Collimating Lenses Instructions
2
CL-10000-000-05-201406
2.
Turn on the lamp and inspect the light beam emitted from the other end of the fiber by
pointing the fiber at a light-colored object such as a white piece of paper. The distance is not
too critical but should be at least 3 inches from the surface. Loosen the set screw on the fiber
barrel of the light source with an Allen wrench.
3.
After the set screw has been loosened, slide the inner barrel of the collimating lens on the light
source until you see an even intensity across the beam spot. The spot of light should be
uniform; there should be no fluctuations in intensity and color. There should not be any
dimmer rings of light surrounding the center spot.
4.
Once the inner barrel is positioned so that a well-focused, uniform spot of light is obtained,
tighten the set screw with the Allen wrench. Do not put down the fiber and then tighten the set
screw. Try to continue to hold the fiber 3 inches from the surface while you tighten so that if
the inner barrel of the collimating lens slips and distorts the spot of light, you will be able to
readjust the focus. Now the collimating lens on the light source is focused for the fiber.
Adjusting the Focus of the Next Collimating Lens in Your Setup
5.
For this part of the procedure, the illumination fiber is still connected to the lamp and its
collimating lens and the lamp is still on. Now take the second collimating lens in your setup
(removed from the illumination side of a cuvette holder, for example) and screw it onto the
other end of the illumination fiber. Make sure the fiber and the second collimating lens are
completely connected. Point this end of the fiber at least 2 meters away from a wall. If the
beam spot on the wall is too faint, you may need to dim the room lights.
6.
Loosen the set screw that holds the barrel of this second collimating lens in place and slide the
barrel until the spot of light focused on the wall has crisp edges. You are looking for the
sharpest and cleanest image possible. Tighten the set screw. Do not put the fiber down and
then tighten the set screw. Try to continue to hold the fiber with the spot of light focused on
the wall while you tighten the set screw so that if the inner barrel of the collimating lens slips
and distorts the image while tightening, you will be able to readjust the focus. Now that the
second collimating lens has been refocused, remove it from the end of the fiber and install it
back into your setup (back into a cuvette holder, for example).
Continue to Adjust the Focus of the Other Collimating Lenses in Your Setup
7.
You have completed adjusting the focus of the collimating lenses in the illumination part of
your setup. Continue to adjust the focus of the other collimating lenses in your setup. If the
read fiber is the same diameter size as the illumination fiber, repeat step 6 with each
collimating lens in your setup. If the read fiber is a different diameter size than that of the
illumination fiber, you need to remove the illumination fiber from the light source, connect the
read fiber to the light source, and repeat Step 6 for every collimating lens on the read part of
your setup.
