Ophir Optronics

Key takeaways

Ophir Optronics belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ophir Optronics to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ophir Optronics from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ophir Optronics Solutions is a multinational company that sells optronics solutions. The company develops, manufactures and markets infrared (IR) optics and laser measurement equipment. Founded in 1976, in Jerusalem, Israel, as a developer and manufacturer of precision infrared optics and laser measurement instrumentation. The company initially focused on producing optical components and measurement tools for industrial and defense applications and was traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange from 1991 until it was acquired, and was a constituent of its Tel-tech index. Headquartered in the Har Hotzvim industrial park in Jerusalem, Israel Ophir owns a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) complex that includes the group's main production plant. Ophir has additional production plants in North Andover, Massachusetts and Logan, Utah in the US and sales offices in the US, Japan and Europe. In 2006, Ophir acquired Spiricon Group, a US-based company in the beam-profiling market. Ophir's sales increased sharply from $45 million in 2005 to $74 million in 2007. During 2007, Ophir established a Swiss-based subsidiary (Ophir Optics Europe GmbH) to market lenses and components for surveillance and imaging systems in Europe. In May 2010, Ophir acquired Photon Inc., another US-based beam-profiling company. Newport Corporation, a global supplier in photonics solutions, completed its acquisition of the Ophir company in October 2011. In 2016, metrology firm MKS Instruments bought Newport Corporation, including the Ophir brand, for $980 million. Ophir was publicly traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange from 1991 until 2011, when it was acquired by Newport Corporation, a global supplier of photonics solutions. In 2016, Newport—and by extension, Ophir—was acquired by MKS Instruments, Inc., for $980 million integrating Ophir into MKS's Photonics Solutions Division. As of August 2025, Ophir operates as a division of MKS Inc, with manufacturing and R&D facilities in Israel, the United States, Romania and India. In 2017, Ophir Optronics, Ophir Optics Group, released the LightIR range of infrared thermal imaging zoom lenses, designed for UAVs, drones, and handheld devices. At Eurosatory 2018, Ophir introduced another infrared thermal imaging lens to the range, the LightIR 15-75mm f/1.2, for uncooled 10–12-μm-pixel-size long–wave infrared (LWIR) detectors. In 2019, Ophir expanded its family of cooled MWIR long range lenses, adding 900mm and 1350mm FLs, for use in aviation and observation systems. In January 2020, Ophir's SupIR 50-1350mm f/5.5, an MWIR long range lens for thermal imaging cameras, was named a 2020 SPIE's PRISM Awards finalist in the category of Safety and Security.

Products and technology Ophir develops and manufactures infrared optics in the MWIR, LWIR and SWIR wavelengths, including both zoom and single field-of-view lenses for security surveillance and observation systems. In 2025, the company launched MWIR zoom lenses with folded optics designed for long-range imaging in compact formats. In 2023, Ophir introduced its first SWIR & NIR 25–250 mm continuous zoom lens as a low-SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) design covering 700–1700 nm. This lens has a 10× zoom range, weighs approximately 860 g, and is used with small-pixel SWIR detectors in drones, coastal surveillance, and defense applications. The company's laser optics division manufactures components for CO2 and 1 μm (fiber) laser systems employed in industrial cutting, welding, and marking. Ophir also produces laser power and energy meters capable of measuring outputs from femtowatts to hundreds of kilowatts, and from picojoules to kilojoules, covering both continuous wave and pulsed sources. Its beam profilers and analysis systems measure beam shape, size, divergence, and energy distribution, including BeamSquared (m2) measurement, using CMOS and InGaAs sensors that detect wavelengths from UV to far infrared. The company also produces spectral measurement instruments for verifying laser wavelength and spectral content, as well as software platforms such as BeamGage and StarLab for visualization, logging, automation, and system integration. Ophir's technologies are developed in-house and calibrated to international standards, including those set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Ophir Groups and Subsidiaries The Ophir Photonics Group manufactures, calibrates and sells a complete line of laser measurement instruments for analyzing and measuring laser power, energy, beam profile and spectrum used in industry, telecom, medical and scientific research. Products include reliable and accurate laser power and energy meters, laser beam diagnostic instrumentation, laser measurement tools and spectral analysis instruments, which comply with NIST calibration. The Infrared Optics Group designs and produces optical lenses and elements for military, security and commercial markets. All manufacturing is done in-house, using automated CNC and patented Diamond Turning technologies. Ophir has expanded its optical and mechanical design department to offer lens assemblies and broadened its product lines to include the design and manufacture of optical elements for CO2 high power lasers used in industry for laser cutting and welding machines. In July 2008, the FIMI fund invested $23.5 million in Ophir in exchange for five million shares of the company and 1.75 million warrants, exercisable within five years at $5.75 each. In December 2016 Haaretz reported that Ophir Optronics was subject of British intelligence gathering, as it was believed connected to Israeli defense fiber optics systems.

Global Operations The company maintains production in Har Hotzvim industrial park, with additional facilities in Romania, Massachusetts, and Utah. In 2024, the company opened a new service and assembly hub in Delhi, India, to meet regional demand and support defense projects. In 2024 MKS relocated and expended its Romania Bucharest site to a 6,500 sqm site manufacturing Ophir Optics product solutions amongst other MKS products.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ophir Optronics

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ophir Optronics claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ophir Optronics before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ophir Optronics ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ophir Optronics

In research: Ophir Optronics appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ophir Optronics in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ophir Optronics is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Medical technology companies of Israel, Optics manufacturing companies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ophir Optronics outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Ophir Optronics in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ophir Optronics means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ophir Optronics out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ophir Optronics in simple terms?

Ophir Optronics Solutions is a multinational company that sells optronics solutions. The company develops, manufactures and markets infrared (IR) optics and laser measurement equipment.

Why does Ophir Optronics matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ophir Optronics?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ophir Optronics.