San Francisco, CA – January 30–February 4, 2027 — BOTE Optics, a Singapore-based manufacturer of precision optical components, infrared optics, optical assemblies, and coating solutions, is pleased to announce its return to SPIE Photonics West 2027. Following the company’s first successful participation last year, BOTE Optics will once again meet with customers, optical engineers, system designers, procurement teams, and industry partners from the United States, Europe, and other global photonics markets.
Visit BOTE Optics at Booth #5334 during Photonics West 2027 to explore our capabilities in infrared optical materials, chalcogenide glass, barium fluoride (BaF₂), precision IR aspheric lenses, diamond turning, DLC coating, and custom optical manufacturing.
For BOTE Optics, this second appearance at Photonics West represents more than another trade show. It is an opportunity to continue conversations with existing customers, meet new technology partners, and demonstrate how an experienced Singapore-based optical manufacturer can provide a competitive alternative for demanding infrared optical applications.
Addressing the Growing Demand for Reliable Infrared Optical Materials
The infrared optics industry is experiencing increasing demand for advanced materials and components for thermal imaging, infrared sensing, surveillance, defense, aerospace, industrial inspection, medical imaging, and other high-performance applications.
At the same time, optical engineers and procurement teams are facing increasingly complex challenges in sourcing certain infrared materials. Supply availability, material cost, production capacity, lead time, and manufacturing flexibility can all have a direct impact on the development and production schedule of an optical system.
This is particularly relevant for materials such as barium fluoride (BaF₂) and chalcogenide glass, which are important materials for a wide range of infrared optical designs.
BOTE Optics is developing its supply-chain and manufacturing capabilities specifically to address these challenges.
At Photonics West 2027, we will highlight our ability to provide high-quality infrared optical materials and finished optical components with competitive lead times and pricing, helping customers reduce procurement risks while maintaining the optical performance required for demanding applications.
Barium Fluoride (BaF₂): A Competitive Source for Infrared Applications
Barium fluoride (BaF₂) is an important optical crystal with broad transmission extending through the visible and infrared regions. It is used in applications including spectroscopy, thermal imaging, infrared sensing, and other optical systems requiring broadband transmission.
HELLMA Materials, for example, identifies BaF₂ as a material for applications covering the VIS, near-IR, and mid-IR ranges. The material is also used for thermal imaging, night vision, surveillance, and integrated visible/infrared detector systems.
BOTE Optics is positioning its BaF₂ supply capability as a competitive sourcing option for customers who need reliable material availability, consistent optical quality, and commercially attractive lead times.
Our objective is straightforward: to provide European and North American customers with a practical alternative source for infrared optical materials without compromising the quality expectations of professional optical manufacturing.
For customers currently evaluating alternative suppliers for BaF₂ components, BOTE Optics can support the process from material sourcing through precision fabrication, polishing, coating, inspection, and final delivery.
Chalcogenide Glass: A Flexible Solution for Modern IR Lens Design
Another major focus at Photonics West 2027 will be infrared chalcogenide glass.
Chalcogenide glasses have become increasingly important in infrared optics because of their useful transmission characteristics, low dispersion, relatively low density, and flexibility for optical design and manufacturing.
They are particularly attractive for MWIR and LWIR imaging systems, including thermal imaging, surveillance, night vision, industrial sensing, and other infrared applications.
Industry development has also increased interest in chalcogenide materials as optical designers look for alternatives and complementary materials to traditional infrared substrates. Current industry discussions highlight the growing role of chalcogenide glass in infrared systems and the importance of material availability, manufacturing consistency, and supply-chain stability.
BOTE Optics offers customers an additional sourcing and manufacturing option for chalcogenide infrared optics.
Our capability is not limited to supplying material. We can support the complete manufacturing process, including precision machining, grinding and polishing, diamond turning, optical inspection, and protective coating solutions.
This integrated approach can be particularly valuable for customers who want to reduce the number of suppliers involved in a project and simplify their optical component supply chain.
Quality Comparable to Established Industry Benchmarks – With Supply Chain Advantages
BOTE Optics understands that quality consistency is critical when customers qualify a new optical material or manufacturing source.
For demanding infrared applications, optical designers cannot simply substitute one material for another based on price. Refractive index, transmission, homogeneity, surface quality, dimensional accuracy, environmental performance, and coating compatibility all need to be considered.
Our goal is therefore not to compete simply on cost.
BOTE Optics aims to provide optical materials and components with quality comparable to established industry benchmarks, while offering competitive lead times, responsive engineering support, and cost-effective manufacturing.
For customers familiar with established suppliers such as SCHOTT and HELLMA Materials, BOTE Optics provides an alternative supply-chain option for selected infrared optical materials and components.
The value proposition is particularly relevant when customers are dealing with:
- Long material lead times
- Difficult-to-source infrared materials
- High material costs
- Prototype development requirements
- Low-volume or customized optical components
- Shorter project schedules
- Production transfer and second-source qualification
- Custom infrared lens requirements
BOTE Optics has already supplied optical products and services to customers in the United States and Europe across demanding industries, including defense, medical, aerospace, semiconductor, and instrumentation applications.
Precision IR Aspheric Lenses with Diamond Turning Technology
Material supply is only one part of the infrared optics equation.
At Photonics West 2027, BOTE Optics will also showcase its precision infrared lens manufacturing capabilities, including high-precision aspheric optics manufactured using advanced diamond-turning technology.
