivity coatings enables researchers to achieve the high optical performance and efficiency required by even the most demanding experiments.