1. General
2. Polarizers, notch filters
2.1 Handling
2.2 Cleaning procedure
3. Salt crystal
3.1 Handling
3.2 Cleaning procedure
4. Conventional optics
4.1 Handling
4.2 Cleaning procedure
1. General
Dear
Customer!
Thank you
very much for purchasing from Tydex.
Please read
carefully present manual before opening and using delivered component(s) with
special attention to appropriate chapter describing how to handle with certain
type of optics.
Optical
components should be handled by authorized personnel only.
It is
important to closely follow the recommended handling, storage, and cleaning
instructions with all optically related products in order to insure their
proper performance.
Delivered components
were initially cleaned and packed carefully in accordance with approved packing
rules and style taking into account properties of the materials.
Each
element "as is" is completely ready to be adjusted and utilized itself as well as
a part of optical system.
Careful additional
cleaning may be applied if visual inspection of working surfaces of the components
is not enough good by opinion of quality controller and traces of cosmetic
imperfections seems to be visible. All these works are made on customer' own
account.
At cleaning
please diligently follow the recommendations below or contact us for
consultation.
Vendor does not
guarantee correct working efficiency of delivered components if demands of this
manual were neglected.
Any components whose surface quality
is critical should be handled in such a way that no foreign matter,
particularly grease, touches the surface. They should be held only by the edge
with cloth, rubber gloves, or finger cots previously cleaned with alcohol or
detergent and water. Holding by the edge with bare fingers leaves grease on it
as well as at working optical surfaces.
At storing
or before additional shipping run the optics should also be protected as much
as possible from dust and other influences of environment. Tydex' original packing
boxes and packing style are highly recommended.
While
providing a completely dust free environment may not be feasible; a cover
directly over the component should be used as most dust travels straight down.
Many types of
contaminants such as residual oils, acids, or solvents, can permanently damage
coatings and substrates.
2. Polarizers, notch filters
2.1 Handling
The optical surface of ruled optics is very
sensitive to mechanical shocks, contaminations and chemicals. So please take a
special care about such optics. All ruled optics is supplied either in mount or
in casing with its face up. To remove the optical component, carefully hold it
with edges without touching the face. Never
touch the grooved surface of the optics! Handle the parts using powder-free
gloves by holding the optics by its edges only. Never allow any mount or cover
to come in contact with the grooved surface.
An optics delivered should have its surface
protected with a specially-designed cover that does not touch the surface
itself. Optical parts those are not in use, either in the laboratory or on the
manufacturing floor, should be kept in a closed box when not covered.
Do not talk or breathe over the grooved surface.
Wear a nose and face mask when it is required that you talk over the surface of
a part. Breath spray is particularly bad for working surfaces, so one should
not speak directly over the surface; instead, either turn away or cover the
mouth (with the hand or a surgical mask).
2.2. Cleaning
procedure
The most important recommendation for ruled
optics cleaning is clean the surface in case of absolute necessity only. The
ruled surface is recommended to clean applying pure air flow out of a rubber bulb
to blow dust off (no compressed air!).
In most cases this procedure is enough. If after visual inspection the
contamination remains on the surface you may need to wash your optical part in
fresh 0.1% soap solution of distilled water at 35-40°C. To do this one needs to immerse
the part into soap solution and rinse within 3 to 5 minutes, stirring the
solution with cotton swab without touching mirror surface of the optics; take
the part off the solution and rinse with fresh distilled water flow; drops left
on the mirror surface should be blown off with rubber bulb only. Don't use cotton wool, squirrel brush or
any other accessories for drying! Ruled optics rinsing must be fulfilled by
specialists familiar with grating features and optic handling only!
3. Salt crystal
3.1. Handling
A special care should be taken about optics
made of KBr, KCl, and NaCl. Please open and use this optics under special
conditions only. The humidity of environment should not be higher than 30% when
you open any water-soluble materials. Please follow all handling instructions
as above (section 2.1).
