Live From SPIE Optics + Photonics 2011: SCHOTT's Advancements In Astronomy
Steve Sokach, director of sales and marketing, showcases SCHOTT's latest advancements and developments in astronomy and discusses the expansion of their material base to include color filter glasses, coded components, and precision finished components.
Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Steve Sokach, director of sales and marketing for SCHOTT in North America, our Advanced Optics Division. For over 125 years, SCHOTT has been innovating and leading the optics market from our invention of modern optical glass to our broad range of components we have today.
Over 40 years ago, we established manufacturing operations in Duryea, PA, the first manufacturing facility for SCHOTT outside of Germany. Since then, the SCHOTT family has grown to over a $3 billion business globally.
With the emphasis on astronomy at this year's SPIE Optics + Photonics exhibition, it was important for SCHOTT to show our latest advancements and developments in that area.
ZERODUR, our leading glass ceramic material, known as the gold standard in the astronomy industry - we now have the ability to lightweight that greater than 88% over large formats.
This makes using ZERODUR extremely affordable, beneficial, and preferable, particularly in spaceborne and airborne applications. With our long history and expertise as a material supplier, SCHOTT gained wide brand and name recognition in the optics industry.
However, decades ago, we saw the need to expand our capabilities in order to serve our customers better and to improve the opportunities in the market. Therefore, we've expanded our material base to include color filter glasses, coded components, and precision finished components for which we have a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and configurations of a multitude of different materials.
As the dominant supplier of optical glass in the visible range of the spectrum, SCHOTT believes it was important to expand further into the infrared. As such, we have developed our line of Chalcogenide glasses, infrared transmitting glasses, which are melted in Duryea, PA.
In addition, we offer zinc sulfide through our processing area to also serve needs of infrared materials. We have long been a leader of laser glass materials. Our latest developments for laser glass include erbium- and neodymium-doped laser glasses, which are eye-safe and can be used for both military and medical applications. These materials are also produced at our facility in Pennsylvania and can be finished, coated, polished, and coded to satisfy your needs.