UV Grade Fused Silica or BK7 Light Pipes
Custom manufactured straight rectangular or tapered UV grade fused silica or BK7 light pipes are now available from Valley Design.
In light pipes light enters and reflects from the walls, at the glass-air boundary an indeterminate number of times until it emerges. Fused silica and BK7 will absorb in some parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Designed to channel light from one end to the other through TIR (Total Internal Reflection), light pipes are also called homogenizers, waveguides and integrator bars.
The amount of absorption depends on:
- The wavelength
- Mass of material in the absorption path
- Absorption of fused silica or BK7 at a specific wavelength
Light Pipe Specifications:
| Material |
|
BK7 or fused silica (other optical materials also available) |
| Dimensional Tolerances |
|
Length: ± 0.1 mm typical |
|
|
Ends: ± 0.05 mm typical |
| Surface Scratch/Dig |
|
60/40 or as required |
| Clear Aperture |
|
All edges sharp |
| Edge Chips |
|
Less than 0.1 mm or as required |
| Parallelism |
|
Less than 3 arc minutes |
Rectangular and tapered light pipes are available in a variety of custom sizes. Please call or email for a quotation to meet your specifications.