DSG optics for infrared optical imaging

We discuss optical elements based on the sulfur monochloride copolymers (DSG: disulfide glass, poly(S2-TIC-Cl2)) for IR imaging applications. DSG copolymers show high refractive index, excellent transparency, low birefringence, and low dispersion compared with conventional optical polymer materials. The excellent thermomechanical properties allow for both molding and diamond-turning fabrication. The diffraction angle of a molded optical diffraction grating agreed well with the design and a diamond-turned plano-convex lens shows a 1.8 times larger imaging area compared to a BK-7 lens of the same dimensions.