Optical Glass Types - seeking older catalogues

Dibyendu Majumdar · Feb 27, 2022

I am looking for older glass catalogues from the 1970s onwards, if anyone has them or knows where to find them.

I am trying to reconstruct optical designs from patents, but often the glass types referenced are no longer available, and it is not possible to reconstruct the refractive indices for different wavelengths based on the published d-line index and abbe number.

I am interested in Schott, Hikari, Hoya, Ohara, and any other makes available.

OpticsEngineer · Feb 27, 2022

The optical design software I have used for 25 years is Zemax and it has extensive glass catalogs. The catalogs are ASCII text files with the extension AGF. 20 years ago the documentation said obsolete glasses were kept in the glass catalogs because many companies had stockpiles of old glass. But checking just now in my current Zemax, it looks like the obsolete glasses have been cleared out. The "obsolete" option in the glass substitution window won't respond to mouse clicks. And the Schott.AGF file says obsolete glasses were removed in 2006. But I do have an old copy of Zemax on a Dell Windows 7 computer that still boots up okay. I will try to find some time to take a look on there and see what turns up.

I am under the impression the situation with OSLO lens design software is similar. It might be you could turn up some old glass catalogs for them. I have been thinking of switching to OSLO just because Zemax has some quirks that are hard to work around. Although my colleagues say all the lens design softwares have annoying quirks. They are just different ones.

Dibyendu Majumdar · Feb 27, 2022

OpticsEngineer said:
The optical design software I have used for 25 years is Zemax and it has extensive glass catalogs. The catalogs are ASCII text files with the extension AGF. 20 years ago the documentation said obsolete glasses were kept in the glass catalogs because many companies had stockpiles of old glass. But checking just now in my current Zemax, it looks like the obsolete glasses have been cleared out. The "obsolete" option in the glass substitution window won't respond to mouse clicks. And the Schott.AGF file says obsolete glasses were removed in 2006. But I do have an old copy of Zemax on a Dell Windows 7 computer that still boots up okay. I will try to find some time to take a look on there and see what turns up.

Thank you.

OpticsEngineer said:
I am under the impression the situation with OSLO lens design software is similar. It might be you could turn up some old glass catalogs for them. I have been thinking of switching to OSLO just because Zemax has some quirks that are hard to work around. Although my colleagues say all the lens design softwares have annoying quirks. They are just different ones.

Unfortunately neither software is available at a reasonable price for causal users.

Regards

OpticsEngineer · Feb 27, 2022

You are correct the softwares are not available at reasonable price for casual use. However, you can, according the OSLO website, for free, download the OSLO software. It won't run without a license of course. But if the glass catalogs come with the download, you might be able to open them up with Notepad or other text editor and see what is inside.

My hope is I can find and old Zemax AGF file that you can do the same with, just open it up with a text editor and see what is inside. If the Zemax website does not explain the data format, I should still be able to send you the file description.

martinhb · Feb 27, 2022

OpticsEngineer said:
You are correct the softwares are not available at reasonable price for casual use. However, you can, according the OSLO website, for free, download the OSLO software. It won't run without a license of course. But if the glass catalogs come with the download, you might be able to open them up with Notepad or other text editor and see what is inside.

My hope is I can find and old Zemax AGF file that you can do the same with, just open it up with a text editor and see what is inside. If the Zemax website does not explain the data format, I should still be able to send you the file description.

For what it's worth I was able to download an AGF file from Hoya :

http://www.hoya-opticalworld.com/english/

Where it lists :

ZEMAX(agf file)(include obsolete glasses)(Updated : 2021 Sep. 27)

But my iPad fails to recognise the file type so I'm unable to give further information.

alanr0 · Feb 28, 2022

Dibyendu Majumdar said:
I am looking for older glass catalogues from the 1970s onwards, if anyone has them or knows where to find them.

I am trying to reconstruct optical designs from patents, but often the glass types referenced are no longer available, and it is not possible to reconstruct the refractive indices for different wavelengths based on the published d-line index and abbe number.

