Products - Collimated holes, Inc.

Capillaries and Capillary Structures
CHI manufactures structures of collimated holes, also known as capillary arrays. The concept of large plates of parallel holes was an important part of the inspiration for the creation of the company in 1975. Through our glass drawing and etching processes, we produce arrays, disks, plates, and individual capillaries with a wide range of capillary diameters, geometries and plate sizes, all within certain tolerances.
Capillaries and capillary arrays can also be made using drawn tubes. In general, drawn tube structures and arrays are not quite as tightly packed and uniform as fused, etched structures; drawn tubes are not limited by the length to diameter ratio restrictions inherent in the etching process, and they result in smoother interior surfaces than those found in etched capillaries. Both types of capillary structures have OAR’s that can be adjusted from less than 1% to nearly 70%. Some non-confidential applications of capillary arrays are described herein.
Price chart for standard Capillary Plates

Fiber Optics
Since incorporation in 1975, CHI has been producing glass optical fibers in small and large quantities for special applications. We have built a wide base of glass drawing experience over the intervening years with the production of millions of miles of standard and custom fibers, in an array of diameters, geometries, OAR’s, numerical apertures, and glass types. We keep a wide variety of glasses, including our patented terbium-doped scintillating glass, in stock to minimize lead times and to optimize engineering flexibility.

By stacking individual fibers into multi-fibers, we are able to produce many types of fused fiber optics, such as light guides, multi-fiber image conduits, Fiber Optic Face Plates, image remapping devices, and fiber arrays. We also have the ability to add a layer of EMA (Extra-Mural Absorbing) glass to the exterior of individual fibers or between fibers in a fused fiberoptic, to reduce light leakage and fiber cross-talk.

Scintillators

CHI holds five patents on terbium-activated luminescent glasses. From these glasses, we manufacture both bulk (non-fiber) and fiber optic structures that convert non-visible, high-energy radiation into visible, green light. Scintillating fiber optic faceplates are commonly used as X-ray conversion screens for industrial inspection systems. X-rays and other high-energy radiation enter the scintillating glass and stimulate the emission of green photons, and those that meet the total internal reflection angle requirements are then transmitted along the length of the fiber. Adding a mirror coating to the input side can roughly double the light output of a scintillating fiberoptic. The scintillating glass formulation has emission peaks at 555nm and 565nm, and a decay time of 2ms to 40% value.

Emission Spectrum and related data

Hybrid Scintillators for X-Ray Imaging Paper from SPIE 1996 (by Clifford Bueno, Richard L. Rairden, and Robert A. Betz)

Comparison of X-Ray Absorption, Light Output, and Afterglow in Glass FOS and Polycrystaline Scintillators (by Clifford Bueno)