The plano-concave cylindrical lens forms a diverging linear virtual image, which is used to control the size of the light beam in one direction. Combined with a plano-convex cylindrical lens, it can be used to shape the elliptical beam of a semiconductor laser into a circular beam. Cylindrical mirrors can be used in projection systems, imaging systems, optical instruments, and laser measurement systems.
Example with BK7 material: These N-BK7 biconvex lenses are available uncoated or with one of five antireflection coatings (-A, -AB, -B, -C, or -D), which reduce the amount of light reflected from each surface of the lens (see the Selection Guide table below for coating option). Since approximately 4% of the incident light is reflected at each surface of an uncoated substrate, the application of an AR coating improves transmission, which is important in low-light applications, and prevents the undesirable effects (e.g., ghost images) associated with multiple reflections. Having optics that are AR coated on both surfaces is particularly desirable for applications utilizing multiple optical elements. Please see the Graphs tab for additional coating information.
| N-BK7 Biconvex Lens Selection Guide | ||
| Coating name | wavelength band |  |
| Uncoated | Uncoated | |
| A Coating | 350nm-700nm | |
| AB Coating | 400nm-1100nm | |
| B Coating | 650nm-1050nm | |
| C Coating | 1050-1700nm | |
| D Coating | 1650nm-3000nm | |
