Optical Calibration Laboratory

Calibration services

Calibration compliance

We issue calibration certificates conforming to:

• ISO/IEC 17025 (traceable)
  
• ISO9001

What does this mean?

Optical calibration laboratory capability

The Kingfisher Optical Calibration Laboratory is accredited by NATA (Australia), to ISO/IEC 17025:2017

• NATA laboratory accreditation certificate
• Why ISO/IEC 17025? further reading

The laboratory is accredited to issue traceable calibrations as follows:

Calibration of optical power with fiber optic interface

Absolute optical power calibration of optical power meters, radiometers and photodiodes:
From 350 to 1650 nm in 5 nm steps, power range +10 to -60 dBm / 10 mW to 1 nW, with least uncertainty of 0.06 dB / 1.4 % and with wavelength accuracy of 0.5 nm, using non-coherent light.
Where relevant: In accordance with TIA-455-231 / IEC 61315 / FOTP 231 Calibration of Fiber Optic Power Meters.

Calibration of optical power with a free-space interface

Absolute optical power calibration of free-space optical power meters, radiometers and photodiodes:
From 350 to 1650 nm in 5 nm steps, with 2 mm beam diameter, power range +10 to -60 dBm / 10 mW to 1 nW, with least uncertainty of 0.06 dB / 1.4 % and wavelength accuracy of 0.5 nm, using non-coherent light.
HeNe laser spot calibration at 632.82 nm & 1 mW with least uncertainty of 0.06 dB / 1.4 %.

Broadband calibration of optical loss, power meters and detectors

Monochromator /tungsten lamp-based broadband optical sweeps with traceable calibration
Absolute optical power calibration of optical power meters, radiometers and photodiodes.
Optical loss of fiber optic devices
From 350 to 1650 nm in 5 nm steps, power range typically -30 to -40 dBm with least uncertainty of 0.06 dB / 1.4 % and with wavelength accuracy of 0.5 nm, using non-coherent light. Example graph

Calibration of optical linearity

Optical linearity calibration of fiber optic attenuators, meters, sources, radiometers and photodiodes:
From +10 to -70 dBm at 650, 850, 1310 & 1550 nm, with least uncertainty of 0.01 dB / 0.2 %, using non-coherent broadband light.
In accordance with TIA-455-231 / IEC 61315 / FOTP 231 Calibration of Fiber Optic Power Meters.

Calibration of OTDR

In accordance with OTDR calibration method EN61746-1-2011+AC-2014 and EN61746-2-2011+AC-2014.

Calibration of optical return loss with fiber optic interface

Optical return loss meter calibration:
At 850, 1310, 1550 nm with least uncertainty of 0.04 dB 1.0 % in the range 0 to - 60 dB.

Calibration of optical light source wavelength

Absolute optical light source center wavelength calibration from 300-1700 nm with least uncertainty of 0.5 nm and resolution of 0.1 nm.

Calibration of optical light source power

Absolute optical power calibration from 350 to 1650 nm in steps of 5 nm, in the range of +22 to -60 dBm / 158 mW - 1 nW, with least uncertainty of 0.06 dB / 1.4 %.

Calibration of optical light source stability

Measurement of light source stability from 350 to 1650 nm, in the range +22 to - 70 dBm / 158 mW - 100 pW. From 1 data point / second to 8 hours, with least uncertainty of 0.01 dB / 0.2 %.

Environmental testing

Testing can be performed in an environmental chamber from -40 to +125 °C.

Microscope Resolution Verification (ISO9001 compliant)

Microscope resolution verification with USAF test target size down to 137 nm. Example Image

Fiber Optic Connector Inspection (non compliant)

Pass/fail fiber optic connector end-face quality. SM, MM & MPO-12 fiber to IEC61300-3-35

Fiber Length

Fiber length testing with least uncertainty of 3 meters, so suitable for measuring longer fiber lengths

Multimode Fiber Beam Geometry

Encirlcled Flux and other standards using camera-based Near Field or Far Field analysis.

