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

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.

Select your configuration

  • STRETCHER
  • DRIVER
  • COMBO

STRETCHER

Discover our fiber stretchers family : Low-frequency fiber stretchers / High-frequency fiber stretchers / High-delay fiber stretchers. They are configurable in different fibers (SM, PM or MM), fiber elongations (from 0 to 100µm) and wavelengths (from UV to IR). All models are compatible with a piezo driver, from IDIL Fibres Optiques or other manufacturers

DRIVER

Discover our 2 piezo drivers models : Low-frequency piezo driver / High-frequency piezo driver. They are compatible with all fiber stretchers, from IDIL Fibres Optiques or other manufacturers

COMBO

Each combo includes a piezo driver and a fiber stretcher. They are configurable in different fibers (SM, PM or MM), fiber elongations (12µm, 20µm, 25µm, 100µm) and wavelengths (from UV to IR)

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for more informations






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    [Fiber stretcher and driver (femtosecond/micrometer range) STRETCHER]
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    [Fiber stretcher and driver (femtosecond/micrometer range) DRIVER]
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    [Fiber stretcher and driver (femtosecond/micrometer range) COMBO]
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    Summary

    Fiber stretcher and driver (femtosecond/micrometer range) summary

    IDIL fiber stretchers and piezo drivers are all developed and manufactured in-house. Each system can operate independently – indeed, our fiber stretchers do not require proprietary drivers and our piezo drivers are suitable with all fiber stretchers available on the market. Their compact packaging makes them suitable for various system applications. Typical applications include variable optical delay, fiber interferometry, ultra-fast dynamics and lasers.

     

    Fiber stretchers family

    1. Low-Frequency
    2. High-Frequency
    3. High-Delay

     

    How it works?

    For linear models (low frequency), a short length of fiber is fixed on a piezoelectric stack. For high frequency models, several meters of fiber are winded around a round PZ element. Applying a voltage to these elements will extend the PZ dimension and stretch the fiber. The higher the voltage, the higher stretching. The modulation bandwidth is limited by the capacitive effect of the PZ element. Driver specifications have to be chosen properly in accordance with the final application (frequency vs. depth of modulation). At a first order, we can consider the fiber elasticity is not type dependent; in other words, we can stretch any type of fiber while taking care of crucial specification like the insertion loss, the PER (for PM fiber), etc.

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

    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*

    Do not require proprietary drivers Low frequency fiber stretcher
    SM, MM, PM
    From UV to IR
    High frequency fiber stretcher
    SM, MM, PM
    From Vis to IR
    High delay fiber stretcher
    SM, PM
    1310, 1550nm
    Fiber elongation 0-20 or 0-40µm @150V 20µm @100V 100µm @100V
    Fiber stretch 0.15 or 0.3µm/V 0.2µm/V 1µm/V
    Time delay 0.1 or 0.2ps 0.3ps 0.5ps
    Max. voltage drive 150V 300V 500V
    Modulation (small signal BW) < 500Hz >1MHz 150kHz
    Modulation (Large signal BW) 25 or 50Hz* 20kHz 40kHz
    Capacitance 800nF 8nF 35nF
    Optical loss < 0.05dB < 0.3dB < 0.3dB
    Internal fiber length 20 or 40mm 5.5m 6.5m
    Dimensions (mm) 50x30x20 85x62x39 85x62x39

    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

    Single mode fibers Low frequency High frequency High delay
    ST 20µm, SM 1550nm CORET05983 CORET05961
    ST 20µm, SM 1050nm CORET05985 CORET05976
    ST 20µm, SM 780nm CORET05988
    CORET05977
    ST 40µm, SM 1550nm CORET05993
    ST 40µm, SM 1050nm CORET05991
    ST 40µm, SM 780nm CORET05989
    ST 100µm, SM 1550nm CORET05981
    Polarization maintaining fibers Low frequency High frequency High delay
    ST 20µm, PM 1550nm CORET05984 CORET05978
    ST 20µm, PM 1050nm CORET05986 CORET05979
    ST 20µm, PM 780nm CORET05987
    CORET05980
    ST 40µm, PM 1550nm CORET05994
    ST 40µm, PM 1050nm CORET05992
    ST 40µm, PM 780nm CORET05990
    ST 100µm, PM 1550nm CORET05982

    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.

    Piezo drivers

    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

    Compatible with all fiber stretchers (IDIL, other)
    PART NUMBER
    Low frequency piezo driver
    SYCOT00837
    High frequency piezo driver
    SYCOT00835
    Small signal bandwidth 10kHz* >1MHz*
    Large signal bandwidth 3.2k* 250kHz*
    Output voltage 0 – 100V 0 – 100V
    Output noise (100V full BW) 100mVp-p 150mVp-p
    Gain 20V/V 20V/V
    Control (SMA connector) Analog (+digital) Analog (+digital)
    Power supply 5V Vcc 12V Vcc
    Consumption <2.5W <20W
    Passive cooling
    Dimensions (mm3) 46x69x20.5 84x80x39

    * 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.

    Combos (Stretcher + Driver)

    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

    Low frequency combo
    SM, MM, PM
    From UV to IR
    High frequency combo
    SM, MM, PM
    From Vis to IR
    High delay combo
    SM, PM
    1310, 1550nm
    Fiber elongation 0-12 or 0-25µm 0-20µm 0-100µm
    Fiber stretch 2.5 or 5µm/V 4µm/V 20µm/V
    Time delay up to 0.07 or 0.15ps up to 0.1ps up to 0.5ps
    Tunability resolution <10fs <1fs <1fs
    Modulation (small signal BW) <500Hz 1+MHz 150kHz
    Modulation (Large signal BW) 25 or 50Hz 20kHz* 40kHz*
    Optical loss < 0.05dB < 0.3dB < 0.3dB
    Internal fiber length 20 or 40mm 5.5m 6.5m
    Piezo driver type LF driver HF driver HF driver
    Power supply 5V (AC adapter supplied) 5V (AC adapter not supplied) 5V (AC adapter not supplied)
    Consumption < 2.5W < 20W < 20W
    Analog modulation signal 0-5V 0-5V 0-5V
    Stretcher dimensions (mm3) 50x30x20 85x62x39 85x62x39
    Driver dimensions (mm3) 46x69x20.5 84x80x39 84x80x39

    * limited by resonance frequencies of the stretcher

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