IDEX Health & Science makes a wide variety of 45º dichroic beamsplitters optimized for different purposes. Every dichroic utilizes our advanced hard, ion-beam-sputtered coating technology for exceptional environmental and handling durability
and no degradation even under the most intense illumination conditions. The dichroics are broadly categorized by the light source with which they are intended to be used and the spectral edge steepness and physical flatness values required for various
applications.
The table below lists six broad families of Semrock dichroic beamsplitters according to these requirements.
Selection Guide
| Light Source | Edge Steepness | Flatness / RWE Classification | Family |
| Broadband | Standard | Standard Epi-fluorescence | General Purpose Dichroics |
| Broadband | Standard | Image-splitting | Image-splitting Dichroics |
| Laser lines | Steep | Laser | Laser Dichroics |
| Laser lines | Steep | Super-resolution / TIRF | Super-resolution / TIRF Dichroics |
| Laser lines | Standard | Laser | Laser Notch Dichroics |
| Laser lines | Standard | Laser | Laser Beam Combining |
| Laser lines | Standard | Super-resolution / TIRF | Multiphoton Laser Beam Combining |
| Laser lines; Multiphoton
| Steep | Super-resolution / TIRF | Multiedge Multiphoton Super-res / TIRF Dichroic
|
| Precise laser lines | Ultrasteep | Laser | Ultrasteep Laser Dichroics |
Dichroic beamsplitters designed to be used with broadband light sources generally ensure the highest average value of reflection over a band of source wavelengths often chosen for best overlap with a particular fluorophore absorption spectrum. Dichroics
for laser light sources ensure high absolute reflection performance at specified laser lines, with precise spectral edges that are keyed to these lines and anti-reflection (AR) coatings on the filter backsides to minimize any coherent interference
artifacts.
While all Semrock dichroics are among the steepest available 45º edge filters on the market, those optimized for laser-based epifluorescence and Raman applications are exceptionally steep to enable signal collection as close as possible to the laser
line.
Flatter dichroic beamsplitters minimize wavefront errors that can result in defocus and imaging aberrations of the light reflected off these filters. Semrock classifies dichroic beamsplitters into four categories of flatness, as listed in the table below.
NOTE: Mounting can impact flatness performance. Values below apply to unmounted parts.
Flatness / RWE Classification & Application Specification of Semrock Dichroic Beamsplitters
| Flatness / RWE Classification | Nominal Radius
of Curvature | Application Specification |
| All Classifications | All curvatures | Transmission: does not cause significant aberrations to a transmitted beam over the full Clear Aperture |
| Super-resolution / TIRF | ~ 1275 meters | Reflection: contributes less than one Rayleigh Range of shift in focus (relative to a perfectly flat mirror) at the focal plane of a lens after reflecting a laser beam with a diameter up to 22.5 mm |
| Super-resolution / TIRF | ~ 255 meters | Reflection: contributes less than one Rayleigh Range of shift in focus (relative to a perfectly flat mirror) at the focal plane of a lens after reflecting a laser beam with a diameter up to 10 mm |
| Image-splitting | ~ 1275 meters | Reflection: contributes less than 1.5 x Airy Disk diameter to the RMS spot size of a focused, reflected emission beam with a diameter up to 37 mm |
| Image-splitting | ~ 100 meters | Reflection: contributes less than 1.5 x Airy Disk diameter to the RMS spot size of a focused, reflected emission beam with a diameter up to 10 mm |
| Laser | ~ 30 meters | Reflection: contributes less than one Rayleigh Range of shift in focus (relative to a perfectly flat mirror) at the focal plane of a lens after reflecting a laser beam with a diameter up to 2.5 mm |
| Standard Epi-fluorescence | ~ 6 meters | Reflection: designed to reflect broadband excitation light that is not focused or imaged |
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