Here is a list of 31 optical components categories. It encompasses a wide range including microlens arrays, lenticular lenses, rod lenses, optical filters, etc. You can search for an overview, principle, and usage of each category, as well as find manufacturers and distributors.
An optical component is a generic term for components of optical devices that utilize the properties of light. They are also called optical elements.
Basic optical components include lenses, mirrors, filters, and prisms.
Lenses are optical components that focus or diverge light. They come in various shapes with different functions and are classified into spherical lenses, aspherical lenses, distributed refractive index lenses, and specially shaped lenses such as rod lenses. Fresnel lenses in the form of thin sheets, lenticular lenses with lenses arranged on a flat surface, and fly-eye lenses are also used in a wide range of fields.
Mirrors are optical components that reflect light and can be classified into flat mirrors, spherical mirrors, and free-form mirrors. In addition to shape, performance such as reflectance varies greatly depending on the coating type, such as metal film or derivative film.
Filters are optical components that reflect or absorb light and transmit only specific light. There are ND filters that adjust the amount of light, colored glass filters that absorb specific wavelengths, and polarization filters that transmit only specific polarization.
Prisms are optical components that reflect or disperse light according to wavelength, such as 45° right angle prisms, wedge prisms, corner cubes, and retro-reflectors. Since prisms also function as lenses and mirrors, they are sometimes used as substitutes for them.
Other typical optical components include beamsplitters, polarizers, optical modulators, and diffraction gratings.
Optical components are used in optical devices in a variety of fields. Examples include displays, projectors, cameras and other imaging equipment, telescopes, microscopes and other observation equipment, millimeter wave radars, spectrometers and other measurement equipment, CDs, DVDs and other storage devices, light bulbs, LEDs and other lighting equipment, optical fibers, etc.
Many optical components have application-specific names, such as LED lenses and CCTV lenses. There are also a number of optical components for which application-specific names are used, such as LED lenses and CCTV lenses.