I am interested in Schott, Hikari, Hoya, Ohara, and any other makes available.

I have a printed copy of Schott catalog 3050e from 1968, with references to some special glasses given new designations around that time.

I also have a printed copy of a Chance Pilkington catalog from 1980.

At present, I have no intention to digitise and publish these (a combination of copyright concerns and time constraints). If you have queries about specific glasses, I may be able to help.

As martinhb points out, HOYA provide obsolete glass data in AGF form

OHARA also offer AGF data on older glasses Glass Catalog(All products include special order glasses and discontinued glasses)

jOcular is a sourceforge project with a useful summary of the AGF data format

Lines beginning "CD" are Sellmeier coefficiencts.

Another useful-looking open source resource is ZemaxGlass. The ZemaxGlass GIT repository includes a selection of AGF files, some of which claim to include obsolete glasses.

Member said:
zemaxglass/AGF_files/schott.agf at master · nzhagen/zemaxglass

A suite of utilities of analyzing optical glasses using the Zemax glass library - nzhagen/zemaxglass

github.com

Member said:

Reproduced here by permission of RadiantZemax (www.radiantzemax.com).

CC SCHOTT. preferred. inquiry and obsolete data since 2006. status as of 1 June 2018 + Grp glass dec 2011

Click to expand...

I don't know if Nikon-Hikari AGF data includes obsolete glass types.

Hope this helps

OpticsEngineer · Mar 2, 2022

I got one of my old computers fired up, but it turned out I didn't have as old a version of Zemax as I thought I did. It only went back to 2009. I wasn't able to dig up any usefully old glass catalogs. (AGF files) Maybe some other people have better archives than I do.

Dibyendu Majumdar · Mar 2, 2022

OpticsEngineer said:
I got one of my old computers fired up, but it turned out I didn't have as old a version of Zemax as I thought I did. It only went back to 2009. I wasn't able to dig up any usefully old glass catalogs. (AGF files) Maybe some other people have better archives than I do.

Thank you for looking. I will have a look at the Hoya AGF files over the weekend.

Regards

alanr0 · Mar 2, 2022

OpticsEngineer said:
I got one of my old computers fired up, but it turned out I didn't have as old a version of Zemax as I thought I did. It only went back to 2009. I wasn't able to dig up any usefully old glass catalogs. (AGF files) Maybe some other people have better archives than I do.

I can only go to the previous year.

The 2008 and 2009 SCHOTT.AGF files do include some glasses which are not included in the current Schott catalog, which lists: F2, F2HT, F5

The 2008 SCHOTT.AGF has a dozen or so older flint glasses. 2009 version has the same glasses in a slightly different order. I have not compared the data in detail, but here is a list of glass types with names beginning 'F'

grep -ie 'NM F' SCHOTT.AGF

NM F1 2 626357 1.625882 35.700495 0 2 0
NM F2 2 620364 1.620040 36.366491 0 1 0
NM F2HT 2 1 1.620040 36.366491 0 2 0
NM F3 2 613370 1.612931 37.038954 0 2 0
NM F4 2 617366 1.616592 36.628072 0 2 4
NM F5 2 603380 1.603420 38.029919 0 1 0
NM F6 2 636353 1.636359 35.341176 0 2 0
NM F7 2 625356 1.625361 35.561194 0 2 0
NM F8 2 596392 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F8HT 2 1 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F9 2 620381 1.620451 38.080601 0 2 0
NM F13 2 622360 1.622372 36.043399 0 2 0
NM F14 2 601382 1.601401 38.231923 0 2 0
NM F14HT 2 1 1.601389 38.266237 0 2 0
NM F15 2 606378 1.605651 37.830856 0 2 0
NM FK3 2 464658 1.464500 65.768668 0 2 0
NM FK5 2 487704 1.487490 70.405771 0 2 0
NM FK51 2 0 1.486561 84.467994 0 2 0
NM FK52 2 486818 1.486052 81.802215 0 2 0
NM FK54 2 437907 1.437000 90.702365 0 2 0
NM FN11 2 621362 1.620962 36.179463 0 2 0

https://github.com/nzhagen/zemaxglass/tree/master/AGF_files looks like a useful resource, but schott.agf from there only includes the F2, F2HT and F5 flint variants.

