Fiber stretcher and driver (femtosecond/micrometer range) / Optical delays

• Modulation of the optical path length (i.e. the optical phase)
• Accurate control of the delay
• Low insertion loss between 0.05 and 0.3dB
• High resolution < 1fs
• High speed
• Compact packaging
• All fibers: SM, MM, PM, LMA
• Large choice of optical termination
• Analog control (+digital in option)

• Variable optical delay
• Interferometric measurements
• Ultrafast dynamics
• Fast feedback loop
• Lasers & ultra-intense lasers
• Metrology
• Coherent Beam Combining
• Chirped Pulsed Amplification (CPA)

Fiber stretchers, also called phase shifters, offer the attractive feature to tune and modulate the path length of the light within the fiber core and so the resulting optical delay does. They are based on voltage-driven Piezo ceramics and need to be controlled with proper electronics drivers. Any type of fiber may be assembled, please ask.

Delay vs Voltage (at 150V)

Time delay variations of +/- 20% may appear between each component

Fiber stretchers – Standalone specification*

The above specifications give the maximum capacities of our fiber stretchers. All stretchers’ electrical interfaces are compliant with a piezo driver (from IDIL, other manufacturers) / * calculated with LF Piezo driver

Ordering information – Suggested models :

Stretcher, Buffer 900µm, L=0.5m, FC/APC x2

Non-exhaustive list. Feel free to ask for other kind of connectors (E2000, SC, SMA, LC, etc.), fiber tube (3mm, Stainless steel, PTFE, etc.), pigtails lengths.

IDIL has developed a high-performance drivers range dedicated to PZ-based fiber stretching products. No more need of costly high-voltage electronics, a simple 0-5V signal must be applied to modulate the whole output voltage range (0-100V).

Piezo drivers – Standalone specification

* given value for 8nF capacitive load (HF Stretcher Series)

HF Piezo Driver – Max Power Consumption (without external heat sink)

HF Piezo Driver – Bandwidth (100Vp-p output)

*Please note that IDIL Piezo drivers are limited to 100V voltage drive maximum. Contact us for higher driving capabilities.

Prefer a plug-and-play solution and try our combos: Stretcher + Driver

No more worrying about capacitive PZ values, driver deliverable current, etc. ; with combos, your 0-5V input modulation signal is directly translated into optical path length modulation and therefore into optical and phase delay.

Low-Frequency Combo: Driver + Stretcher 12 or 25µm

The LF Combo is ideal for application using specific and expensive optical fiber types. LF stretchers are unique as they only require 20mm (FS 20µm) or 40mm (FS 40µm) of internal fiber length. They also offer ultra-low insertion loss < 0.05dB and are compatible with a large range of optical fibers (SM, MM, PM) and wavelengths from UV to IR.

High-Frequency Combo: Driver + Stretcher 20µm

The HF Combo is ideal for high-speed, fast feedback loop, interferometric and sensing applications. HF stretchers are the faster models available and offer enhanced signal modulation. They also offer low insertion loss < 0.3dB and are compatible with most of optical fibers (SM, MM, PM) and wavelengths from Vis to IR.

High-Delay Combo: Driver + Stretcher 100µm

The HD Combo is ideal for large delay and high-speed applications. HD stretchers can reach up to 0.05ps time delay (100µm) at 1550nm. They also offer low insertion loss < 0.3dB. They are compatible with only SM and PM optical fibers at 1310 and 1550nm.

* Time delay variations of +/- 20% may appear between each component

Combos : Stretcher + Driver specification

* limited by resonance frequencies of the stretcher