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Esco Optics began in the 1955s as a small mail-order telescope kit business and evolved into a trusted supplier of precision optical components. Over the past 70 years, the company has grown into a U.S.-based manufacturer offering both custom and catalog optics across industries such as aerospace, medical, semiconductor, and defense.

This article highlights the importance of flatness in precision optics, beyond just surface quality. Learn how aspect ratio—the relationship between an optic’s size and thickness—directly impacts stability, with high ratios making flatness harder to maintain. It also describes the “potato chip effect,” a common warping deformation in thin optics that can degrade system performance at even nanometer scales.

Esco is always proud to sponsor the WNY optics golf tournament. This year on Esco watering holes players were met with professional comedians on the tee box. Each swing, slice, and sandy stumble was met with commentary so sharp it could cut optical glass. 

In this post, we break down why these ultra low expansion materials are essential to aerospace and optics, what makes them so stable, and how they’re fabricated to meet the most demanding technical standards. Whether you're designing advanced mirrors, lenses, or filters, understanding ULE materials is key to building systems that stay precisely aligned—no matter the temperature.

A practical overview of common questions in optics manufacturing, emphasizing the gap between what customers often specify and what they actually need.  Highlighting how scratch/dig, flatness and homogeneity specifications can significantly increase cost and complexity without necessarily improving performance.