# Optical and Laser Standards Reference: ISO 10110, ISO 11146, IEC 60825 and More

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/optical-and-laser-standards-reference-guide
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

Find which ISO, IEC, ANSI and MIL standard covers optical drawings, coatings, beam measurement, damage threshold and laser safety.

## Category

compliance-legal

## Industry

Photonics and Optics

## Audience

- Optical engineer
- Quality engineer
- Supplier quality
- Buyer

## Tool

**Kind:** worksheet

**Mode:** reference

**Columns:**

#### Standard

**Key:** std

**Type:** text

#### Topic

**Key:** topic

**Type:** text

#### What it covers

**Key:** scope

**Type:** text

#### Who uses it

**Key:** who

**Type:** text

**Rows:**

#### Optical drawings

**Std:** ISO 10110-1

**Scope:** General indications and conventions for preparing optical element and system drawings

**Who:** Optical designers, drafting, suppliers

#### Material imperfections

**Std:** ISO 10110-2

**Scope:** Stress birefringence indication and tolerance

**Who:** Optical designers, incoming inspection

#### Material imperfections

**Std:** ISO 10110-3

**Scope:** Bubbles and inclusions in the blank material

**Who:** Optical designers, glass buyers

#### Material imperfections

**Std:** ISO 10110-4

**Scope:** Inhomogeneity and striae of the material

**Who:** Optical designers, glass buyers

#### Surface form

**Std:** ISO 10110-5

**Scope:** Surface form tolerances such as irregularity and power

**Who:** Optical designers, metrology

#### Centring

**Std:** ISO 10110-6

**Scope:** Centring tolerances of lens elements

**Who:** Optical designers, assembly

#### Surface imperfections

**Std:** ISO 10110-7

**Scope:** Surface imperfection tolerances, an alternative to scratch-dig

**Who:** Optical designers, incoming inspection

#### Surface texture

**Std:** ISO 10110-8

**Scope:** Surface texture, roughness and waviness indications

**Who:** Optical designers, polishing

#### Surface treatment

**Std:** ISO 10110-9

**Scope:** Surface treatment and coating indications on drawings

**Who:** Optical designers, coating suppliers

#### Drawing data

**Std:** ISO 10110-10

**Scope:** Table representing data of a lens element

**Who:** Optical designers, suppliers

#### Drawing data

**Std:** ISO 10110-11

**Scope:** Non-toleranced data

**Who:** Optical designers

#### Aspheric surfaces

**Std:** ISO 10110-12

**Scope:** Indications for aspheric surface description

**Who:** Optical designers, asphere manufacturers

#### Wavefront

**Std:** ISO 10110-14

**Scope:** Wavefront deformation tolerance

**Who:** Optical designers, interferometry

#### Laser irradiation

**Std:** ISO 10110-17

**Scope:** Laser irradiation damage threshold indications

**Who:** Laser optics designers

#### Optical coatings

**Std:** ISO 9211-1

**Scope:** Definitions for optical coatings

**Who:** Coating engineers, buyers

#### Optical coatings

**Std:** ISO 9211-2

**Scope:** Optical properties of coatings

**Who:** Coating engineers

#### Optical coatings

**Std:** ISO 9211-3

**Scope:** Environmental durability of coatings

**Who:** Coating engineers, quality

#### Optical coatings

**Std:** ISO 9211-4

**Scope:** Specific test methods for coatings

**Who:** Coating engineers, quality

#### Laser vocabulary

**Std:** ISO 11145

**Scope:** Vocabulary and symbols for lasers and laser-related equipment

**Who:** Everyone writing specs

#### Beam measurement

**Std:** ISO 11146-1

**Scope:** Beam widths, divergence and propagation ratio for stigmatic and simple astigmatic beams

**Who:** Laser engineers, metrology

#### Beam measurement

**Std:** ISO 11146-2

**Scope:** Beam widths, divergence angles and propagation ratios for general astigmatic beams

**Who:** Laser engineers, metrology

#### Beam measurement

**Std:** ISO 11146-3

**Scope:** Intrinsic and geometrical laser beam classification, propagation details

**Who:** Laser engineers

#### Damage threshold

**Std:** ISO 21254-1

**Scope:** Laser-induced damage threshold, definitions and general principles

**Who:** Laser optics suppliers and buyers

#### Damage threshold

**Std:** ISO 21254-2

**Scope:** Determination of laser-induced damage threshold

**Who:** Test labs, laser optics suppliers

#### Damage threshold

**Std:** ISO 21254-3

**Scope:** Assurance of laser power (energy) handling capabilities

**Who:** Laser optics suppliers and buyers

#### Damage threshold

**Std:** ISO 21254-4

**Scope:** Inspection, detection and measurement of damage

**Who:** Test labs

#### Interferometry

**Std:** ISO 14999

**Scope:** Interferometric measurement of optical elements and optical systems

**Who:** Optical metrology

#### Raw optical glass

**Std:** ISO 12123

**Scope:** Specification for raw optical glass

**Who:** Glass buyers, optical designers

#### Laser safety

**Std:** IEC 60825-1

**Scope:** Safety of laser products: classification, requirements and user guidance

**Who:** Laser manufacturers, safety officers

#### Laser safety

**Std:** IEC TR 60825-14

**Scope:** A user's guide to laser product safety

**Who:** Safety officers, integrators

#### Laser