Hollow core fiber cables are fully customizable including length, coating and termination. Email us with your request or use our Custom Request Form.
Questions? Check out our FAQs
Multi-Mode Fiber Patch Cables
Three standard options covering three different wavelength ranges for delivering Mid-IR laser beams with low loss.
Part# HF500MW-SMA-Gn-1m
ID = 500 µm; MW coating for λ = 3 – 12 µm; SMA connectors; green jacket; Length = 1 m
Price/ea: $675
Part# HF500MWLW-SMA-Gn-1m
ID = 500 µm; MWLW coating for λ = 5 – 12 µm; SMA connectors; green jacket; Length = 1 m
Price/ea: $675
Part# HF500LW-SMA-Gn-1m
ID = 500 µm; LW coating for λ = 8 – 16 µm; SMA connectors; green jacket; Length = 1 m
Price/ea: $675
Single-Mode Fiber Patch Cables
Two standard options for delivering Mid-IR laser beams with a Gaussian beam profile.
Part# HF300LW-SMA-Be-1m
ID = 300 µm; LW coating for λ = 8 – 16 µm; SMA connectors; blue jacket; Length = 1 m
Price/ea: $775
Part# HF200MWLW-SMA-Bk-0.25m
ID = 200 µm; MWLW coating for λ = 5 – 12 µm; SMA connectors; black jacket; Length = 0.25 m
Price/ea: $650
Hollow core fiber cables are fully customizable including length, coating and termination. Email us with your request or use our Custom Request Form.
Package hollow core fibers with SMA connectors
Mid-IR Hollow Fibers
Hollow core fiber optics (i.e., waveguides) are the ideal solution for many Mid-IR applications requiring remote laser beam delivery. Benefits include the following:
- Good transmission from: λ = 2 – 16 µm
- Single mode options for λ ≥ 5 µm
- Mode filtering of non-Gaussian beams
- High coupling efficiency (> 95%)
- High energy/power (up to 100 W CW)
- No end reflections
- No cladding modes
- Robust and Flexible
Internal Dielectric Coating
The relative spectral transmission of hollow fibers depends on the thickness of the dielectric layer deposited inside the hollow fiber. This thickness is a parameter that we have full control over and can be tuned for a specific wavelength range with thicker coatings giving better transmission for longer wavelengths. We offer 4 standard coating options covering the entire Mid-IR. Alternative structures are available for other wavelength regions including UV, Visible/NIR, and THz.
Fiber Internal Diameter (ID)
Overall transmission in hollow fibers depends strongly on the fiber internal diameter (ID). Theoretically, loss can be described by Hybrid HE lm modes. The attenuation coefficients of such modes depend on the internal diameter as 1/(ID)3. In addition, there is a strong dependence on the mode#. Larger ID fibers have lower loss, but support more modes (i.e., multi-mode). Smaller ID fibers have higher loss, but heavily damp out the higher order modes, and can thus deliver single mode output. Furthermore, such single-mode fibers are very effective at filtering out higher order mode, and “cleaning” up non-ideal beams. Guiding Photonics is also in the process of developing tapered hollow fibers, in which the diameter gradually changes along the length of the fiber.
Effective N.A.
The output divergence angle listed in the table above can be thought of as the effective numerical aperture (NA) of the fiber. The term “effective” NA is used since this is not equivalent to the NA for a solid core fiber. A solid core fiber works on the principle of total internal reflection, and for such fibers the NA is a strict cut-off in terms of acceptance angle. In contrast, our hollow core fibers are essentially a reflective light pipe (i.e., waveguide), and here the term, effective NA, can be thought of as an optimal coupling angle, but is not a strict cut-off. The hollow fibers will guide light at a higher NA; however, the further one gets from optimal coupling, the lower the transmission and the further from single-mode performance. More information on coupling can be found here.
Hollow core fiber cables are fully customizable including length, coating and termination. Email us with your request or use our Custom Request Form.
Connector Options
Fibers can be packaged with standard SMA 905, FC/PC type connectors, or left bare. The FC connectors have a 2 mm key. Due to size constraints, the FC connectors are NOT available for the plastic 1500 µm fibers. With the “bare” fiber option, there is no connector on the end of the fiber.
Jacket Options
Fibers can be packaged with or without a protective jacket. We use standard furcation tubing, the fiber sits in an inner tube, surrounded by aramid fibers, with a PVC jacket on the outside. The jacket comes in a choice of different colors. For fibers with an ID < 750 µm, the jacket diameter is 3.0 mm, and for fibers with ID ≥ 750 µm, the jacket diameter is 3.8 mm.
Custom Bundles
Guiding Photonics assembles custom bundles that enable delivery of multiple laser sources in a single connector. Note: the fibers are side-by-side rather than fused. In addition to hollow fibers for the Mid-IR, we can also include standard solid core fibers for visible, NIR, and SWIR wavelengths.
Custom Fiber Optic Coupling Solutions
Guiding designs and produces custom opto-mechanical assemblies for a variety of applications. This includes fiber pigtailed solutions for Mid-IR lasers in HHL, VHL, and TO66 packages, as well as optical assemblies for a range of commercial QCL, ICL, and CO2 lasers. See our custom optical assemblies page for additional information.
