What are the main materials of Dispersing prism

The main materials of Dispersing prism are BAK4 and BK7 prism materials. The refractive index of these two kinds of glass is different. The refractive index of BAK4 is high. For Paul prism made of BAK4, 100% of the incident light can be totally reflected without considering the absorption, while BK7 can only reflect about 83% of the incident light. So BAK4 has high light efficiency, but its price is also very high.

Dispersing prism In optical devices, a piece of glass or other transparent material cut at a precise angle and plane can be used to analyze and reflect light. Ordinary triangular prisms can separate white light into its constituent colors, called frequency spectrum. Each color or wavelength that makes up white light is bent or refracted, but the amount is different. Shorter wavelengths (wavelengths toward the purple end of the spectrum) bend the most, while longer wavelengths (wavelengths toward the red end of the spectrum) bend the least. This type of prism is used in some spectroscopes, instruments that analyze light and determine the identity and structure of materials that emit or absorb light.

Dispersing prism refracts light to reflect (reflection prism), disperse (dispersion prism) or split (beam splitter) light. The prism is usually made of glass, but any material can be used as long as the material is transparent and suitable for the design wavelength. Common materials include glass, plastic and fluorite.

Dispersing prism can reverse the direction of light through internal reflection, so they are useful in binoculars.

Depending on the application, Dispersing prism can be made into many different forms and shapes. For example, the Porro prism is composed of two prisms. The two prisms can invert the image as well as the image, and are used in many optical observation instruments, such as periscopes, binoculars and monoculars.