Fiber assemblies for spectroscopy and analytical equipment

Light enters spectrometers through the entrance slit, which is a very narrow opening housed by an optical bench. Photons can be delivered to the entrance slit using different fiber optic assemblies, including:

  • fiber bundles with round-to-slit (round-to-linear) configurations;
  • bifurcated, trifurcated or n-furcated fiber bundle assemblies;
  • various reflection probes;
  • fiber cables;
  • a mix of any of the above.

Below you can see some samples of fiber assemblies widely used for spectroscopic applications.

Round-to-slit bundle, 7 fibers
Round-to-slit bundle, n fibers
Bifurcated, 2 fibers

Fiber assembly type and configuration to be selected depending on your unique needs, such as design, wavelength range, the amount of delivered light (photon flux) and energy of an individual photon, the requested spectral resolution, sensitivity, the signal-to-noise ratio, and so on.

The selected light guide type plays a significant role on the performance of the spectrometer in general because this choice will have a direct influence on the spectral resolution of the entire setup. For example, light can be delivered to the same entrance slit through a single fiber cable (as seen in the left-hand picture below) or a round-to-slit fiber bundle assembly (in the right-hand picture below).

Both might work, but the coupling efficiency will be different because of a mismatch between slit dimensions and the dimensions of the light spot delivered to the slit. For this reason, round-to-line fiber bundles are first choice for spectroscopic applications, especially when every delivered photon is critical.

The silica/silica step-index multi-mode fibers we produce and utilize in our fiber assembly manufacturing processes can be used for:

  • UV-VIS
  • VIS-NIR
  • UV-VIS-NIR

Our team will help you select the best fiber for the wavelengths you need, allowing you to specify the fiber structure and used materials, the thickness of the F-doped reflecting cladding, and the numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber, all in line with the special conditions and requirements of your application.

Lightguide is a vertically integrated company, which gives you the freedom to create assembly that is designed together with you and that will be a perfect fit for your spectrometer. Lightguide handles everything from design to production, allowing us to produce and deliver in a short period of time. We carry out all critical-to-customer steps inhouse, including:

  • design and R&D
  • prototyping
  • fiber drawing
  • precision mechanics
  • assembling and mass production

Need some help?

Our team of advisors can help you in figuring out which components would be the most effective for your project and application needs.

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