Window Material
Shape of the Window
Almost any plastic material will work as a window
material. Polycarbonate is recommended. The surface
finish of the plastic should be smooth, without any
texture. An IR filter dye may be used in the window to
make it look black to the eye, but the total optical loss
of the window should be 10% or less for best optical
performance. Light loss should be measured at 885 nm.
The recommended plastic materials for use as a cosmetic
window are available from General Electric Plastics.
From an optics standpoint, the window should be flat.
This ensures that the window will not alter either the
radiation pattern of the LED, or the receive pattern of the
photodiode. If the window must be curved for mechani-
cal or industrial design reasons, place the same curve on
the backside of the window that has an identical radius as
the front side. While this will not completely eliminate the
lens effect of the front curved surface, it will significantly
reduce the effects. The amount of change in the radiation
pattern is dependent upon the material chosen for the
window, the radius of the front and back curves, and the
distance from the back surface to the transceiver. Once
these items are known, a lens design can be made which
will eliminate the effect of the front surface curve. The
following drawings show the effects of a curved window
on the radiation pattern. In all cases, the center thickness
of the window is 1.5 mm, the window is made of polycar-
bonate plastic, and the distance from the transceiver to
the back surface of the window is 3 mm.
Recommended Plastic Materials:
Material #
Lexan 141
Light Transmission Haze Refractive Index
88%
85%
85%
1%
1%
1%
1.586
1.586
1.586
Lexan 920A
Lexan 940A
Note: 920A and 940A are more flame retardant than 141.
Recommended Dye: Violet #21051 (IR transmissant above 625mm)
Flat Window
(First Choice)
Curved Front and Back
(Second Choice)
Curved Front, Flat Back
(Do not use)
For product information and a complete list of distributors, please go to our web site: www.avagotech.com
Avago, Avago Technologies, and the A logo are trademarks of Avago Technologies, Limited in the United States and other countries.
Data subject to change. Copyright © 2007 Avago Technologies Limited. All rights reserved.
AV02-0454EN - June 21, 2007