BOTE Optics is equipped with Precitech diamond single-point turning technology, enabling the company to manufacture precision infrared aspheric lenses with high geometric accuracy.
For selected applications, BOTE Optics can achieve surface-form accuracy down to approximately 0.3 μm, depending on the optical design, material, dimensions, and specified tolerances.
Diamond turning is particularly valuable for infrared optics because it can provide an efficient manufacturing route for complex aspheric surfaces that would otherwise require multiple conventional fabrication steps.
Our capabilities are applicable to a wide range of infrared materials, including:
- Chalcogenide glass
- Germanium
- Zinc selenide (ZnSe)
- Zinc sulfide (ZnS)
- Silicon
- Other infrared optical materials
By combining material sourcing with precision diamond turning, BOTE Optics can help customers move from material selection and optical design to finished infrared optical components through a more integrated manufacturing workflow.
DLC Coating for Chalcogenide Glass, ZnSe, ZnS and Germanium
Infrared optics often operate in demanding environments where the optical surface must withstand abrasion, handling, contamination, and other environmental stresses.
For this reason, Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating is another important capability that BOTE Optics will highlight at Photonics West 2027.
BOTE Optics has invested in DLC coating technology for infrared optical components, allowing us to provide protective coating solutions for materials including:
Chalcogenide glass, ZnSe, ZnS, and Germanium.
This capability is especially relevant for infrared imaging and sensing systems where optical performance must be combined with improved surface durability.
BOTE Optics can therefore provide a broader infrared optics manufacturing package:
Material → Precision Machining → Grinding & Polishing → Diamond Turning → DLC / Optical Coating → Inspection → Finished Component
This vertically integrated approach allows customers to work with one experienced optical manufacturing partner instead of coordinating multiple suppliers for different stages of the process.
From Prototype to Production: One Optical Manufacturing Partner
BOTE Optics has been serving the optics industry since 2005 and has developed capabilities covering optical design, precision optical manufacturing, optical coating, opto-mechanical engineering, and optical assembly.
The company’s Singapore manufacturing operation supports customized optical components and lens assemblies for customers worldwide.
BOTE’s capabilities include spherical and aspherical lenses, infrared optics, optical windows, filters, mirrors, prisms, precision optics, optical assemblies, and custom coating solutions.
The company also provides optical design and engineering support using tools including Zemax and SolidWorks, helping customers optimize material selection, optical performance, manufacturing feasibility, and cost.
For prototype projects, BOTE Optics emphasizes rapid development and responsive engineering support. For production projects, the same manufacturing infrastructure can be used to support repeatable optical component production and supply-chain management.
This combination of engineering, manufacturing, coating, metrology, and supply-chain support is one of the key advantages BOTE Optics will bring to Photonics West 2027.
Why Visit BOTE Optics at Photonics West 2027?
If your company is developing or manufacturing infrared imaging systems, thermal cameras, IR sensors, spectroscopy equipment, defense optics, aerospace systems, industrial inspection equipment, or other photonics products, we invite you to meet our team at Booth #5334.
At the booth, we welcome discussions regarding:
- Infrared optical material sourcing
- Barium fluoride (BaF₂) optics
- Chalcogenide infrared glass
- Custom IR lenses
- IR aspheric lenses
- Precision diamond turning
- 0.3 μm-class surface-form manufacturing capability
- DLC-coated infrared optics
- Germanium optics
- ZnSe optics
- ZnS optics
- Custom optical windows
- Optical polishing
- Optical coating
- Prototype development
- Production manufacturing
- Second-source qualification
- Cost and lead-time optimization
Whether you are an optical engineer looking for a new manufacturing partner, a procurement manager searching for an alternative infrared material supplier, or an OEM evaluating a new optical component source, our team would be pleased to discuss your requirements.
Meet BOTE Optics at Booth #5334
SPIE Photonics West 2027 will bring together thousands of professionals working across optics, photonics, lasers, imaging, sensing, biomedical optics, quantum technologies, and related fields.
BOTE Optics is looking forward to returning to San Francisco for the second consecutive year and continuing our conversation with the global photonics community.
Visit BOTE Optics at Booth #5334 and discover how our combination of infrared optical material sourcing, precision optical manufacturing, diamond turning, polishing, and DLC coating can help support your next project.
Whether you are looking for BaF₂, chalcogenide glass, Germanium, ZnSe, ZnS, precision IR aspheric lenses, or advanced DLC-coated infrared optics, we invite you to bring your requirements, drawings, specifications, or sourcing challenges to our booth.
Let’s explore new possibilities for better supply-chain flexibility, competitive manufacturing, and high-performance infrared optics.
BOTE Optics – Your Singapore Partner for Precision Infrared Optics and Custom Optical Manufacturing.
SPIE Photonics West 2027
January 30 – February 4, 2027
The Moscone Center, San Francisco, California, USA
BOTE Optics – Booth #5334
We look forward to meeting you in San Francisco.
#PhotonicsWest2027 #InfraredOptics #InfraredOpticalMaterials #ChalcogenideGlass #BaF2 #BariumFluoride #IRAsphericLenses #DiamondTurning #DLCcoating #ZnSe #ZnS #GermaniumOptics #PrecisionOptics #OpticalCoating #IRLenses #Photonics #InfraredImaging