Are any of these of interest? I have not compared other glass categories or other manufacturers, so there may be more discontinued glasses in there.

Dibyendu Majumdar · Mar 2, 2022

alanr0 said:
OpticsEngineer said:

I got one of my old computers fired up, but it turned out I didn't have as old a version of Zemax as I thought I did. It only went back to 2009. I wasn't able to dig up any usefully old glass catalogs. (AGF files) Maybe some other people have better archives than I do.

Click to expand...

I can only go to the previous year.

The 2008 and 2009 SCHOTT.AGF files do include some glasses which are not included in the current Schott catalog, which lists: F2, F2HT, F5

The 2008 SCHOTT.AGF has a dozen or so older flint glasses. 2009 version has the same glasses in a slightly different order. I have not compared the data in detail, but here is a list of glass types with names beginning 'F'

grep -ie 'NM F' SCHOTT.AGF

NM F1 2 626357 1.625882 35.700495 0 2 0
NM F2 2 620364 1.620040 36.366491 0 1 0
NM F2HT 2 1 1.620040 36.366491 0 2 0
NM F3 2 613370 1.612931 37.038954 0 2 0
NM F4 2 617366 1.616592 36.628072 0 2 4
NM F5 2 603380 1.603420 38.029919 0 1 0
NM F6 2 636353 1.636359 35.341176 0 2 0
NM F7 2 625356 1.625361 35.561194 0 2 0
NM F8 2 596392 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F8HT 2 1 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F9 2 620381 1.620451 38.080601 0 2 0
NM F13 2 622360 1.622372 36.043399 0 2 0
NM F14 2 601382 1.601401 38.231923 0 2 0
NM F14HT 2 1 1.601389 38.266237 0 2 0
NM F15 2 606378 1.605651 37.830856 0 2 0
NM FK3 2 464658 1.464500 65.768668 0 2 0
NM FK5 2 487704 1.487490 70.405771 0 2 0
NM FK51 2 0 1.486561 84.467994 0 2 0
NM FK52 2 486818 1.486052 81.802215 0 2 0
NM FK54 2 437907 1.437000 90.702365 0 2 0
NM FN11 2 621362 1.620962 36.179463 0 2 0

https://github.com/nzhagen/zemaxglass/tree/master/AGF_files looks like a useful resource, but schott.agf from there only includes the F2, F2HT and F5 flint variants.

Are any of these of interest? I have not compared other glass categories or other manufacturers, so there may be more discontinued glasses in there.

When I try to find the glass types for older Nikkors using patent data, I often cannot find the glass type any more. Here is an example of a fairly recent lens: the 200mm AF-Micro Nikkor. There are two glass types in the patent that I cannot find:

index 1.79631 vd 40.9

index 1.77279 vd 49.45 - close to Hikari E-LASF016 but not exact match

alanr0 · Mar 2, 2022

Dibyendu Majumdar said:
alanr0 said:

https://github.com/nzhagen/zemaxglass/tree/master/AGF_files looks like a useful resource, but schott.agf from there only includes the F2, F2HT and F5 flint variants.

Click to expand...

<snip>

Member said:
Member said:

Are any of these of interest? I have not compared other glass categories or other manufacturers, so there may be more discontinued glasses in there.

Click to expand...

