A key advantage of the LUMINA® Expanded Beam fibre connector design is that the fibres are protected from the elements and each other. Rather than the traditional butt joint which requires each fibre core to be precisely aligned (to within a micron), expanded beam employs a precision lens to optically expand the light from each core by approximately 40 times its original size, and then refocus back into the mating connector.
A small gap is maintained between the lenses, this minimises the effect of dust, debris, temperature variation, vibration and dirt on the lights path. The lens also means it can be easily cleaned without risk of damaging the fibre – if a connector is dropped into mud, it can simply be washed or wiped and reconnected.
