CLEANING OPTICAL COMPONENTS
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Required cleaning materials
Table below lists the type and grade of materials required to properly clean optical surfaces.
Table 5-1 Required cleaning materials
Cleaning Material
Requirements
Latex gloves or finger
cots
Powder-free
Air bulb
Clean air bulb
Ethyl or isopropyl alcohol
Spectroscopic or reagent grade
Acetone
Spectroscopic or reagent grade
Lens wipe (preferred)
Optical (cleanroom) quality
Cotton balls or cotton
swabs
High-quality surgical cotton/high-quality paper-
bodied
Cleaning optics
1
Shut off and lock out all power to the laser. You must verify that the laser is OFF (in a zero-
energy state) before continuing with the optical inspection!
2
Visually inspect all optical surfaces in the beam path for contaminants.
3
Remove loose contaminants from the optic by holding a clean air bulb at an angle to the optic
and blow a stream of air at a glancing angle across the lens surface. Repeat, as necessary.
4
Dampen a lens wipe with the selected cleaning agent. Alcohol (least aggressive) is best for
initial surface cleaning. Acetone (moderately aggressive) is best for oily residue or minor
baked-on vapors and debris.
Warning: Serious Personal Injury
Do not allow the nozzle of the air bulb to touch the optical surface. Any contact may damage the
optic by scratching coatings on the optical surface.
Do not use compressed shop air to blow contamination from the optic. Compressed air contains
significant amounts of water and oil that form adsorbing films on the optical surface.
Do not exert pressure on the surface of the optic during cleaning. Optical surfaces and coatings
are easily scratched by dislodged contaminants.
Use a new lens wipe on each pass as contaminants picked up by the wipe may scratch the
optical surface.
