Shanghai Optics colored glass filters are high quality absorption filters made of colored glass. They allow certain wavelengths of light to pass unimpeded, while blocking other wavelength ranges to a designated extent. Rather than using thin film coatings to achieve filtering effects, these filters rely on the absorption and transmission properties of the color glass. Precision can be achieved through careful control of the thickness of the material as well as of the concentration of color used. Colored glass filters are often categorized as longpass, shortpass, or bandpass.

Longpass filters effectively block shorter wavelengths of light while freely transmitting longer wavelengths. These filters are described by cut-on wavelength at 50 percent of peak transmission. We manufacture longpass filters with sharp cut on wavelength and high rejection/transmission efficiency, for UV, Vis, or IR pass ranges.

Our shortpass colored glass filters transmit short wavelengths of light while restricting long wavelengths. They can be used to improve contrast and resolution, or to separate colors in black and white.

Bandpass filters, which transmit only a certain wavelength and block all others, are described by the wavelength range that is transmitted. Typically this band of light, known as the band pass, has a bandwidth of one to several hundred nanometers. These optical filters have a wide range of possible uses, and are ideal for environmental testing, clinical chemistry, imaging, spectroscopy, or fluorescence microscopy.

Bandpass filters that are designed for the ultraviolet spectrum filter light with wavelengths from around 4 to 380 nm. For the visible spectrum, target wavelengths will be 380 to 750 nm, and for infrared filtering you will need a bandpass filter that operates on wavelengths from around 750 to 2500 nm.