Claims
- 1. A method of forming an optical element, comprising the steps of:
(a) Providing an ingot of an ionic crystalline material, and (b) Pressing said ingot between an upper die and a lower die while said ingot is confined laterally by a split die.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said material has a Knoop hardness of at most about 20 and includes at most about ten parts per million of impurities.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said material includes at most about one part per million of metallic impurities.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said material is a halide.
- 5. The method of claim 3, wherein said halide is selected from the group consisting of silver halides and thallium halides.
- 6. The method of claim 5, wherein said material includes at least one silver halide selected from the group consisting of silver chloride, silver bromide and silver iodide, and wherein said providing includes the steps of:
(i) mixing silver nitrate with at least one acid selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid and hydriodic acid, to precipitate said at least one silver halide as at least one powder; (ii) melting said at least one powder to provide a melt; and (iii) cooling said melt to form said ingot.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein said silver nitrate includes at most about one part per million metallic impurities and at most about five parts per million sulfate, and wherein said acid includes at most about one part per million metallic impurities and at most about five parts per million sulfate.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature sufficiently high to prevent cracking of said ingot and sufficiently low to prevent darkening of said ingot.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature between about 120° C. and about 180° C.
- 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said pressing is effected at a pressure of between about 0.1 ton/cm2 and about 10 ton/cm.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said upper die has a first pattern formed thereon, so that said pressing of said ingot between said upper die and said lower die embosses a corresponding second pattern on the optical element.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein said split die is inert relative to said ingot.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said split die is inert relative to said ingot in a temperature range between about 120° C. and about 180° C., and wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature in said temperature range.
- 14. The method of claim 1, wherein said split die is made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium, tungsten, tungsten carbide and stainless steel.
- 15. The method of claim 1, wherein said split die includes a single segment.
- 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said split die includes a plurality of segments.
- 17. An optical element formed by the method of claim 1.
- 18. The optical element of claim 17, wherein the optical element is an ATR element.
- 19. A cell, for ATR spectroscopy, comprising the ATR element of claim 18.
- 20. A spectrometer, for ATR spectroscopy, comprising the cell of claim 19.
- 21. A method of analyzing a fluid, comprising the steps of:
(a) placing the ATR element of claim 20 in contact with the fluid; and (b) measuring an infrared spectrum of the fluid, using the spectrometer of claim 20.
- 22. A spectrometer, for ATR spectroscopy, comprising the ATR element of claim 18.
- 23. A method of analyzing a sample, comprising the steps of:
(a) placing the ATR element of claim 22 in contact with the sample; and (b) measuring an infrared spectrum of the sample, using the spectrometer of claim 22.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the sample is a body tissue and wherein said placing is effected by inserting the sensor of claim 16 subcutaneously.
- 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the sample is a body tissue and wherein said placing is effected using an instrument selected from the group consisting of hypodermic needles, catheters and endoscopes.
- 26. A method of forming a plurality of optical elements, comprising the steps of:
for each optical element: (a) providing a respective ingot of an ionic crystalline material; and (b) pressing said respective ingot between an upper die and a lower die while said ingot is confined laterally by a respective split die.
- 27. The method of claim 26, wherein said pressing of said ingots is effected sequentially.
- 28. The method of claim 26, wherein said pressing of said ingots is effected substantially simultaneously.
- 29. The method of claim 26, wherein said material has a Knoop hardness of at most about 20 and includes at most about ten parts per million of impurities.
- 30. The method of claim 26, wherein said material is a halide.
- 31. The method of claim 26, wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature sufficiently high to prevent cracking of said ingots and sufficiently low to prevent darkening of said ingots.
- 32. The method of claim 26, wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature between about 120° C. and about 180° C.
- 33. The method of claim 26, wherein said pressing is effected at a pressure between about 0.1 ton/cm2 and about 10 ton/cm2.
- 34. The method of claim 26, wherein said upper die has a first pattern formed thereon, so that said pressing of said ingot between said upper die and said lower die embosses a corresponding second pattern on said each optical element.
- 35. The method of claim 26, wherein each said split die is inert relative to said respective ingot.
- 36. The method of claim 35, wherein each said split die is inert relative to said respective ingot in a temperature range between about 120° C. and about 180° C., and wherein said pressing is effected at a temperature in said temperature range.
- 37. The method of claim 26, wherein each said split die is made of a material selected from the group consisting of titanium, tungsten, tungsten carbide and stainless steel.
- 38. The method of claim 26, wherein each said split die includes a single segment.
- 39. The method of claim 26, wherein each said split die includes a plurality of segments that confine said respective ingot laterally.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/138,581 filed May 6, 2002, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/458,688 filed Dec. 10, 1999, which is based on U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/111,929 filed Dec. 10, 1998.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60111929 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09458688 |
Dec 1999 |
US |
Child |
10138581 |
May 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10138581 |
May 2002 |
US |
Child |
10456631 |
Jun 2003 |
US |