Prisms

Prisms are blocks of optical material with flat polished sides arranged at precisely controlled angles to each other, which deflect, deviate and rotate beams of light as well as dispersing their wavelengths.

There are many types of prism, each having a particular geometry to achieve the reflections necessary to perform a specific imaging task. Reflecting prisms may invert, rotate, deviate or displace a beam. Dispersing prisms produce spectral separation for spectroscopic applications or for tuning a laser output.

Dream Lasers offers many kinds of high precision prisms, but please keep in mind that selection of the most suitable prism is primarily dependent on the application.

Prism Type
Material
Applications

Penta Prism

BK7

Penta prism can deviate an incident beam without inverting or reversing to 90°. The deviation angle of 90°is independent of any rotation of the prism about an axis parallel to the line of intersection of the two reflecting faces. It is commonly used in Plumb Level, Surveying, Alignment, Rangefinding and Optical Tooling.

Please refer to this page for more information about Penta Prisms.

Beamsplitter Penta Prism

BK7

By adding a wedge and with partial refractive coating on surfaces S1, it can be used as a beamsplitter. It is often used in Plumb Level, Surveying, Alignment, Rangefinding and Optical Tooling.

Please refer to this page for more information about Beamsplitter Penta Prisms.

Right Angle Prisms

BK7
Fused Silica

Right angle prism is deviating or deflecting a beam of light with 90° or 180°.It is often used in telescope, periscope and other optical system.

Please refer to this page for more information about Right Angle Prisms.

Dove Prism

BK7

Dove prism has two applications. The main application is used as a rotator. It can rotate an image but without deviating the beam. And when the prism is rotated about the input parallel ray through some angle, the image rotates through twice that angle. Another application is used as a retroreflector. For this application it perform as a right-angle prism.

Please refer to this page for more information about Dove Prisms.

Roof Prism

BK7

Roof prism is combined with a right angle prism and a totally internally reflecting roof and they are attached by them largest square surfaces. It can invert and reverse an image, also, deflect the image 90° . Therefore, it is often used in terrestrial telescopes, viewing systems and rangefinders.

Please refer to this page for more information about Roof Prisms.

Corner Cube Retroflector

BK7

It has three mutually perpendicular surfaces and a hypotenuse face. Light entering through the hypotenuse is reflected by each of the three surfaces in turn and will emerge through the hypotenuse face parallel to the entering beam regardless of the orientation the incident beam. For its special performance, it is often used to the distance measurement, optical signal process and laser interferometer.

Please refer to this page for more information about Corner Cube Retroflector.

Anamorphic Prism

SF11

These two prisms can expand or contract the beam in one direction without any changes in the other direction. By adjusting the angles among the incident beam and two prisms, the shape of the beam can be changed. It is very easy to turn elliptical bean into circular beam.

BK7
Fused Silica
SF-14

Dispersing prisms are used for wavelength separation applications. A light ray is twice refracted through the prism with a total deviation of qd. Deviation is a function of refractive index, and hence wavelength.

Wedge Prism

BK7
Fused Silica

Wedge prisms have similar function with optical windows. They all can be used as isolating components. Wedges may be used to produce a small deviation, which don't allow return to the source.

Please refer to this page for more information about Wedge Prisms.