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Finished optical components in inspection trays

The inspection system
can only resolve
what its optics preserve.

Machine-vision teams depend on windows, filters, mirrors, cylindrical optics, reticles, targets, and references that preserve contrast, geometry, alignment, and repeatability across every station.

IRD builds imaging and calibration components for inspection OEMs, including long-running sole-source production relationships in semiconductor and electronics inspection.

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<1/20λBest-case flatness
<5 arc secBest-case parallelism
19 yrsSole-source to CyberOptics

Optics for the systems
that measure everything else.

IRD has been a sole-source supplier to CyberOptics for 19 years, building the optics used in wafer and circuit-board inspection.

That history covers more than polished windows. It includes filters, mirrors, cylindrical optics, reticles, targets, masks, fixtures, and references that establish what the inspection system sees and how it proves calibration.

IRD's wider customer base includes 3M, TDK, and TSI, and the same review applies across all of them: the component is judged inside the imaging chain — illumination, wavelength, angle, working distance, mounting, cleaning, calibration, and production volume.

CyberOptics
TSI
3M
01Imaging path02Illumination03Calibration04Production
Precision reticles and vision optics manufactured by IRD Glass

Best case reaches below 1/20 wave flatness and 5 arc sec parallelism.

Imaging Path Optics

Protect, transmit, reflect, and filter without adding the error.

Windows, mirrors, and filters manage the optical path before light reaches the detector. Flatness, parallelism, coating, wedge, surface quality, and mounting condition are set around the system's resolution and spectral requirements.

What IRD builds

Optical windowsFirst-surface mirrorsBandpass filtersProtective glassBeamsplittersCoated flats

Typical applications

  • Wafer inspection
  • PCB inspection
  • Automated optical inspection
  • 3D sensing

Materials

  • Fused silica
  • N-BK7
  • Borosilicate
  • Filter glass
  • Sapphire
Precision optical components manufactured by IRD Glass

Cylinder radii are produced from below 2 mm to above 125 mm.

Illumination & Beam Shaping

Uniform, aligned light gives the algorithm a cleaner answer.

Cylindrical lenses, homogenizers, light pipes, mirrors, and filters shape illumination into the line, field, wavelength, and uniformity the inspection task needs. IRD manufactures straight, tapered, round, square, and multi-sided components around the source and package.

What IRD builds

Cylindrical lensesLight pipesHomogenizersLine generatorsIllumination mirrorsFilters

Typical applications

  • Line-scan illumination
  • Structured light
  • Laser profiling
  • Uniform field lighting

Materials

  • Fused silica
  • N-BK7
  • Sapphire
  • Optical glass
  • Filter glass
Interferometric surface measurement at IRD Glass

Reticles are produced with details down to sub-micron line widths.

Calibration & Reference Components

A measurement system needs a reference it can trust.

Reticles, targets, patterned coatings, datums, masks, wedges, flats, and fixtures establish position, scale, angle, focus, and calibration. The pattern and substrate are manufactured together so dimensional and optical behavior remain linked.

What IRD builds

ReticlesTargetsPatterned masksReference wedgesOptical flatsCalibration fixtures

Typical applications

  • Scale calibration
  • Focus verification
  • Alignment
  • Metrology references
  • System qualification

Materials

  • Chrome-on-glass
  • Fused silica
  • Float glass
  • ZERODUR®
  • Filter glass
A precision polishing cell running at IRD Glass

IRD reports more than 98% on-time delivery across its programs.

Repeat Production

Calibration has no value if the production optic changes.

Dedicated cells hold the process route, inspection method, packaging, revision, and response path through production. That consistency matters when one optical change can appear downstream as a software, lighting, or measurement problem.

What IRD builds

Production opticsMatched setsKitted componentsCustom packagingInspection reports

Typical applications

  • OEM production
  • Multi-station builds
  • Field replacement
  • Legacy support

Materials

  • Optical glass
  • Technical glass
  • Sapphire
  • Ceramics
  • Customer-specified materials

The requirement.The measured range.

Inspection optics translate physical surfaces into measured data. Attribute-level specifications help keep manufacturing effort aligned with what the algorithm can actually resolve.

AttributeTypicalBest caseWhere it matters
PolishingRa < 1 µinRa < 5 ÅScatter- and energy-sensitive optical surfaces
Flatness1 wave< 1/20 waveWindows, mirrors, filters, and reference faces
Parallelism30 arc sec< 5 arc secBeam steering and plane-parallel components
Angle5 arc min3 arc secPrisms, wedges, and alignment geometry
Machining±.005″±.0001″Mounting features and custom profiles
Grinding±.002″±.0002″ flatnessHard materials and structural geometry

Metrology for the optics inside metrology.

OGP vision systems, interferometers, surface profilers, and autocollimators verify dimensional, surface, and angular requirements before the component becomes part of the customer's measurement chain.

OGP vision systems

Non-contact dimensional measurement for small and complex geometry.

Zygo NewView

White-light interferometry for surface roughness and micro-form verification.

Laser interferometers

Transmitted and reflected wavefront checks on flats, windows, and mirrors.

Nikon autocollimators

Angular and parallelism verification for arc-second requirements.

Interferometric surface measurement at IRD Glass

How the program is supported

Machine-vision qualification rests on repeatability, change control, delivery, traceability, and a technical response path when the system result moves.

ISO 9001:2015

Certified quality management system for ultra-high precision glass, optical, and ceramic components.

ITAR registered

Registered with the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls; controlled work stays domestic across both plants.

Veteran-owned

100% owned by two United States veterans representing the Navy and the Army; SBA-qualified small business.

Cell-based manufacturing

Dedicated people, equipment, and process ownership from material through inspection.

Send the optical requirement and what the system must resolve.

Talk to an applications engineer

We will review illumination, imaging, calibration, mounting, inspection, and production volume together.

Precision glass machining under coolant at IRD GlassCapabilitiesPrecision optical components manufactured by IRD GlassProducts