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Depending on how straight the run between the rooms is, you might be able
to run a beam tube across the hallway in the ceiling and do it free space
with a periscope. This would save you the headaches of fiber coupling and
reduce any long-term stability issues. I'm guessing you are not up for that
level of 'infrastructure modification' though, so the multimode fiber may
be the way to go. Try to match the design wavelength of your optics as best
as you can to the wavelength of your laser. Assuming you have a
monochromatic source, you can get away with simpler, cheaper optics by
using single-wavelength components. If your laser is a common wavelength
these should be easy to get.

Craig

On Thu, Jul 30, 2015 at 9:59 AM, João Lagarto <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
> *****
>
> Hi Kyle,
> I don't know if this is a problem for you but in case you have a pulsed
> laser, the fibre will also cause temporal dispersion of the pulses. This
> may be a problem for time-critical applications such as FLIM.
> João
>
>
> Às 08:25 de 30/07/2015, Kyle Douglass escreveu:
>
>> *****
>> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
>> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
>> Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
>> *****
>>
>> Hello everyone,
>>
>> In my lab we have two microscope setups in two different rooms separated
>> by a hallway between them. One of our microscopes has a free-space laser
>> that must remain in place; however, I would like to use this laser with the
>> microscope located in the other room while maintaining its ability to be
>> used with its current microscope. Both microscopes accept free-space beams
>> as inputs for fluorescence microscopy in an epi-illumination geometry.
>>
>> I am considering the following solution: introduce a flipper mirror
>> before the fixed laser to allow me to switch between a path that would send
>> the beam into its current microscope and another path that would couple the
>> beam into a long multi-mode fiber. I would then run the fiber above the
>> ceiling panels between the labs and onto the table of the other setup,
>> where the output light would be collimated and introduced like normal into
>> the other microscope. I do not require a single-mode beam for the second
>> microscope. In fact, I am proposing to use a multi-mode beam to achieve a
>> better power coupling efficiency into the fiber and to prevent burning the
>> fiber cladding by allowing for larger focal spot sizes when coupling. I
>> also am not concerned about the speckle on the sample since I am averaging
>> over multiple speckle patterns during the acquisition of a single frame.
>>
>> My primary concern is the stability of the input and output couplers. The
>> microscopes are used by people with little optics experience and this
>> solution must be as easy as possible to switch between the two paths.
>> Ideally, the only action required would be to flip the mirror up or down
>> (after the initial alignment, of course).
>>
>> Here are my questions:
>> 1. Has anyone tried such an approach with satisfactory results and would
>> be willing to comment?
>> 2. Would vibration of the fiber significantly affect its propagation
>> direction upon leaving the output coupler?
>> 3. Would a "standard" flipper mirror or magnetic mount have sufficient
>> return accuracy to avoid having to adjust the input coupler alignment every
>> time we switched between microscopes?
>> 4. Is there another obvious solution I am missing?
>>
>> Thanks for the responses!
>> Kyle
>>
>>