Potassium Chloride – KCl

Optical potassium chloride (KCl) is a high-purity form commonly used as a material for optical components. It's a colourless, crystalline solid with a face-centred cubic crystal structure.

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We're established suppliers of KCl optics such as prisms, lenses and windows, and have worked with hundreds of companies to provide top-grade products.

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The properties of potassium chloride

Potassium chloride has many advantageous physical properties that make it an exceptional choice for many optical uses:

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• Wide transmission range - optical KCl has a wide transmission range, from the near-ultraviolet (UV) to the far-IR region. It's also highly transparent in the infrared (IR) region, making it an ideal material for use in IR optics.

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• Low refractive index - the refractive index of KCl sits at 1.45644.

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• Low absorption - potassium chloride has a low absorption coefficient, meaning it can transmit light with minimal loss.

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• High damage threshold - potassium chloride offers an impressive performance and is highly resistant to thermal and mechanical damage.

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• Low birefringence - One of the unique properties of optical KCl is its low birefringence, making it an excellent choice for creating polarizing optics, such as polarizers, beam splitters, and other polarization-sensitive optical components.

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• Chemical resistance - It's highly resistant to chemical attack by most acids and alkalis and as a result, it can be used in harsh chemical environments.

Important - optical KCl is a hygroscopic material, which can absorb moisture from the environment. This can cause it to degrade over time and affect its optical properties. 

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Therefore, it's important to store and handle optical KCl properly to prevent moisture from contaminating the material.

What are the applications of potassium chloride?

There are an array of uses for potassium chloride:

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Spectroscopy

Thanks to its high damage threshold and low refractive index and absorption, potassium chloride is frequently used in FTIR spectrophotometers to analyse a wide range of materials in infrared spectroscopy.

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Optical KCl is also useful in the construction of IR spectroscopy cells, which are used in chemical analysis.

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Optical components

KCL optics include prisms, lenses and windows - here at Global Optics, we supply a vast range of potassium chloride optical components for various purposes.

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IR optics

KCl protection windows are often used in high-powered CO2 laser applications such as skin resurfacing and surgical procedures.

Get in touch with our experts

At Global Optics, we're experienced, reliable and trusted suppliers of potassium chloride optics, from windows and prisms to lenses and other optical components.

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Feel free to contact us today to enquire and we'll help you through the order process.