jxzb-mechanical

 
Introduction To Splitters
Early microscopes were essentially a tube through which light travels (Figure 1A), from a sample to the eye (or a camera), through some lenses. Modern microscopes have a variety of objectives, mirrors, and pinholes in order to obtain the best image (Figure 1B). The component of interest here is the beam splitter.
A beam splitter is an optical device that splits beams (such as laser beams) into two (or more) beams. Beam splitters typically come in the form of a reflective device that can split beams into exactly 50/50, half of the beam being transmitted through the splitter and half being reflected. Fig.2 outlines the uses of beam splitters.
Common types of beam splitter are either cube beam splitters or plate beam splitters (such as mirrors), as described below. Cube beam splitters are made from two triangular glass prisms glued together, as seen in Fig.2A-C. The thickness of the glue is carefully adjusted so that, for certain wavelengths of lig... [Details]