High-quality gloves are available for optics cleaning, for example nitrile clean room gloves which are thin enough to give sufficient haptic feedback and at the same time sufficiently resistant for avoiding puncture. Some gloves are optimized for good grip, reducing the risk of dropping sensitive components. When using latex gloves, these should be powder-free. For some operations, fingercots may be sufficient, which can be more comfortable to wear.

There are devices for ultrasonic cleaning, where optical components such as lenses are immersed in a cleaning solvent (e.g. a solution of optical soap) and exposed to intense ultrasound. Subsequently, they are rinsed with fresh solvent. This method may be useful for removing more persistent dirt, but is too aggressive e.g. for many ruled diffraction gratings.

It is often useful to have suitable inspection tools, with which one e.g. clearly see dust particles, fingerprints and the like. They also allow one to monitor the success of cleaning attempts. One may use an instrument like a loupe, a magnifying glass or a microscope in conjunction with suitable illumination.

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KinematicMirrorMounts

Many lenses and optical filters are made from relatively robust glass materials which can reasonably well be cleaned with appropriate procedures and tools.

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Kinematicmount wiki

It can also be essential to distinguish contaminations from damaged spots; obviously it won't help to wipe over pits and scratches, possibly increasing the damage further.

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Similar considerations as for lenses applied to laser mirrors, only that those are often substantially more sensitive. A frequently used cleaning method is to slowly drag a single sheet of lens tissue, soaked with a drop of a suitable solvent, once across the mirror surface, holding the tissue only at the sides without applying additional pressure.

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Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 8 ° × 8 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); frame with opening to the left; for 2" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

Kinematic mountsfor optics

A frequent risk is that such instructions are forgotten or lost at the point where they would be needed. To avoid that, it is advisable to use appropriate filing systems (e.g. on paper or computers) so that such documents can be found and retrieved when needed.

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Even a glass lens should not be cleaned with acetone if it has a plastic mount, since the acetone could dissolve plastic and deposit it on the lens surface. Alcohol would usually be suitable, but in case of doubt one should ask the supplier.

Even more effective cleaning is possible by wiping the surface with folded tissue held between fingers (with gloves), applying some more pressure. That more aggressive technique increases the risk of damage, however.

Compact, inexpensive inertia drive principle (stick-slip). At rest, the drive is self-locking, requires no current, and does not generate any heat. It holds the position with maximum force.

Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 8 ° × 8 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); closed frame; for 2" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

Stable alignment of optical paths. Long-term positioning stability: High stability at target position, reliable startup even after longer downtimes. High holding force and resolution by combining piezo actuators with mechanical thread translation. Vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa.

Kinematiccoupling

Ideally, the cleaning of optical elements is unnecessary because any contaminations are avoided. Also, one should of course avoid any unnecessary contaminations during cleaning procedures. Some suitable measures are briefly explained in the following:

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If the drop-and-drag method is not sufficient, one may have to carefully wipe the surface with some moderate pressure, using multiple layers of lens tissue which are folded and held with a plier. Only the fold of the tissue is used to touch the optical surface, and is slightly soaked with solvent. Of course, one must avoid touching the optical surface with the plier.

Various solvents may be appropriate, depending on the material and the type of contamination to be removed. For example, distilled or deionized water may be suitable in some cases, but not when removing fat e.g. from fingerprints. Reagent-grade isopropyl alcohol, methanol or acetone are more effective for such purposes. It is essential to use suitable gloves not only to protect the skin of the fingers (which is degraded particularly by acetone), but also to avoid that fat from the skin is dissolved and then deposited on optical surfaces. Performing cleaning processes slowly gives the solvent more time to dissolve contaminants like fat.

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It is not advisable to handle optical components which have just taken from a significantly cooler room, for example. One should better let them acquire the room temperature first. Additional stress due to temperature gradients may make optical components more sensitive to cleaning procedures.

Compact, low-cost inertia drive principle (stick-slip). When at rest, the drive is self-locking, requires no current and generates no heat. It holds the position with maximum force.

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Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 16 ° × 16 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); frame with opening to the left; for 1" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

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Kinematicmount design

Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 8 ° × 8 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); frame with opening to the right; for 2" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

Of course, one should never simply blow with the mouth against optical components, since that way one could easily contaminate them with saliva. For occasional use, there are disposable compressed air devices with which one can direct bursts of clean and dry air to optical surfaces. With suitable nozzles, one may even reach areas which would be difficult to clean with any other tools.

