Prisms

Optosigma Prisms are precision-polished optical glass elements that use total internal reflection (TIR) or refractive geometry to redirect, invert, rotate, or separate light beams without the losses associated with metallic mirror coatings. Because TIR reflects light with near-100% efficiency at the critical angle, prisms used in TIR configurations are more efficient reflectors than coated mirrors for many beam-steering applications, and they combine beam folding with a defined beam displacement or image transformation in a single solid glass element.

Optosigma prism geometries and functions:

Right-angle prisms – the most common prism geometry; reflects a beam 90 degrees via TIR on the hypotenuse face; also used as 180-degree retroreflectors when used at normal incidence through the hypotenuse.

Porro prisms – pair of right-angle prisms used in binoculars and telescopes to invert an image while folding the optical path; also used as single retroreflectors.

Dove prisms – elongated prism that rotates an image by twice the prism rotation angle without deviating the beam; used in image-rotation applications in machine vision and laser scanning.

Amici roof prisms – right-angle prism with a roof ridge on the hypotenuse that inverts the image left-to-right; used in spotting scopes and erecting eyepieces.

Penta prisms – deviates a beam exactly 90 degrees regardless of slight rotational misalignment; used in optical squares, surveying instruments, and laser alignment jigs.

Corner cube retroreflectors – three mutually perpendicular faces that reflect any incident beam directly back toward its source, regardless of orientation; used in interferometry (laser distance and vibration measurement), surveying, and free-space laser communication alignment.

Wedge prisms – slightly wedge-shaped elements used for small calibrated beam deviation; used in pairs (Risley prisms) to steer a beam through a circular scan pattern.

All Optosigma prisms are available in BK7 glass (standard) and fused silica (for UV applications or high-power laser use). Surfaces are polished to interferometric quality; angles are held to arc-second tolerances.

NewRoad provides Optosigma prisms in Israel for laser laboratories, optical instrument manufacturers, machine vision integrators, and research institutions.