KBr: Hygroscopic and must be used with
anhydrous solvents. It withstands thermal and mechanical shock well, but must
not be used with aqueous samples, glycerol, and the lower alcohols. A hard
optical coating can provide additional protection from humidity. Store KBr in
desiccators or at heated cabinet.
KCl: Hygroscopic and must be used with
anhydrous solvents. It withstands thermal and mechanical shock well, but must
not be used with lower molecular weight alcohols. A hard optical coating can
provide additional protection from humidity. Store KCl in desiccators or at
heated cabinet.
NaCl: Harder and less hygroscopic than
KBr. NaCl must be used with anhydrous solvents. It withstands thermal and
mechanical shock well, but must not be used with lower alcohols or glycerol. Store
NaCl in desiccators or at heated cabinet. A hard optical coating can provide
additional protection from humidity.
3.2. Cleaning procedure
In case of absolute necessity cleaning of such
optics should be made by special authorized personal only. Don't clean water-soluble optics by yourself!
4. Conventional optics
4.1. Handling
Please
follow all handling recommendations described in General (section 1).
4.2. Cleaning procedure
For
cleaning of your optics please use a high quality equipment and tooling.
Materials
used for cleaning of majority of optical components include pressurized gas
(filtered dry nitrogen), lint-free lens tissue, mild soap, lint-free cotton
swabs, lint or powder-free gloves and an organic solvent, such as reagent-grade
isopropyl alcohol, reagent-grade acetone, or lens cleaning solution. The
following are general guidelines but, because results differ, there are no
guarantees.
Uncoated optics. One should prepare working area accordingly. This is very important
because particulate contamination from the work surface or the worker is what
usually scratches the coating. Clear the table of everything and wear clean
clothing. Work as still as possible so as not to shake particles out of your
hair while cleaning. Work in a darkened room under a freshly cleaned high
intensity desk lamp so that the reflection of a bright source of light on a
dark background will allow you to see what you are doing. Be sure that the work
surface will not be eaten by methanol. Read all precautions regarding the safe
use of methanol and follow all storage and handling instructions. Any area
containing optics should prohibit smoking. Smoke vapor deposits are difficult
to remove from optical surfaces. Unless otherwise noted, all methods of
cleaning (vacuum, dry nitrogen, brush, cotton, and/or lens tissue) are
performed from the center of the surface to its edges. The applicator (cotton,
lens tissue) should be rotated as the cleaning advances, always presenting a
clean surface to the object being cleaned.
Dust is
the most common contaminant and can usually be removed using pressurized gas.
If more cleaning is necessary, hold the lens in lens tissue and apply a few
drops of reagent-grade acetone or lens cleaning solution. Slowly turn the lens
while applying pressure in the center and working outward, to pull dirt off the
lens instead of redistributing it on the surface. Fingerprints on a coated lens
should be cleaned as soon as possible to avoid staining or damaging the optic.
Larger dirt particles, however, should be removed with a dust-free blower
before attempting to clean the optic with lens tissue. Larger particles trapped
under the cloth will scratch the surface you are attempting to clean. If the
lens is still dirty after using acetone - for instance, if the oil was just
redistributed and not cleaned off the optic - then a mild soap solution can be
used to gently wash the lens. Repeat the procedure with acetone and finish it
with isopropyl alcohol to eliminate streaks and soap residue.
Coated optics. The above procedure will work well for all kind
of optics both uncoated and coated. The elements coated with bare Au or other
exotic materials that are not over-coated with protective layer may be too
sensitive for ordinary cleaning methods. The cleaning procedure for coated
optics is almost the same as above for uncoated optics, but due to coating more
attention to care of the surface is required. If repeated cleaning of coated
optics is required it is recommended the use of distilled water to be used more
frequently than the cleaning fluid and to apply the smallest amount of pressure
when wiping the surface with lens tissue paper.
The final
step is careful inspection the surfaces of the optics under proper quality
control conditions.
We hope you
will be satisfied with quality and performance of Tydex optics.
