Fiberoptics, or optical fibers, are basically small wires that conduct light. The greatest characteristics of fiberoptics is that they allow to transmit light through convoluted pathways as they can easily be bent.
Optical fibers are made of optically transparent material such as glass, plastic or other transparent material such as sapphire. They have at least two layers, the central one called the "core" and which actually transmits the light, and an outer layer called "cladding" which guides the light. In technical terms, the cladding has a lower refractive index than the core. The fabrication of an optical fiber is a highly specialized industry. For more information on fiberoptics (how they work and the history of fiberoptics), we suggest you visit other sites such as the Wikipedia or the Fiber-optics.info site.
Fiberoptics have a wide range of applications, including simple visible light transmission for illumination purpose to transmission of optical signals for telecommunication to delivery of high power laser beam for cutting metals. Each application requires specific characteristics, and accordingly, there is a wide variety of optical fibers from very small (~ 20-micron diameter) to relatively large (~ 2-mm diameter), from plastic to fused silica to sapphire, and from UV-transmitting to IR-transmitting.
Optical Fiber Systems Inc specializes in the fabrication of fiberoptics assemblies for laser beam delivery and optical sensing applications. We do not fabricate our own optical fiber, we simply purchase the raw fibers from various vendors such as Ceramoptec, Fiberguide Industries, Polymicro Technologies or Nufern. We assemble the fiberoptics as specified by our customers. The assembly may include cutting to length, assembling several strands of different types of fiberoptics together, inserting the fibers inside protective tubing, mounting connectors, polishing end faces, fusion-splicing, etc. We have a complete line of equipment including polishing machines, fusion splicers, and inspection microscopes
Fiber Arrays
We provide a wide range of fiber arrays including telecom-standard SMF in V-groove Silicon substrate to customized multi-mode fiber array with collimating lenses. We work with all types of fibers including single-mode, multi-mode, polarization-preserving, double-clad, from 80-micron diameter to 600-micron diameter and more. We can also fabricate fiber arrays compatible with high power fiber lasers. Please call us or send us an email with your specific requirements.
Fiber Assemblies
We also provide a wide range of optical fiber assemblies from simple cable to complex bundles, from single prototype unit to volume production. We are equipped with all the necessary equipment to satisfy your most stringent requirements. Following is a brief description of our main options:
Fiber size
Our standard fiber core diameters are 200-micron, 400-micron and 600 micron. Other sizes can be available upon request.
Connector types SMA905. This is a widely used connector, but has limited positioning precision (about +/-20 micron for the positioning of the fiber core relative to the mount) and limited thermal dissipation capability. The connector ferrule is specified at 0.124"-0.1245". This connector also usually requires the use of epoxy to hold the tip of the fiber, which can be undesirable for high power application. FC. This is a standard connector used for telecommunication application and is normally used for single-mode fiber. The connector ferrule is 2.5mm. When used for large multi-mode fiber, it provides a better positioning precision than SMA (about +/-10 micron). D80C. This connector is specifically for high laser power application (up to about 300W) and is compatible with the Mitsubishi D80 and Losch LD-80 connectors. It has a ferrule specified at 3.985-3.995mm. It is an entirely epoxy-free connector. It provides a much sturdier and more rugged connection than the SMA-type connectors along with much improved heat dissipation. It is widely used in industrial systems.
Fiber protection
We offer several type of fiber protection: standard 2-mm or 3-mm PVC furcation tubing, 6-mm flexible Stainless-Steel cable armor, PVC-covered cable armor or monocoil.
Examples of fiberoptic assemblies:
Fiber array, 4 x MM50/125, 250 µm spacing, 1 m branch-out w/ FC/PC.
Fiber array, 8 x SF28 (8-fiber ribbon),250 µm spacing, MTP-8.
