Scientific Laboratory Instruments, Optics, and Photonics

LED has a small protective dome over the diode that is commonly known as the primary optic that serves to protect and shape the output of the small diode. But light from the primary optic of the LED is broad for most application and lacks intensity for long distance. To reduce this drawback LED fixtures use secondary fixtures like collimating lens from Thorlabs or other labs, reflectors, TIR optics etc that collects light and magnifies its intensity towards the target. If you wish to create lenses and reflectors for LEDs, then you need to use some logical ways apart from just scaling them down from the light source. This is because LED has much smaller form factors than other light sources and also differs in the way it emits light . Use of collimating lens in LED          The collimating lens of the LED undergoes the process of Total Internal Reflection or TIR. TIR is defined as the complete reflection of a ray of light within a medi...

Light sources are needed for transmission, absorption and reflection spectroscopic setups. To couple, the light conveniently with the fiber optic bundles, bundles and probes it is essential to collect the light and couple it through SMA-905 connectors. There are different light sources like Tungsten-Halogen light source, Deuterium-Halogen Light Source , LED, Mercury-Argon etc that have different application and wavelength ranges. Tungsten-halogen light source provides stable output and is used in the visible range to do color measurements. Halogen light provides stable output and its life depends on the color and temperature of the bulb. The high stability of halogen light source makes it suitable for the use as a color reflection illumination source and as an irradiance calibration light source. Deuterium light source is found in combination with halogen and is called Deuterium-Halogen Light Source . It provides a stable output and is used in UV-absorption or reflection...

The collimator is a device that changes the diverging light or other radiations from a point source into a parallel beam. This specific feature of the device makes it an important part in spectroscopy and geometric and physical optics. An optical collimator consists of a tube with a convex lens at one end and an adjustable aperture at the other. The collimating lens of Thorlabs inside the collimator produces rays into the parallel beam so that the image can be viewed without parallax. Uses of Collimating Lens The collimating lens of Thorlabs or other labs is curved optical lenses that are used by the user to control the field of view, collection efficiency and spatial resolution of their setups. It is also used to configure illumination and collection angles for sampling. Use of Collimating Lenses in Radiology The collimator lens is also used in radiology where a collimator is an arrangement of absorbers for limiting beam of X-rays, gamma rays, or nuclear par...

Fiber optics or optical fiber refers to the medium and the technology associated with the transmission of information as the light pulses along a glass or plastic strand or fiber. The central core to the fiber is surrounded by a cladding and a protective coating. Ones the light is injected into the core it remains trapped into it until emerged from the opposite end; this is because the cladding has a slightly higher index of refraction than the core. The sensors, illuminators, and toys make use of inexpensive plastic fibers. The environment that requires electrical isolation or protection from the elements uses fiber coupled LED . Coupling of Optical Fibers to LEDs and Sensors Although many fiber couplers are available for various LEDs and light sensors one can connect silica and plastic fibers directly to LEDs and sensors. Here are different methods used to produce fiber coupled LED and sensors. Preparing the Fiber Ends To obtain the best results use the plast...

Laboratories that are concerned with quantitative analysis require stringent calibration of scales. Nowadays, modern scales are used, whose precision is largely dependent on the accuracy of calibration weight in the United States. The accuracy of the scale depends on the grades of stainless steel and other contributing factors. There are different classes of calibrated weight which is defined by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) These calibration weight is available with certificates in the United States . Class E1: These weights are the highest accuracy class, and are intended to use for traceability between national mass standards and OIML class E2 weight and lower. The maximal permissible error from the nominal value at 1 kg is ±0.5 mg. This class of calibration weight is used as primary laboratory reference standard in the United States . Class E2: Weights that are intended for use in the verification or calibration of class F1 weights an...

Ball lenses are an optical component used for improving coupling between fibers, emitters, and detectors and for coupling and collimating in the range of 0.5 to 5mm in diameter. They are also used in endoscopy, barcode scanning, and sensor applications. Ball lens of Thorlabs are prepared using a single substrate of glass and is used for collimating light. The collimation of light depends on the geometry of input sources. The most important factor that is used to determine the performance of the ball lens is the numerical aperture. This is because of the spherical aberration of the ball lens in proportion to the cube of numerical aperture. This limits the use of ball lens for the use with fibers having a numerical aperture of 0.2 or less. Following parameters are used to defines the application of ball lens: •          The diameter of the input source •          The diameter of the b...

