Molding Technologies
The manufacture of aspherical lenses and diffractive-optical elements, which have structures designed to diffract light on their surfaces, is made possible through mold-making technology, the most advanced technology used in lens production.

Photo Replication
 In photo replication, a UV hardening resin is placed on an aspherical lens surface to transfer the mold shape, after which the resin is allowed to harden. After years of research into mold-making techniques to fabricate finely shaped molds as well as the characteristics and physical properties of resins, Canon has perfected a technique that realizes nanometer-level precision in the controlling and transferring of fine shapes, making possible the manufacture of a wide variety of extremely precise lenses.

Plastic Molding
 Plastic molding involves pouring plastic into a finely fabricated aspherical mold to create a lens. This technology is based on numerous innovations that ensure precise and stable molding, and is also used to produce aspherical lenses for compact cameras.

Glass Molding
 Glass molding employs high-precision aspherical molds, which are pressed directly onto glass to shape it into lens elements. Based on studies of glass materials and mold materials, Canon conducted simulations of variations in temperature and dimensions to create molds that ensure consistent and accurate performance even at high temperatures. Lenses manufactured from these glass molds have found wide application due to the flexibility of their refractive index and other optical parameters.