TPX

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TPX or Polymethylpentene is a thermoplastic polymer of methylpentene monomer units. It is used for gas permeable packaging, autoclavable medical and laboratory equipment, microwave components, cookware, TPX lenses and windows.

TPX melts at ≈ 240 °C. It has a very low density (0.83 g·cm³) and is transparent. It has excellent chemical resistance, low moisture absorption, and exceptional acoustical and electrical properties. Its properties are reasonably similar to those of other polyolefins, although it is more brittle and more gas permeable.

As TPX is a hard solid material it can be mechanically shaped into various optical components like lenses and windows. In comparison to other materials being used for operating in [THz] range TPX shows excellent optical properties. Specifically TPX is used in CO2 laser pumped molecular lasers as output window because it is transparent in the whole [terahertz] range and totally suppresses the ~10 µm pump radiation. It is also optically transparent in UV and visible ranges, what for example allows using a HeNe laser beam for alignment. TPX index of refraction is ~1.46 and is independent on wavelength.

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