Fibre Optics Laboratory

Organizational Unit

Grants related:

Description

The IAC Fibre Optics Laboratory has as main objective the preparation, assembly and polishing of optical fibre bundles for its application to astronomical instrumentation. Its surface is about 12 m2. The assembly of the bundles is carefully done manually in order to preserve the correct functionality and characteristics of the fibres. Usually, ancillary tools are designed to facilitate the assembly, since it is common to work with very thin fibres with cores up to 50 microns in diameter. The assembly of the bundles consists of coupling the fibres to their mechanical interfaces. These interfaces are used for their direct integration into the astronomical instrument or as a tool for their subsequent polishing. For this, resin-type adhesives with long curing times are used. These long cure times are necessary so that the stresses produced on the fibres are minimized. To ensure the transparency and preservation of the characteristics of the light entering the fibre, an optical quality polishing of the ends of each fibre is carried out. To make this polishing two machines are available, one is metallographic and the other is optical polishing machine. The polishing process can vary considerably depending on the requirements. Normally and in a generic way, in the initial phase a fine-grained (1,200) sandpaper is used as an abrasive to eliminate the main defects of the surface to be polished. From here begins a process of mechanical polishing with diamond paste abrasives with different grain sizes up to a size of 0.1 microns. During this process the flatness and the quality of the optical finish of the fibre faces are frequently verified until the required results are obtained. To finish, the quality of the manufactured bundles is verified in the Optical Laboratory. Its behavior in optical efficiency, focal ratio degradation and scrambling, both in the near and distant fields, are checked. Part of the equipment of this laboratory has been financed by ERDF funds.

Related Technical facility
Image of one of the polishing machines in the laboratory. Square machine with a mid-height sine to place the materials to be polished and with metal clamps on top to hold the polishing piece. The control knobs for the machine are in the upper part.
Optical polishing machines

Optical quality polishing machines

General view of one of the rooms (A) of the optical laboratory. Elongated laboratory with metal tables with holes and various optical and mechanical elements on top of them
Optics Laboratory

The Optics Laboratory is specialized in the realization of all type of optical measurements, alignment and integration of instruments, prototype tests and characterization of components and optical systems in general.

José Luís
Rasilla Piñeiro
Roberto
López López
Related Capability
Setup in the laboratory for the characterization of optical fibers. View of a setup with several optical components and optical fibers on a laboratory table
Design, manufacture and verification of optical fibres

Within its capability to develop optical instrumentation, the IAC has a deep knowledge and experience in the design, manufacture and verification of optical fibres and their applications.