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Features

• Couple and Collimate Light In or Out of a Fiber
• Lens Surface is AR Coated for 630, 850, 980, 1064, 1310, or 1550 nm
• Ø1.8 mm Clear Aperture
• 300 mW Maximum Power
• Pigtailed to SM Fiber with an Optional FC/PC or FC/APC Connector

Thorlabs offers pigtailed fiber collimators that use gradient-index (GRIN) lenses. These GRIN collimators feature a Ø1.8 mm clear aperture and are coupled to standard single mode fiber. They are designed to be used in pairs, with a free-space beam between the lenses, and can also be used individually. We offer models aligned at 630 nm, 850 nm, 980 nm, 1064 nm, 1310 nm, or 1550 nm and with a choice of a bare fiber end, a 2.0 mm narrow key FC/PC connector, or a 2.0 mm narrow key FC/APC connector.

For Thorlabs' complete selection of fiber collimators, please see the Collimator Guide tab. In particular, we offer multimode pigtailed GRIN collimators and loose GRIN lenses, which can be paired with pigtailed ferrules that have bare or connectorized ends to create a custom collimator similar to those sold on this page

Free-Space Coupling
When using GRIN collimators to couple a free-space beam into a fiber, precise alignment is needed for good coupling efficiency. We recommend using a kinematic tip and tilt mount, paired with an XYZ adjustable platform (such as our KM100V and MT3), or our 6-axis kinematic mount paired with a lens tube coupler (K6X and SM1PT, sold below).

Pair Performance
Our GRIN pigtailed collimators are designed to be used in pairs, with a free-space beam between the lenses. This free-space beam can be manipulated with many types of optics prior to entering the second lens. The collimators should be placed with a spacing of 15 ± 5 mm (working distance) between the front lens surfaces for maximum coupling efficiency. When used within the specified working distance and mounted on tip-tilt mounts (KM100V) as described in Coupling, above, typical insertion losses of 0.2 - 2.0 dB are possible, depending on model (see the Pair Insertion Loss spec for each wavelength range, below).

Click on the Pair Performance icon in the tables below to view experimentally measured coupling efficiency data for each collimator pair as a function of the spacing between the collimators. Although the optimal working distance will slightly deviate for any two individual collimators due to small manufacturing variations, these slight deviations do not significantly affect pair or individual performance. This is evidenced by the data given below, which was taken with randomly selected collimators. To achieve the best possible coupling, we recommend mounting both collimators in kinematic adjustable mounts, such as the KM100V, for final alignment. All specifications, including beam diameter, beam distance, and pair insertion loss, are guaranteed at a working distance of 20 mm for any given collimator pair.

Thorlabs also offers a modular fiber/free-space setup, the FiberBench, which can accommodate pre-aligned FiberPort collimators and allows modular optical components to be placed in the beam path.

Fiber Collimator Selection Guide

Click on the collimator type or photo to view more information about each type of collimator.

Type		Description
Fixed FC, APC, or SMA Fiber Collimators		These fiber collimation packages are pre-aligned to collimate light from an FC/PC-, FC/APC-, or SMA-connectorized fiber. Each collimation package is factory aligned to provide diffraction-limited performance at one of six wavelengths: 405, 543, 633, 780, 1064, 1310, or 1550 nm. Although it is possible to use the collimator at detuned wavelengths, they will only perform optimally at the design wavelength due to chromatic aberration, which causes the effective focal length of the spheric lens to have a wavelength dependence.
Air-Spaced Doublet, Large Beam Collimators		For large beam diameters (Ø6.6 - Ø8.5 mm), Thorlabs offers FC/PC, SMA, and FC/APC air-spaced doublet collimators. These collimation packages are pre-aligned at the factory to collimate a laser beam propagating from the tip of an FC or SMA conectorized fiber and provide diffraction-limited performance at the design wavelength.
Adjustable Fiber Collimators		These snap-on collimators are designed to connect onto the end of an FC/PC or FC/APC connector and contain an AR-coated aspheric lens. The distance between the aspheric lens and the tip of the FC-terminated fiber can be adjusted to compensate for focal length changes or to recollimate the beam at the wavelength and distance of interest.
FiberPorts		These compact, ultra-stable FiberPort micropositioners provide an easy-to-use, stable platform for coupling light into and out of FC/PC, FC/APC, or SMA terminated optical fibers. It can be used with single mode, multimode, or PM fibers and can be mounted onto a post, stage, platform, or laser. The built-in aspheric or achromatic lens is available with three different AR coatings and has five degrees of alignment adjustment (3 translational and 2 pitch). The compact size and long-term alignment stability make the FiberPort an ideal solution for fiber coupling, collimation, or incorporation into OEM systems.
Triplet Collimators		Thorlabs' High Quality Triplet Fiber Collimation packages use air-spaced triplet lenses that offer superior beam quality performance when compared to aspheric lens collimators. The benefits of the low-aberration triplet design include an M2 term closer to 1 (Gaussian), less divergence, and less wavefront error.
Reflective Collimators		Thorlabs' metallic-coated Reflective Collimators are based on a 90° off-axis parabolic mirror. Mirrors, unlike lenses, have a focal length that remains constant over a broad wavelength range. Due to this intrinsic property, a parabolic mirror collimator does not need to be adjusted to accommodate various wavelengths of light, making them ideal for use with polychromatic light. Our reflective collimators are ideal for single-mode fiber.
Pigtailed Collimators		Our pigtailed collimators come with one meter of either single mode or multimode fiber, have the fiber and AR-coated aspheric lens rigidly potted inside the stainless steel housing, and are collimated at one of six wavelengths: 532, 830, 1030, 1064, 1310, or 1550 nm. Although it is possible to use the collimator at any wavelength within the coating range, the coupling loss will increase as the wavelength is detuned from the design wavelength.
GRIN Fiber Collimators		Thorlabs offers gradient index (GRIN) fiber collimators that are aligned for either 980, 1064, 1310, or 1550 nm and have either FC connectorized, APC connectorized, or unterminated fibers. Our GRIN collimators feature a Ø1.8 mm clear aperture, are AR-coated to ensure low back reflection into the fiber, and are coupled to standard single mode or graded-index multimode fibers.
GRIN Lenses		These graded-index (GRIN) lenses are AR coated for applications at 630, 830, 1060, 1300, or 1560 nm that require light to propagate through one fiber, then through a free-space optical system, and finally back into another fiber. They are also useful for coupling light from laser diodes into fibers, coupling the output of a fiber into a detector, or collimating laser light. Our GRIN lenses are designed to be used with our Pigtailed Glass Ferrules and GRIN/Ferrule sleeves.