CleaveMeter 3D

The CleaveMeter 3D is a phase-shifting Michelson interferometer for non-contact end-face inspection of cleaved and polished optical fibers with cladding diameters up to 1200 µm. Designed for both production and research applications, this comprehensive fiber optic testing system combines full resolution, three-dimensional surface topography reconstruction and mapping with automated, operator independent measurements of cleave angle and surface flatness in a small, lightweight bench-top unit.

When used in the 3D-mode, the surface topography is reconstructed from the fringe pattern and presented graphically as a three-dimensional image of the fiber end.  By rotating the image and adjusting the scale and contrast, the surface quality and cleave angle at different points can be analyzed in close detail, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding and accurate interpretation of the data and the cleaving process. While this capability is always important to cleave quality analysis, it can be even especially helpful when analyzing cleaving of fibers with complicated structures such as polarization maintaining fibers, or micro-structured fibers. Information on surface topography can also be saved to a file for further analysis using third party software.

Extremely accurate measurements of both cleave angle and surface flatness over arbitrary diameters can be performed on the reconstructed end-face surface. These measurements are carried out automatically, with full operator independence. This makes the system well suited not only for detailed cleave quality analysis in laboratory environments, but also for close production monitoring where software features such as optional pass/fail indication of cleave angle help ensure that consistent cleave quality is maintained over long periods of continuous cleaver operation.

In addition to cleave angle measurements, the system can also be used to measure a number of other properties such as plane angles, fiber diameters and the distance between different points. The software allows the user to view the point-wise slope across the whole fiber end-face, a very useful tool for spotting small scale irregularities and crack propagation behavior.

Adapter plates are available for both perpendicular and angled cleave analysis.  The mechanical design is compatible with all NYFORS automatic fiber cleavers and accepts the fiber holders used with those machines as well as those of major splicer manufacturers. Custom made Adapter plates are available upon request. The CleaveMeter 3D comes in a small, ergonomic bench-top design and connects to the USB port of a PC running the host application.