Fiber-Optic Diffuser

Fiber-optic diffusers have applications in a wide range of technologies, anywhere a volume of material is be excited and/or interrogated, e.g. Optogenetics. For applications involving larger volumes of tissue, conventional cleaved or shaped fiber tips cannot be used. The fundamental problem is the strong optical absorption in tissue. This is a serious limitation for experiments involving more complex animals.

DifTek has developed a fiber based diffuser that can illuminate cm-long regions along an optical fiber ~350 microns in diameter. Diffuser elements are all glass with a plastic coating, facilitating handling and allowing broad bandwidth with low absorption. The diffuser is connected to a standard multi-mode, connectorized fiber for ease of use. Photographs show a 2 cm long diffuser in operation. Other sizes and lengths are available as custom orders.

In other applications, the diffuser surface can be sensitized, or the optical field can directly interrogate the surrounding environment. Interaction lengths can be longer, depending on the surface coating, and light can be coupled back into an optical fiber using the same fabrication process.

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NEW! Small diameter (<250 micron) diffuser by ~10 mm.