Anywhere Light Goes™ Blog
A blog about optical design, build, test and more.
What is a Microscope Objective? An introduction to objective lenses.
A microscope objective refers to the lens(es) closest to the object in a microscope. The term microscope objective is often used interchangeably with objective lens, or known simply as an objective. The objective works with the tube lens and/or eyepiece to project the image of the subject into an image sensor or the viewer’s eye, respectively. Microscope objectives are typically a complex assembly of lenses, often made of glass. The lens design is crucial to correcting against blurriness, color distortion, or other aberration through lens curvature, spacing, glass type, and other adjustments. Beyond magnification, objective lenses are classified by their Numerical Aperture (NA), and Working Distance. Numerical Aperture describes the light-capturing capabilities of the objective. The higher the NA, the...
Highlights from Photonics West 2025
We are proud to have joined 24,000 optics and photonics professionals from more than 75 countries at this year’s SPIE Photonics West 2025. It was an excellent show highlighting new research, industry trends, and many technical presentations. Our own Kevin Sweeney celebrated achievements in metrology in his featured lecture "The measurement of object distance for projected virtual objects using a scanning pentaprism and digital alignment telescope." The highlight for our team was meeting many technical experts at our booth. It was an opportunity the discuss design ideas for their projects as well as introduce new testing and manufacturing capabilities available at our facility in Wakefield, MA. In talking with the organizers of the event, Optikos Director of Operations Dennis Fantone...
Reducing Cost in a Manufacturing Environment
In my previous blogs, I focused on the quality of the manufacturing processes both in In-Process Testing In a Production Environment and in Quality Statistics in Production: Using Data and Statistical Techniques to Improve Manufacturing Processes. While quality is essential to a successful manufacturing program, it cannot be taken in a vacuum without also looking at cost. For a successful manufacturing relationship, the manufacturer must make a quality product while minimizing cost and giving the customer a great overall value. At Optikos, we employ LEAN principles in order to reduce touch time and offer a cost competitive manufacturing solution to our customers. We also utilize our domestic and global supply chains to reduce material cost. Reducing Touch Time In order...
The Optikos Team Prepares for Photonics West 2025
Photonics West promises to be an excellent week of networking, training, and innovating. SPIE describes it as the world’s premier event for lasers, biomedical optics and biophotonic technologies, quantum, and optoelectronics. We talked with the experts from Optikos who will be joining the event to chat about what they are most excited for. Lars Sandstroem shares, “Photonics West is a great opportunity to connect with industry leaders, engage with existing and new customers, and explore how our photonics expertise can bring their applications to life.” Byron Seabolt agrees, noting he looks forward to “connecting with customers and industry leaders to explore cutting-edge advancements in photonics and optics.” Photo credit: SPIE Our team especially appreciates Photonics West for the opportunity to...
Join Optikos at Photonics West 2025
Since 1995, Photonics West has been a celebration of innovation, research, and emerging technology for the international optics and photonics community. Optikos is proud to be joining leaders from the industry, academia and the government to share our expertise and bring our optical engineering design, manufacturing, and testing services to life. Optikos Exhibiting at Photonics West 2024 As explained by David Biss, Senior Manager, Optical Engineering at Optikos, "Photonics West is one of the most important shows for us to attend. It's a perfect place for us to show off our image quality metrology systems and offerings, and it's a great place for us to talk to customers about our optical and opto-mechanical engineering and manufacturing capabilities." When you visit Optikos...
