Fast And Reliable Fiber-Optic Switches For Industrial And Scientific Applications

Multi-channel acquisition of spectral data is of high importance when it comes to manufacturing of large panes of architectural glasses or of solar cells or for making thin films. To avoid using multiple spectrometers, which can be quite expensive for process applications, optical multiplexing of a variety of sample channels is of high interest.

The Leoni fiber-optic switches are highly reliable (reproducibility in the range of 0.1%), can act quite fast (up to 50 Hz) and have low losses (< 20%). The duty cycle is more than 108 switches. All these features are required for modern process control and large sample throughput applications.

The standard switch has a 1:4 arrangement, but other setups like 2:2 can be created as well. By cascading switches up to 16 output channels can be provided. All kinds of quartz fibers – from single-mode types up to 600µm core diameter – can be inserted as well as various connector types are available.

The fiber-optic switches are available as ready-to-use units encased into a robust metal housing with included power supply or as OEM parts with external fiber pigtails. Customizations are standard.

The switches can be used in conjunction with the tec5/tec5USA spectrometer systems and software tools are prepared to use these fiber-optic switches.

SOURCE: GN/tec5USA, Inc.