We supply a wide range of anti-reflection coated germanium windows in a variety of shapes and sizes, both off the shelf and custom-made for your exact requirements.
Germanium (Ge) is a hard, high-density, IR transmitting material that blocks UV (ultraviolet) and VIS (visible) wavelengths but allows IR from 2µm. Germanium has the highest RI (refractive index) of commonly available IR-transmitters and has low optical dispersion.
Germanium transmits over 45% between 2-14?m up to 45?C, but transmission degrades slowly at 100?C then more rapidly above 200?C. Exposure to higher temperatures can lead to catastrophic failure in the material so Germanium is not suited for use in these conditions. Where weight is an issue, its relatively high density (5.327gm/cc) should be considered .
Typical applications for Germanium include thermal imaging where the material can be used as a front optic while its index of refraction makes Germanium useful for wide-angle lenses and microscopes. Additionally, Germanium components can be used for FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) and FTIR (Fourier Transformed Infrared) spectroscopy systems, alongside other analytical instruments.
