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Ideal for checking cleaver performance. A unique, small, portable interferometer for checking the cleaved ends of optical fibres. It is based on a commercially available microscope with illumination provided by a red LED. Battery or mains versions are available. An interference pattern is formed by the wedge-shaped air gap between the fibre end face and a reference flat. By counting the number of fringes, the end angle can be deduced (71 /2 fringes across a 125gm diameter fibre is equivalent to one degree). The fibre is held perpendicular to the reference flat by a glass capillary which is itself a sliding fit into an accurately machined block. Using different capillaries, any size of fibre can be examined.The shape and distribution of the fringes also gives data on the topography of the end face and consequently valuable information on the state of the blade of the cleaving tool.