Collimated Holes, Inc.
Custom Glass Fiber Optics and Capillary Arrays
Collimated Holes, Inc. designs and manufactures application-specific glass fiber optics, capillary arrays, glass scintillators, and precision glass structures for demanding scientific, medical, industrial, aerospace, and instrumentation systems.
Core Product Areas
Many optical and fluidic systems cannot be solved with a standard component that “almost” meets the requirement. CHI works collaboratively with customers to define the needed geometry, glass combination, optical behavior, dimensional limits, surface finish, and production approach. Most of our work is custom, from a single developmental prototype part to repeat production quantities.
Why Engineers Work With CHI
In-house glass drawing
CHI begins with glass preforms and draws its own fibers, tubes, rods, and custom cross-sections. This supports tighter process control and glass combinations tailored to the application.
Multiple manufacturing routes
Etching, drawing, stacking, fusing, grinding, polishing, shaping, and optical coating can be combined to produce a finished component or subassembly.
Deep custom experience
CHI has developed optical and glass structures for medical imaging, scientific instruments, aerospace systems, industrial inspection, semiconductor equipment, biotechnology, and other specialized uses.
Engineering through production
Projects can begin with a feasibility discussion or formal design effort and continue through prototypes, qualification, and repeat manufacturing.
A Practical Starting Point
You do not need to arrive with a complete drawing. Useful starting information may include the function of the component, wavelength or radiation energy, desired dimensions, environmental conditions, acceptable losses, target resolution, expected quantity, and any interfaces to other parts. CHI can then help identify the parameters that control performance and manufacturability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CHI sell standard products?
Most CHI products are made to customer requirements. Standard or commonly produced configurations may be available for certain capillary plates and other high-use items, but even those should be confirmed for current availability and specifications.
Can CHI help when the specification is incomplete?
Yes. Many projects begin with a system-level need rather than a finished component drawing. CHI can review the application, identify critical variables, and propose a development or production approach.
Can CHI work with customer-supplied glass?
Potentially. CHI often draws customer-provided preforms to tightly toleranced sizes. The glass must have physical and thermal properties compatible with CHI’s draw and fabrication processes. Feasibility is evaluated case by case.
Where are CHI components manufactured?
CHI designs and manufactures its glass fiber-optic and capillary products at its facility in Campbell, California.
Real structures. Real process.
From drawn fiber stock and capillary microchannels to coherent image transfer and the Campbell plant floor - CHI’s work is visible in the details.
Who we work with
Roughly 750 customer types across large organizations, university R&D groups, specialized manufacturers, and startups - much of it under NDA, including partners in the U.S. and abroad.
Large organizations & OEMs
Contract manufacturing of key optical components that integrate into larger systems - custom geometries, coatings, and sub-assemblies without forcing catalog compromises.
Universities & R&D labs
Prototypes and experimental structures for research departments that need tight collaboration, flexible glass chemistry, and short engineering loops.
Global & domestic partners
A broad customer base with many American, European, and Asian international partners - often under NDA.
Small businesses and startups
Focused teams and early-stage companies that need collaborative engineering, flexible glass chemistry, and a practical path from prototype to production.
Technical authority
Patented scintillating glasses, published hybrid-scintillator research, and decades of in-house glass drawing.
Five patents on terbium-activated luminescent glasses
Scintillating fibers and Fiber Optic Faceplates for high-energy imaging
Bulk scintillating plates for X-ray detection
Start with the application
Request a quote or send a short description of the problem, target performance, dimensions, and expected quantity.
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