To clean optical elements, most people use cotton-tipped applicators with a suitable solvent.. In general, avoid the use of water or solvents with water when cleaning salts (e.g., KBr, NaCl). Many non-salt materials can be cleaned with water. Many materials in general can be cleaned with organic solvents such as alcohol, acetone, and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK). MEK is a particularly good solvent for cleaning optical materials, because of its high volatility. Another method of cleaning windows and ATR elements is to use an ultrasonic cleaning bath. With this equipment, cleaning is accomplished without abrasion. (Such cleaning baths are available through the major laboratory equipment suppliers.) The optical elements are placed in a tray or shallow bottle, on top of a soft material (e.g., PTFE), so that no two elements are touching. The elements are then covered with a suitable solvent and the cleaner turned on for approximately one hour. Non-contact cleaning of optical elements may also be accomplished using a low power plasma cleaner. One common method to verify that the window or ATR element is clean is to run a single beam spectrum and look for unusual peaks that were not present in previous background spectra using the same equipment. Obviously, no amount of cleaning will restore an optical element which has been scratched, chipped, or broken. Minor defects can be corrected using the Optical Polishing Kit.
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