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Calibration Device for Scintillators (view source)
Revision as of 19:44, 11 November 2010
, 19:44, 11 November 2010Created page with '== Tools == thumb|Work Stand Apparatus * We designed our own apparatus to cut, polish, and glue the scintillators and the waveguides. For more …'
== Tools ==
[[Image:workstandassembled.jpg|thumb|Work Stand Apparatus]]
* We designed our own apparatus to cut, polish, and glue the scintillators and the waveguides. For more information on how it works, see [[Work Stand Assembly]].
* To cut the fibers I use a standard hobby knife.
* For cleaning and polishing acrylic fibers, the recommended tool to use is a plastic nail buff.
* A digital scale (accurate to ±0.01 grams) is used to weigh out the proper proportions of the resin and catalyst.
* Standard laboratory glassware is used for weighing, mixing, and applying the epoxy.
* A laboratory hotplate is used to heat-cure the epoxy.
* An infrared thermometer is used for calibrating the hotplate temperature controls.
For more information (such as prices and product numbers) on the equipment listed above see [[Supplies]]
== Fiber Research ==
=== Fiber Width Variation ===
To make acrylic optical fibers, Bicron uses the stretch method which involves stretching a mass of material into a long fiber of a specific diameter or width in our case. As a result of this process, there develops minor variations in width along the stretched fiber. Since minor variations in width can compound in to a significant misalignment, I have measured the width distribution of 30 fibers cleaved from the same fiber spool. Below is a histogram of the widths and a plot of the x-axis width vs. the y-axis.
{| cellpadding="3" style="text-align:center; margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
[[Image:workstandassembled.jpg|thumb|Work Stand Apparatus]]
* We designed our own apparatus to cut, polish, and glue the scintillators and the waveguides. For more information on how it works, see [[Work Stand Assembly]].
* To cut the fibers I use a standard hobby knife.
* For cleaning and polishing acrylic fibers, the recommended tool to use is a plastic nail buff.
* A digital scale (accurate to ±0.01 grams) is used to weigh out the proper proportions of the resin and catalyst.
* Standard laboratory glassware is used for weighing, mixing, and applying the epoxy.
* A laboratory hotplate is used to heat-cure the epoxy.
* An infrared thermometer is used for calibrating the hotplate temperature controls.
For more information (such as prices and product numbers) on the equipment listed above see [[Supplies]]
== Fiber Research ==
=== Fiber Width Variation ===
To make acrylic optical fibers, Bicron uses the stretch method which involves stretching a mass of material into a long fiber of a specific diameter or width in our case. As a result of this process, there develops minor variations in width along the stretched fiber. Since minor variations in width can compound in to a significant misalignment, I have measured the width distribution of 30 fibers cleaved from the same fiber spool. Below is a histogram of the widths and a plot of the x-axis width vs. the y-axis.
{| cellpadding="3" style="text-align:center; margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-