machine safety

**Std:** ISO 11553-1

**Scope:** Safety of machinery: laser processing machines, general safety requirements

**Who:** Machine builders, integrators

#### Laser safety (US)

**Std:** ANSI Z136.1

**Scope:** Safe use of lasers, the base US standard behind the laser safety officer role

**Who:** US laser users, LSOs

#### Surface quality (US)

**Std:** MIL-PRF-13830

**Scope:** Optical components for fire control and similar instruments, with the scratch-dig surface quality method

**Who:** Defense optics suppliers and buyers

**Notes:** This guide names standards and describes their scope in our own words. Clause details, current revisions and limits are in the published standards, so buy or access the current edition before citing a requirement on a drawing or purchase order.

## Content

**Intro:** Optical drawings and laser quality documents reference a lot of standards, and it is easy to cite the wrong one. This guide maps each ISO, IEC, ANSI and MIL standard to its topic so you can find the right reference when writing a specification, auditing a supplier or answering a customer.

**Sections:**

#### How to use the guide

**Body:** Search by topic words such as coating, damage, beam or drawing, or by standard number. The scope column tells you what a standard covers so you can pick the right one for a drawing note or a supplier quality agreement. Export the list to Excel to build a controlled standards register for your quality system.

**Bullets:**

- Search for 10110 to see every part of the optical drawing series
- Filter on laser safety to find product and machine standards
- Use the who-uses-it column to route standards to the right team
- Record the revision you actually hold in your document control

#### Drawings and surface quality

**Body:** The ISO 10110 series describes how to specify an optical element on a drawing: material imperfections in parts 2 to 4, surface form, centring, surface imperfections and texture in parts 5 to 8, coatings in part 9, and data tables in parts 10 and 11. Many US suppliers still quote scratch-dig, derived from MIL-PRF-13830, while ISO 10110-7 uses a defect area approach. Your drawing must state which system applies, because grades from the two systems are not interchangeable.

#### Beams, damage and coatings

**Body:** ISO 11146 defines how beam width, divergence and the beam propagation ratio M-squared are measured, so two suppliers quoting M-squared are using the same method. ISO 21254 covers laser-induced damage threshold testing and power handling assurance, which matters when you buy mirrors and windows for high-power lasers. ISO 9211 covers definitions, optical properties and durability testing of optical coatings, and is a common reference in coating purchase specifications.

#### Laser safety standards

**Body:** IEC 60825-1 sets the classification and requirements for laser products and underpins the class labels (1, 1M, 2, 2M, 3R, 3B, 4) that you see worldwide. ISO 11553-1 addresses the safety of laser processing machines, while ANSI Z136.1 is the base US standard for safe use. A product that satisfies one does not automatically satisfy the others, since they cover different obligations of manufacturer, integrator and user.

**Cta:** If your supplier specifications, certificates and inspection results are scattered across ERP attachments and shared drives, we can build a private assistant that finds the governing standard and the evidence for each part. Talk to us about what that would involve.

**Faq:**

#### What is ISO 10110?

**Answer:** ISO 10110 is a multi-part standard that defines how to indicate optical elements and systems on technical drawings. It covers material imperfections, surface form, centring, surface imperfections, texture, coatings, aspheres, wavefront deformation and laser damage threshold indications, so optics suppliers read drawings the same way.

#### How is scratch-dig different from ISO 10110-7?

**Answer:** Scratch-dig comes from the US military specification MIL-PRF-13830 and grades defects by visual comparison against a standard. ISO 10110-7 specifies tolerances using the actual measured size and count of defects. The two cannot be converted exactly, so state one system clearly on the drawing.

#### Which standard defines M-squared measurement?

**Answer:** ISO 11146 defines how to measure laser beam widths, divergence angles and the beam propagation ratio, written as M-squared. Using this standard lets a buyer compare a supplier's M-squared claim against their own measurement on equal terms.

#### Do I need to buy the standards to use this guide?

**Answer:** No, the guide is free and summarises scope only. But clause numbers, limits and test details come from the published documents, so purchase or access the current edition before you write a requirement into a drawing, contract or audit finding.

## Search terms

ISO 10110 parts list, ISO 11146 beam width M2, ISO 21254 laser damage threshold, IEC 60825-1 laser product safety, MIL-PRF-13830 scratch dig, optical drawing standard ISO 10110, ANSI Z136.1 laser safety, ISO 9211 optical coatings

---
Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json