Construction of Optical Filters
Construction of Optical Filters
Construction of Optical Filters
www.semrock.com
Multiple interfaces lead to interference
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Different wavelengths interfere differently
Oil Slick
Interference leads to a
wavelength dependence
For a given thickness, only light of the right
wavelength interferes constructively. Leads
to colorful thin-film effects, like rings on an
oil slick or colors in a soap bubble. Soap Bubble
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Many “quarter-wave” layers → strong reflection
“Quarter-wave stack”
is a basic building block for thin-film filters;
made up of alternating layers of high- and
low-index material, each one quarter of an
optical wavelength in thickness; light at the Dielectric laser mirrors are typically
particular wavelength is strongly reflected. made with a quarter-wave stack
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Spectrum from a “quarter-wave stack”
• As an increasing number of high (H) and low (L) index layers are added
(in pairs), the transmission decreases (or reflection increases) over a
region called the “stopband”
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Spectrum from a “quarter-wave stack”
2 n − nL
x= arcsin H
π H
n + n L
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Edge filter
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Edge filters for Raman spectroscopy
Laser light
Filter transmission
Raman signal
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Long Wave Pass edge filter (RazorEdge®)
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Notch filters (StopLine® U- and S-Grade)
• Stopbands (usually higher harmonics) are the basis for notch filters
• Notch filters effectively eliminate a narrow band of wavelengths (e.g., a
laser line) while transmitting all other wavelengths as much as possible
• Filters can also be made with low ripple around more than one notch
• Complex, non-quarter-wave thick layers are required to make these
sophisticated filters with notches that occur at non-harmonically related
wavelengths
405 / 488 / 561-568 nm Triple-notch Filter
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New StopLine® “E-Grade” notch filters
Typical
measured
data for the
532nm filter
is shown.
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“Fabry-Perot” (narrow bandpass) filter
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Multi-cavity Fabry-Perot filter
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Multi-cavity Fabry-Perot filter example (MaxLine®)
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Diode laser “clean-up filter” (MaxDiode™)
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Bandpass filter by combining LWP-SWP
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Thin-film filter manufacturing – monitoring
Switch materials at
well-defined points
on the curve of
transmission vs. time
Self-correcting process!
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Thin-film filter manufacturing – monitoring
• Non quarter waves offer exceptional flexibility for more difficult spectral
profiles, but optical monitoring is also more difficult
Successful optical
monitoring demands
more sophisticated
algorithms to achieve
high total filter thickness
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Thin-film filter manufacturing – deposition
• Two main approaches for manufacturing optical thin-film filters for high-
performance fluorescence instrumentation and microscopes today:
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Deposition by evaporation (electron beam)
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Comparison of coating approaches
Data from: Optical Morphology: Just How Smooth Is That Surface? Photonics Spectra, June 1998
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IBS advantage – very repeatable process
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IBS advantage – durability and longevity
Physical
Standard / Procedure Test Description
Durability Test
Solubility/Cleanability MIL-C-48497A (4.5.4.2) Acetone and Alcohol Immersion Environmental test lab
Water Solubility MIL-C-48497A (4.5.5.3) Distilled Water Immersion
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IBS advantage – durability and longevity
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Simpler construction (e.g., BrightLine® filters)
BrightLine® Conventional
Exciter or Emitter Exciter or Emitter
Hard Soft
• Two filters exposed to 15 Watts from a Xe arc lamp over central 15 mm for first
24 hours; then to 2.5 W (reproduces back port of a fluorescence microscope)
Side 1 Side 1
“Burn”
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Optical durability – Semrock filters don’t “burn out”!
• Two filters exposed to 6 Watts of power from a Xenon arc lamp (with diameter to
reproduce back port of a fluorescence microscope) for 5 days
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Optical durability – Semrock filters don’t “burn out”!
• Different filters exposed to 6 Watts of power from a Xenon arc lamp (with
diameter to reproduce back port of a fluorescence microscope) for 5 days
Semrock FITC A
90 0.8%
Semrock DAPI B
Other Texas Red A
80 0.6% Other GFP A
60 0.2%
50 0.0%
40 -0.2%
30 -0.4%
0 -1.0%
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Exposure Time (hrs) Exposure Time (hrs)
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Thank You!
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