These multi-branch fiber bundles have one common end and either two or three legs. They make inexpensive and simple beam splitters or combiners. All ends are terminated with standard Oriel 11 mm ferrules.
High UV Transmittance
These assemblies are made from high quality glass or high grade fused silica. The fused silica bundles transmit down to 260 nm. Fig. 1 shows a transmittance curve for both materials. The high grade fused silica bundles transmit almost all arc lamp radiation, particularly if you are working with ozone free lamps. However, with prolonged UV exposure, the fibers solarize. We offer Solarization Resistant Fibers for the deep UV (below 260 nm).
Our Fibers are Comb Randomized
These multi-branch fiber bundles are comb randomized to produce evenly divided outputs. When light is uniformly focused onto the large unified input, each leg of a bifurcated bundle receives 43% of the total incident energy. Each leg of a trifurcated bundle receives 27% of the total incident radiation (approximately 4% is reflected at the input and output and packing fraction is 0.9). Note: these bundles are sensitive to position changes. Changing the position of the common end or either leg will change the output beam distribution and power. Try to avoid movement of the bundle during a measurement.
Multi-Branch versus Multi-Track
Don’t confuse these fibers with Multi-track Fiber Bundles, which are used for multiplexing several inputs into a spectrograph slit. The common end of a Multi-Track Fiber has an array of single fibers usually arranged in a slit-like configuration. Each fiber is a “leg” or track, off the common end.
Construction
The fibers in the glass bundles are protected by an interlocking stainless steel sheathing. The high grade fused silica bundles have a PVC sheathing with Kevlar wrap and inner polypropylene tubing. The ends on all are terminated with our standard 11 mm ferrules.
