Introduction

Optogenetics is a widely used research technique in neuroscience, typically employing a multimode fiber-coupled laser as the light source. To maintain sufficient power margin, lasers are generally selected with an output power above 100 mW, whereas optogenetics experiments typically require only around 10 mW. This power mismatch results in significant optical power waste and leads to substantially higher experimental costs, particularly in high-throughput laboratories. Laser beam splitters address this issue by using highly integrated beam-splitting prisms to divide a single laser source into multiple output paths. For example, a 100 mW laser can be split into three output ports, each delivering approximately 20 mW. This enables a single laser to simultaneously support optogenetics experiments on multiple mice, substantially improving light source utilization and reducing operational costs. (Tested with a 473 nm laser and 200 μm/0.37 fiber optic patch cords.)

Product Image

Image of the laser beam splitter for optogenetics.