488nm Bandpass Filter

488nm bandpass filters are designed to transmit a selected cyan-blue wavelength band near the 488nm argon-ion laser line while reducing unwanted out-of-band light.

Applications:
- 488nm argon-ion laser line cleanup
- 488nm laser excitation for fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and confocal imaging
- GFP/FITC/Alexa Fluor 488-type fluorescence excitation
- Cyan-blue LED or broadband visible source filtering
- Detector-side signal isolation near 485–490nm

Bandwidth options:
- 5nm and 10nm FWHM for 488nm laser-line isolation and source cleanup
- 20nm and 30nm FWHM for fluorescence excitation and cyan-blue source filtering
- 50nm, 75nm, and 80nm FWHM for broader blue-green illumination or higher signal collection

Select the bandwidth based on the source spectrum, excitation requirement, detector sensitivity, blocking range, and required signal level.
488nm Bandpass Filter
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Filters

11 items
Center Wavelength (nm)
FWHM (nm)
Optical Density(OD)

Filter

Center Wavelength (nm)
FWHM (nm)
Optical Density(OD)

Selection Guide

488nm argon-ion laser line

Use CWL 488nm with 5–10nm FWHM for 488nm argon-ion laser line cleanup, source isolation, or detector-side laser signal selection.

488nm is a well-known argon-ion laser line. For laser-line filtering, the key specs are CWL match near 488nm, FWHM such as 5nm or 10nm, transmission at 488nm, and OD blocking across the unwanted wavelength range.

488nm fluorescence excitation

Use CWL 488nm or 490nm with 10–30nm FWHM for GFP/FITC/Alexa Fluor 488-type fluorescence excitation channels.

For fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and confocal imaging, the 488nm filter is usually placed on the excitation side before the sample. The goal is to deliver the blue excitation band while reducing source leakage and crosstalk into the emission path. The emission filter should be centered around the actual green emission band, not at 488nm.

Cyan-blue LED or broadband visible source

Use CWL 485–490nm with 20–50nm FWHM for cyan-blue LED cleanup or practical blue-green band selection from broadband visible sources.

For LED or lamp-based systems, the source spectrum is broader than a laser line. Use 20–30nm FWHM for more defined excitation or illumination control, or 50nm FWHM when higher transmitted signal is more important.

Application Note

US7129505B2 - Fluorescence detection instrument with reflective transfer leg beam splitters

US7129505B2 - Fluorescence detection instrument with reflective transfer leg beam splitters

Context: This patent describes the optical architecture of a multi-color flow cytometer that uses multiple lasers to analyze biological particles.

Usage of Filter: The 488nm bandpass filter acts as a laser-line clean-up filter.

Function: Placed immediately after the 488nm laser source but before the sample flow cell, this filter transmits the 488nm laser line while blocking "plasma lines" (unwanted background emissions common in gas lasers) and Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) from solid-state lasers.

Result: It ensures that the light hitting the sample is monochromatic. Without this filter, the unwanted plasma lines could scatter off the cells and leak into the fluorescence detectors (e.g., the PE or FITC channels), causing false positive readings.

US7119960B2 - Optical filter (High-Performance Raman Applications)

US7119960B2 - Optical filter (High-Performance Raman Applications)

Context: This patent (related to Semrock's MaxLine technology) describes ultra-high performance optical filters used in Raman Spectroscopy.

Usage of Filter: The 488nm bandpass filter is used as a source clean-up filter in a Raman spectrometer setup.

Function: It provides extremely high transmission (often >90%) at exactly 488nm while having very steep edges to block light just a few nanometers away. In Raman spectroscopy, the signal of interest (Raman shift) can be very close to the excitation wavelength.

Result: It allows the system to detect "low-frequency" Raman modes (signals very close to the laser line) by eliminating spectral noise from the laser that would otherwise overwhelm the weak Raman signal.

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