Multiple-plate Prism Units
“Multiple-plate prism units” are optical devices used to separate light entered through lenses into the three basic color data (red, green and blue) with prisms, converting them into imaging signals through such devices as CCD and CMOS image sensors. Sensors using multi-plate prism units are superior to ordinary single-plate devices (each using just one image sensor) in terms of color rendition performance, delivering high precision images close to real subjects.
Technologies essentially required for making multi-plate prism units
- Prism polishing technology
- Cleansing technology
- Coating (vapor deposition) technology
- Prism cementing technology
- Prism-image-sensor bonding technology
Markets requiring multi-plate prism units
Medical field
Multi-plate prism units are essential for remote cameras used for providing medical services from distant locations, as they vividly capture images of internal organs in vivid red.
Security field
Multi-plate prism units play important roles in security cameras becoming popular more than ever as anticrime measures. Multi-plate prism units deliver clear images even under adverse image capturing conditions.
Broadcast camera field
Multi-plate prism units are essential for making TV broadcast cameras supporting the next-generation TV systems (such as 4K and 8K) as constant and steady image quality maintenance is essential to minimize camera-intrinsic color differences.
Movie-capturing equipment field
Multi-plate prism units play important roles in movie-capturing cameras designed to deliver clear images in adverse conditions. Enhancing image quality on the part of image capturing devices is becoming important more than ever to keep pace with improvement of image quality of image output devices (such as projectors and TVs).
Development of triple-plate prism unit technology at Mitsui Optical
“Triple-plate prism unit technology” is a core technology unique to Japan. The technology is used to separate light entered through the lens into three primary colors (red, green and blue) with a prism, converting the respective (R-G-B) color signals into image signals through an image sensor (CCD or CMOS).
Triple-plate prism units are essential for making quality TV-station cameras and advanced security cameras designed to deliver high quality images as they deliver more real-to-life high definition images compared to conventional single-plate (single image sensor) cameras.
By establishing the optical contact and triple-plate prism unit technology, Mitsui Optical has evolved from a simple optical device supply maker to an advanced optical device manufacturer capable of making quality prism units with its fully-integrated in-house manufacturing system covering all processes from polishing to prism-sensor bonding. Based on the strong point, Mitsui Optical promises stabilized supply of high-quality optical devices.
Sticking strongly on in-house fully-integrated production system
Our company has established an in-house fully-integrated production system for prism units by spending more than three years for technology development. To manufacture multiple-plate prism units in-house through a fully-integrated system, such core technologies as “prism polishing”, “coating”, “air-gap cementing” and “sensor bonding” are essential. By fusing craftsmanship accumulated for decades since establishment of our company with advanced technology, we have evolved them to our own core technologies. In Japan, there are several companies capable of manufacturing multiple-plate prism units, but only manufacturers having an in-house fully-integrated system are very few. Our company has the complete system. We are proud to be one of those very limited companies capable of meeting any customer needs by leveraging the strong point.