# US 12,111,481 B2 · Lens and optical component

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- Number: US 12,111,481 B2
- Document ID: US12111481B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/669,923
- Filed: 2022-02-11
- Published: 2022-05-26
- Granted: 2024-10-08
- Earliest claimed: 2014-10-30
- Assignees: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
- Applicants: Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
- Inventors: Akinori Kahara; Masato Hasegawa; Toshihiro Yoshida
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111481B2

## CPC

- G02B 3/00: Simple or compound lenses
- G02B 1/11: Anti-reflection coatings
- G02B 3/0012: {characterised by the manufacturing method}
- G02B 5/18: Diffraction gratings {(holographic optical elements G02B5/32, G03H; integrally combined with optical fibres G02B6/02057; for coupling light guides G02B6/34; integrally combined with optical integrated light guides G02B6/12; grating systems G02B27/44)}
- G02B 5/1876: {Diffractive Fresnel lenses; Zone plates; Kinoforms (G02B5/1842, G02B5/1847 take precedence; optical systems having diffractive correction means G02B27/0037; Fresnel lenses operating by refraction G02B3/08)}
- G02B 5/1895: {such optical elements having dioptric power}
- G02B 13/14: for use with infrared or ultraviolet radiation ({G02B13/008, } G02B13/16 take precedence)
- G02B 2003/0093: {characterised by the shape}
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS

## Abstract

There are provided a lens having excellent mechanical strength, as well as an optical component employing the lens. The lens is a lens having a circular shape when viewed in a plan view, the lens having a thickness of not less than 1 mm and not more than 11 mm at a lens center, the lens having a lens diameter of not less than 2 mm and not more than 50 mm, the lens having a curvature of not less than −0.5 mm−1 and not more than 0.5 mm−1 at the lens center.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An optical component comprising:
a lens having a circular shape when viewed in a plan view, and forming the outermost layer of the optical component; and
a diamond like carbon film covering at least a portion of an entrance surface side of the lens,
the lens is composed of zinc sulfide,
the optical component allows infrared rays having a wavelength of 8 to 12 μm to pass therethrough,
the lens is a diffractive lens,
a surface of the diffractive lens has not more than 0.05 μm of an average value of surface roughnesses Ra in an optical effective area,
the lens has a diffractive surface on an exit surface side, and the lens does not have the diffractive surface on the entrance surface side,
the lens has a bending strength of not less than 10 MPa and not more than 300 MPa, and
the following conditions (a), (b) and (c) are simultaneously satisfied:
(a) lens diameter (mm)≤20×thickness (mm)−50,
(b) the lens has a thickness of more than 3 mm and not more than 7.5 mm at a lens center, and
(c) the lens has a lens diameter of not less than 5 mm and not more than 40 mm.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the lens is a biconvex lens.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the lens is a meniscus lens.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the lens has a Young's modulus of not less than 10 GPa and not more than 200 GPa.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The optical component according to claim 1, wherein the lens has a density of not less than 2.0 g/cm3 and not more than 5.5 g/cm3, wherein the density represents the mass of the material of the lens per unit volume.