For advanced optical applications including flat planels and lenses, TOPAS Advanced Polymers offers several specially engineered optical grades of its TOPAS® cyclic olefin copolymer.

A defining characteristic for transmission optics is the refractive index/Abbé number relationship. For TOPAS COC, this relationship falls inside the performance envelope defined by inorganic glasses. The TOPAS COC materials have a luminous transmittance of 91 % in the visible region, and extend their transmittance further into the near ultraviolet than other transparent plastics, including polycarbonate, styrenic or acrylic resins. A special near-UV grade of TOPAS resin transmits close to 70 % of incident light at 280 nanometers, about twice the transmission of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

In addition to their high transmittance and high Abbé number (58), TOPAS COC resins have very low haze and yellowness, ensuring minimal light loss by scattering or absorption. As amorphous polymers with low optical anisotropy, they also have inherently low birefringence and a very low stress-optic coefficient – equal to or lower than that of PMMA – so that they retain low birefringence under load. As an added bonus, grades of TOPAS COC are available with heat deflection temperatures as high as 170°C (338°F) making them tolerant of short term exposure to high temperatures.

TOPAS COC resins mold easily at recommended conditions and exhibit superior feature replication, making them an excellent choice for diffractive optics, such as might be employed, for example, for color correction on one face of a lens. This surface replication capability, combined with easy vacuum metallizability, enables TOPAS® to be used to make high performance first (and second) surface mirrors.

Geometrically, the negligibly low moisture absorption of TOPAS COC resins means that the figure of a lens will be essentially humidity-invariant. Their index of refraction changes linearly with temperature, making it easier for designers to manage thermal effects. The low density of TOPAS resin ensures that parts will be at least as light in weight as those of other polymers, and far lighter and more breakage-resistant than glass.

Property Profile:                                                                                 Applications:

    ● Low water uptake                                                                        ■ Precision lenses
    ● Low birefringence                                                                       ■ Retardation films
    ● Very good metallizability                                                            ■ Light distribution panels
    ● High surface replication                                                            ■ F-theta lenses
    ● High temperature resistance                                                   ■ Mirrors

For more information, please review our Optical brochure

Europe & South America:
Phone: +49 (0) 1805-1-TOPAS*
Phone: +49 (0) 1805-1-86727*
eMail:    info@topas.com
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NAFTA:
Phone:  +1 (859) 746-6447 x4400
eMail:    info@topas.com


Asia:
Polyplastics Co., Ltd.
Phone:  +81-3 6711 8615
eMail: topas.info@polyplastics.com