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Appendix E. Cleaning Procedure
Cleaning Procedures
Cleaning Optical Glass Plates
Some instruments, for example, the optical heads from Hewlett-
Packard have an optical glass plate to protect the sensor. Clean this
glass plate in the same way as optical lenses (see “Cleaning
Lenses” on page 233).
Cleaning Physical Contact Interfaces
Remove any connector interfaces from the optical output of the
instrument before you start the cleaning procedure.
Cleaning interfaces is difficult as the core diameter of a singlemode
fiber is only about 9
µ
m. This generally means you cannot see
streaks or scratches on the surface. To be certain of the degree of
pollution on the surface of your interface and to check whether it
has been removed after cleaning, you need a microscope.
WA R N I N G
Never look into an optical output, because this can seriously damage
your eye sight.
To assess the projection of the emitted light beam you can use an
infrared sensor card. Hold the card approximately 5 cm from the
interface. The invisible emitted light is project onto the card and
becomes visible as a small circular spot.
Preferred Procedure
1
Clean the interface by rubbing a new, dry cotton-swab over the
surface using a small circular movement.
2
Blow away any remaining lint with compressed air.
Procedure for Stubborn Dirt
Use this procedure particularly when there is greasy dirt on the
interface:
1
Moisten a new cotton-swab with isopropyl alcohol.
2
Clean the interface by rubbing the cotton-swab over the surface
using a small circular movement.
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