Obviously, inspection tools can be used effectively only when it is made convenient e.g. to sit at an appropriate height and to lay down or mount the inspected part on clean and soft surfaces. Sufficient illumination is also critical.

KinematicBase

Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 16 ° × 16 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); closed frame; for 1/2" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

It is common to use soft lens tissues, e.g. as disposable wipes which can effectively bind dust while not scratching sensitive surfaces or releasing hair. Also, there are microfiber cleaning cloths which may be used several times. For larger surfaces, one may use precision wiping tissues, which are far cleaner than standard household wipes, for example. Various similar tissues and cloths are available, including pre-moistened towelettes.

Note that small amounts of a solvent will rapidly evaporate after application, leaving residues if it has solved some fat, for example. Therefore, it is essential that such contaminants are dragged away, rather than only spread on the surface. Ideally, most of the solvent itself is also dragged away by the tissue; one should therefore avoid using excessive amounts of solvent.

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In some cases, the suppliers of optical components provide detailed instructions for cleaning. It is advisable to carefully observe them in order to clean most successfully and not to lose free replacement options.

When cleaning optical surfaces, one should always be aware that they may have thin coatings (e.g. anti-reflection coatings) which are more sensitive than the bulk material below. Of course, one may not easily recognize the presence of a coating. Some coatings can temporarily incorporate water (e.g. in porous TiO2 layers) which modifies the optical properties; one should then of course avoid water as a cleaning agent.

Note, however, that perfect cleanliness is not essential in all cases. For example, some dust particles on a photographic objective will not produce isolated defects in photographic images because they are not imaged to the light sensor and only lead to well spread modifications which are hard to detect and thus hardly disturbing.

ThorlabsKinematicMount

In conjunction with intense laser beams, dust and smudges may not only lead to performance degradations, but even to permanent damage of optical components, when such contaminations are burned in.

Optical elements and systems are usually operated in a rather clean environment, e.g. within a housing which is protected against dust and dirt with optical windows, or in a clean laser laboratory. Nevertheless, it is sometimes necessary to clean optical elements like laser mirrors, lenses, laser crystals and nonlinear crystals – for example,

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Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 16 ° × 16 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); frame with opening to the right; for 1" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length

NewportKinematicMount

In some cases, proper inspection is not possible, e.g. because critical parts are not well accessible or tiny contaminations are sufficient for spoiling performance. This may easily be the case for interferometer mirrors, for example. One may then have to use blind cleaning procedures, where success is assessed only by testing of the optical device performance later on. This can be tedious particularly when multiple mirrors are in a setup and it is difficult to find out which one degrades the performance.

It is generally recommended not to repeatedly wipe back and forth on optical surfaces because that way one may only redistribute contaminants. Instead, it is often better to carefully drag a cloth or lens tissue, wetted with a solvent, across the surface just once, or several times from the center in different directions. Some amount of pressure, which should of course not be excessive, may make the cleaning procedure more effective.

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There are also cans containing a liquid which evaporates as a dusting gas and can produce larger volumes of gas over time. One should hold them upright during use and not shake them before use because otherwise droplets of fluid may emerge.

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Contaminations which are only lightly attached to optical components, for example dust particles, can often be removed with compressed air – a method which minimizes the risk of damage and can be applied even to particularly sensitive parts such as metal-coated mirrors and diffraction gratings. (Only in few cases such as pellicle beamsplitters, there is a substantial risk of damage.)

Thorlabs offers both Absorptive and Reflective Neutral Density Filters in unmounted and mounted designs, with optical densities from 0.1 to 8.0.

N-480 series miniature motorized kinematic optical mirror mounts are equipped with PI's high precision PiezoMike motors for ultra-high resolution angular adjustments in two tilt axes (θX and θY) down to 0.3 µrad steps. They are available for mirror and optics sizes of 0.5", 1" and 2" diameter. The high precision PiezoMike motors can be computer-controlled and will hold a position with high stability, even when not energized. Manual adjustment of the N-480 two-axis optical kinematic mounts is also possible. These types of tip/tilt mirror mounts are often used in optics research and for laser beam control and beam delivery systems. For high-speed laser beam steering, PI offers piezo flexure steering mirrors and voice-coil steering mirrors.

Kinematic mirror mount with PiezoMike linear actuators; piezoelectric inertia drive; 16 ° × 16 ° rotational angle (θX × θY); closed frame; for 1" optics; vacuum-compatible to 10-6 hPa; 1 m cable length