When I try to find the glass types for older Nikkors using patent data, I often cannot find the glass type any more. Here is an example of a fairly recent lens: the 200mm AF-Micro Nikkor. There are two glass types in the patent that I cannot find:

index 1.79631 vd 40.9

index 1.77279 vd 49.45 - close to Hikari E-LASF016 but not exact match

Some more near-misses from other manufacturers in the 2008 Zemax Glasscat, but no exact matches:

CDGM.AGF:4426: NM H-LAF50A 1 773496 1.772499 49.601340 0 0 0
HIKARI.AGF:1514: NM E-LASF016 1 772496 1.772499 49.607588 0 0 0
HOYA.AGF:7593: NM TAF1 1 773496 1.772500 49.624286 0 0 0
SCHOTT.AGF:2269: NM LAFN28 2 773496 1.773142 49.568242 0 2 0
SCHOTT.AGF:4216: NM N-LAF34 2 773496 1.772500 49.620227 0 1 0
--
Alan Robinson

martinhb · Mar 2, 2022

Dibyendu Majumdar said:
alanr0 said:

OpticsEngineer said:

I got one of my old computers fired up, but it turned out I didn't have as old a version of Zemax as I thought I did. It only went back to 2009. I wasn't able to dig up any usefully old glass catalogs. (AGF files) Maybe some other people have better archives than I do.

Click to expand...

I can only go to the previous year.

The 2008 and 2009 SCHOTT.AGF files do include some glasses which are not included in the current Schott catalog, which lists: F2, F2HT, F5

The 2008 SCHOTT.AGF has a dozen or so older flint glasses. 2009 version has the same glasses in a slightly different order. I have not compared the data in detail, but here is a list of glass types with names beginning 'F'

grep -ie 'NM F' SCHOTT.AGF

NM F1 2 626357 1.625882 35.700495 0 2 0
NM F2 2 620364 1.620040 36.366491 0 1 0
NM F2HT 2 1 1.620040 36.366491 0 2 0
NM F3 2 613370 1.612931 37.038954 0 2 0
NM F4 2 617366 1.616592 36.628072 0 2 4
NM F5 2 603380 1.603420 38.029919 0 1 0
NM F6 2 636353 1.636359 35.341176 0 2 0
NM F7 2 625356 1.625361 35.561194 0 2 0
NM F8 2 596392 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F8HT 2 1 1.595510 39.179444 0 2 0
NM F9 2 620381 1.620451 38.080601 0 2 0
NM F13 2 622360 1.622372 36.043399 0 2 0
NM F14 2 601382 1.601401 38.231923 0 2 0
NM F14HT 2 1 1.601389 38.266237 0 2 0
NM F15 2 606378 1.605651 37.830856 0 2 0
NM FK3 2 464658 1.464500 65.768668 0 2 0
NM FK5 2 487704 1.487490 70.405771 0 2 0
NM FK51 2 0 1.486561 84.467994 0 2 0
NM FK52 2 486818 1.486052 81.802215 0 2 0
NM FK54 2 437907 1.437000 90.702365 0 2 0
NM FN11 2 621362 1.620962 36.179463 0 2 0

https://github.com/nzhagen/zemaxglass/tree/master/AGF_files looks like a useful resource, but schott.agf from there only includes the F2, F2HT and F5 flint variants.

Are any of these of interest? I have not compared other glass categories or other manufacturers, so there may be more discontinued glasses in there.

Click to expand...

When I try to find the glass types for older Nikkors using patent data, I often cannot find the glass type any more. Here is an example of a fairly recent lens: the 200mm AF-Micro Nikkor. There are two glass types in the patent that I cannot find:

index 1.79631 vd 40.9

index 1.77279 vd 49.45 - close to Hikari E-LASF016 but not exact match

Ohara Japan

Zemax OpticStudio DATA

https://www.ohara-inc.co.jp/en/product/catalog/

2022.02.28 (AFG File)

Glass Catalog (All products include special order glasses and discontinued glasses)

Includes :

S-LAM73 : 1.79360 vd 37.09

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Optical Glass Types - seeking older catalogues

Dibyendu Majumdar

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OpticsEngineer

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Dibyendu Majumdar

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OpticsEngineer

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martinhb

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alanr0

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zemaxglass/AGF_files/schott.agf at master · nzhagen/zemaxglass

OpticsEngineer

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Dibyendu Majumdar

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alanr0

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Dibyendu Majumdar

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alanr0

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martinhb

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