OREANDA-NEWS. Shvabe Holding was granted a Russian patent for its invention, an athermalized IR spectrum cameral lens.

The athermalized camera lens developed by Shvabe - Devices JSC, a Shvabe Holding enterprise, can operate in the spectral range of 8-12 µm. Thanks to the innovative technologies embedded in the device, the image quality is not affected by changes in the ambient temperature.

"The infrared spectrum camera lenses are manufactured mainly from single-crystal germanium or silicon, as well as from other materials that are transparent in the ranges of 3-5 µm and 8-12 µm. Such materials, in particular germanium, are characterized by significant changes in their refractive index depending on temperature, which leads to defocused images produced by the lens. This causes a considerable deterioration in image quality, in particular in the temperature range of -40° C to +50° C. We eliminated such fault in our device through careful selection of components," explained Nikolay Rakovich, Deputy General Director for R&D and Innovative Development, Shvabe JSC.

The technical result is achieved by using, for Shvabe camera lens, meniscus lenses from different materials, such as oxygen-free glass, zinc selenide, and germanium. The device body can be manufactured from an aluminum alloy, steel or invar.

Shvabe Devices JSC has proceeded to launching the manufacture of their patented invention. The new device will be used in the Holding's thermal imaging devices with matrix photoreceivers, which do not require cooling to cryogenic temperatures.