What optical fibers should I use with my Cobra OCT spectrometer?

Cobra spectrometers in the 800nm passband would include a FC/APC to FC/PC patch cable with a Nufern 780HP fiber type. (0.13NA, ~5um mode field diameter e.g. Thorlabs P5-780A-PCAPC-1).

Spectrometers using 300nm excitation would typically use a 630HP or SM600 fiber type (0.13NA, ~4um mode field diameter e.g. P5-630A-PCAPC-1).

VIS units would include a 405 or 460 fiber depending on the spectral range:

CS550-475/15SM300, 0.13NA, ~2um MFD e.g. P5-405B-PCAPC-1CS550-555/80, CS550-573/115, CS550-600/200SM400, 0.13NA, ~3um MFD e.g. P5-460B-PCAPC-1

NIR units use SM980-5.8-125, 0.13NA, ~5.8MFD e.g. P5-980A-PCAPC-1. Other acceptable fiber types in this passband include 980HP and SMF28.

The goal with the fiber size is to keep the core small enough to ensure single-mode operation across the wavelength range of the spectrometer. Some of our spectrometer spectral ranges exceed the operating wavelength specifications of commonly available fibers, and in those cases it is generally preferred to use a fiber that ensures single mode operation on the low end of the spectrometer’s spectral range.

OCT systems built by Wasatch typically use patch fibers from Thorlabs or Neptec.