Describes a lens with one flat (planar) face and one convex face, giving it a positive focal length. These are the most common lenses for focusing collimated laser light or collimating light from a point source. To minimize spherical aberration, the curved surface should face the collimated beam.
Heard on the job
Flip that planoconvex lens around, you want the curved side facing the incoming laser beam to reduce spherical aberration.
Insider tip
A classic rookie mistake is installing a planoconvex lens backwards. Always face the curved side toward the collimated (parallel) light to minimize spherical aberration.
Also heard as
- plano-convex
- PCX