Patent ID: 7324733

Claim:
A method of connecting a first element to a second element in an optical system, the method comprising: providing the first element with a first abutment and a first optical interface; providing the second element with a second abutment and a second optical interface; optical contact bonding the first abutment of the first element and the second abutment of the second element; and adhesively bonding the first abutment of the first element and the second abutment of the second elements; wherein optical contact bonding the first and second abutments comprises providing the first and second abutments with a flatness of λ/4 or less and pressing the first abutment into contact with the second abutment to obtain bonding forces between atoms of the first and second abutments; and wherein adhesively bonding the first and second abutments comprises maintaining the first and second optical interfaces free of adhesive to avoid impairing optical properties of the first and second optical interfaces.