Island Optics Ltd is an optics manufacturing business specialising in precision flats such as mirrors, windows, beamsplitters, polarisers, Optical Flats, etc. We manufacture many custom optics and prototypes. I believe there is a market for a small company to provide high quality optics at a reasonable price and with a fast and reliable delivery. I aim to recreate the excellent service, reliability and quality products that we were well known for as Quality Laser Optics Ltd.

Responsible for developing Crystran's capability to manufacture very flat optics in various types of Glasses, Fused Silica, Zerodur, etc to better than lambda/20 and to build the customer base for these products. Also, to assist in improving Crystran's abilities in manufacturing very flat substrates in the materials that they have been polishing for the past 20 years such as CaF2, MgF2, SiC, ZnSe, ZnS, Ge, etc.

Founded Quality Laser Optics Ltd in 1992 in a small industrial unit of 900 sq. ft. production area. Steadily expanded the company to a team of 16 employees in 8600 sq ft purpose built property. Building a manufacturing company from scratch involved dealing with all aspects of the business i.e. building a customer base, dealing with various suppliers, managing and training employees, etc. Specialist fields being very flat optics, high damage threshold optics and very large optics up to 1 metre… Show more Founded Quality Laser Optics Ltd in 1992 in a small industrial unit of 900 sq. ft. production area. Steadily expanded the company to a team of 16 employees in 8600 sq ft purpose built property. Building a manufacturing company from scratch involved dealing with all aspects of the business i.e. building a customer base, dealing with various suppliers, managing and training employees, etc. Specialist fields being very flat optics, high damage threshold optics and very large optics up to 1 metre diameter. Equipment included a 96" and an 85" continuous polishing machine and a 12" Zygo interferometer. Customers included Rutherford Labs, Zygo Corp, AWE, Lawrence Livermore Labs, CVI, GSI Darmstadt, BAE Systems, University of Nevada, etc. Business was very successful and after an approach from CVI Laser Corp. I sold the business in 2006. Show less

I returned to Technical Optics Ltd where I specialised in etalon fabrication from 1987 - 1992.

In 1981 I moved to Connecticut, USA to join Zygo Corporation where I worked on large optics for Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, NASA, Los Alamos Labs and many other prominent organisations. By the time I left in 1987 to return to the UK I was manager in the Optics Fabrication Department.

I joined Technical Optics Ltd as a trainee aged 18 years. I was taught the basics in optics manufacture taking a blank through to a precision finished optic. I specialised in making very flat optics and by the time I left I was polishing etalons to a flatness of lambda/200.