Fused Silica is the highly pure, non-crystalline material and is the most preferable choice for making mirror substrate, high performance lens, and simple stable tool. It has many benefits that make it a priority choice among the users. Some of the benefits of Fused Silica are: Range of Transmission: A fused silica produces the high throughput over a wide range of the spectrum. A standard UV fused silica transmits more than 90% in the wavelength range of 200nm to 2 microns with the least deviation at 1.4-micron wavelength. The IR grade fused silica achieves more than 90% transmission within the wavelength of 200 nm to 3.5 microns. Other fused silica varieties allow the transmission in the high-power semiconductor, extreme UV region of 248 nm and 193 nm due to the presence of some impurities.  Fused Silica is the most superior and versatile glass material as its transmission range lies within the limit of most of the optical glasses. Low Thermal Expansion ...

A biological microscope is an optical microscope that is used to study microscopic organisms, cells, tissues and their vital processes. The magnification range of the microscope varies and depends on the objective lens attached to it. The objective lens is available in the range from 10x to 1000x. Some specialized version of biological microscopes is capable of performing fluorescence imaging and is commonly known as fluorescence microscopes. Kewlab deals in different types of the biological microscope and avails the product at an affordable price. Types of Biological Microscopes There are different types of biological microscope like a compound microscope, inverted microscope, and fluorescent microscope. These microscopes are used for different purpose and in different applications. Compound Microscope: A compound microscope is an extension of the magnifying glass that uses two or more lenses to produce the clear and enlarged image of an object. It magnifies an ...

The laser is amazing light beams that are powerful enough to zoom miles into the sky or cut the lumps of metal. Nowadays the lasers are found in a dazzling range of products and technologies, including CD and DVD players, metal-cutting machines, measuring systems, laser printers, barcode scanners, in the eye and cosmetic surgery. Even our clothes are cut with lasers; we send and receive emails over the internet with the signals that lasers fire down fiber-optic cables. The wide application of laser has results in the manufacture of laser crystal product that are used in optics study. How is laser created? The laser beam is created when the electrons in atoms in special glasses, crystals, or gases absorb energy from an electrical current or another laser and jump to higher energy orbit on excitation. When the excited electrons return back to their ground state they emit energy in the form of photons (particles of light). Unlike normal light, the photons of laser light hav...

Water baths and chiller plays a very important role in the laboratory of pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies, research institutes etc. But most often it is placed at one corner of the lab and is not taken care of. Since lab water chiller and bath plays an important role in various laboratory tasks therefore it is essential to maintain its proper functioning. Whenever a task involving heating and cooling of chemicals is to be done in the lab, the role of water bath and chiller comes into play. A proper maintenance of water bath and chiller is very important as a small error in the unit can result in loss of thousands of dollars. How often should you check the functioning of the equipment? A cleaning and maintaining of water chiller and bath employs little efforts and energy. Cleaning of air, fluid or condenser of the water bath is found to be enough to maintain its proper functioning. •             Fitters and water level m...

What is Calibration? Calibration is a process intimately associated with analytical balances. It determines the relationship between the displayed value and true mass by comparing their value with the known mass. It helps in determining the accuracy of an analytical balance or precision scale. Calibration is essential as it validates the precision of the weighing measurements. It also increases the longevity of the weighing scale and helps in producing valid data during rigorous testing. While shopping for calibration weight scale in the United States you come across the internal calibration and external calibration scale option. It is quite challenging to choose between two options. To make a smart decision you must have a complete knowledge of each type, the difference between them and their pros and cons. Read the following information and choose the calibration weight option in the United States smartly External Calibration External calibration is the...

The laser is an amazing substance that is known for its high luminosity (billion times of that of the sun). It has incomparable collimation. The great power of laser has a tendency to melt even the hardest substance. For this reason, it has wide application in manufacturing, life as well as scientific research. A laser device is equipment that generates the laser. On the basis of working substances, laser devices are •     Gas laser •     Solid laser •     Liquid laser •     Semi-conductor laser Laser Optics is used in wide range of laser instrumentation or laser applications. It uses different substrates like laser crystal. Laser crystal optics provides superior performance at specific laser wavelength or over the range of wavelengths. The Distinctiveness of Laser Crystal Laser crystal has a unique composition and is doped with other ions like transition rare earth ions or transition metal ions. ...