Maximum emission power of light sources during calibration: within IEC 60825 Class 1M or 2M laser safety.

Optical Calibration Services

We provide specialist calibration services for: Optical power, loss, linearity, light source wavelength, fiber length, OTDR, ORL, fiber end-face quality, Encircled Flux, microscope resolving power, for fiber optic and free-space optics across the UV, Visible & Near Infra-red spectrum, 360 - 1650 nm

Industries served

We serve customers in these industries: Service Provider, Enterprise, Data Center, Cabling, Defense, Government, Resources, Laboratory, Manufacturing & Medical.
We have a long history of providing specialist optical calibration services in partnership with many other general calibration service providers, large and small. Please enquire.

About the Kingfisher optical calibration laboratory

In 1993 the Optical Calibration Laboratory became Asia's first accredited commercial fiber optic calibration facility, when it gained NATA certification for calibration of optical power meters. It gained ILAC recognition in 2000. This lapsed some years later, and on 14 November 2019 the Laboratory received NATA / ILAC accreditation once more.

NATA, NMI and ILAC operate under inter-governmental agreements facilitated since 1875 by the BIPM, to ensure that SI unit measurements are accepted worldwide. These agreements tie together all the national standards laboratories and downstream laboratory accreditation arrangements such as NMI (Australia), NIST (USA), NPL (UK), PTB (Germany), LNE (France), METAS (Switzerland) etc.

The Kingfisher Optical Calibration Laboratory is externally audited & accredited by NATA to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 (facility no 20533, NATA accreditation certificate).

Our external auditor, NATA, celebrated it's 75th anniversary in 2022, making it one of the oldest laboratory accreditation bodies worldwide. Our audits include an optical metrology scientific assessor.

Customer instruments are calibrated using equipment that is either calibrated against an in-house primary standard, or fully traceable to internationally accepted standards, using documented procedures with established accuracy.

The laboratory makes extensive use of test automation to achieve a high level of throughput, which achieves an additional benefit that we can statistically analyze large calibration data sets.

Additionally, working with our service center and performing re-calibration of old instruments, gives us the ability to confirm the long term calibration stability of our equipment.

ISO/IEC 17025: 2017

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 is the modern global standard for the technical & administrative competence of calibration laboratories. It also defines documentation and personnel requirements.

In conformance with this standard, our calibration certificates also do not show a "suggested recalibration period".

The standard replaces a number of older standards and guides including ISO/IEC Guide 25, EN45001 and ANSI/NCSL-Z540.

Why ILAC NATA ISO/IEC 17025? further reading

TIA-455-231, IEC-61315, FOTP-231: Calibration of fiber optic power meters

The laboratory calibration methods for optical power conform to this standard.

Since 1993, our laboratory has used the concepts embodied in this document, which came out later in 1995. We acknowledge the valuable ongoing contribution made by the scientific staff of Australia's National Measurement Institute (formerly the CSIRO National Measurement Laboratory).

ISO/IEC 17025:2017 compliant calibration validity guidance

Until 2017, re-calibration periods were stated exactly for each type of instrument.

Starting with ISO/IEC 17025:2017 & ILAC-G24:2007, re-calibration periods take into account factors such as:

• Your country of operation. For example, in Australia, NATA continues to issue formal guidelines on the traceable metrological validity period, for each type of instrument. NIST in the USA seems to have another view.
• Equipment specifications and history, application and environmental factors.
• Typically, a manufacturer's recommended re-calibration period may be used as a first-off guide.
• The validity expiry clock starts from when the product is first turned on by a user, not the manufacturing or calibration date.
• Mention of a re-calibration period on an ISO/IEC 17025 compliant calibration certificate, or instrument label, is specifically forbidden.

Calibration validity is stated on our product brochures and is commonly 3 years. However, as stated above, the user should determine what is appropriate for their organisation.

For customers genuinely interested in demonstrating traceable calibration, this long calibration validity can result in real lifetime cost savings, since the expense and inconvenience of a number of calibration cycles can be avoided.