A New Breed of Tunable Lasers
Apr. 30, 2009
A new technology using liquid crystals in concert with a single, laser-based light source is spawning a new breed of low cost, reliable and extremely useful tunable lasers. Liquid crystal (LC) lasers offer unprecedented depths of color resolution and could soon be used in displays, medical diagnostics and sensors, according to researchers.
LED and Laser Projectors Lagging
Apr. 30, 2009
Ultraportable projectors are ultrapopular, but those with LED- and laser-based illumination haven't taken the market by storm. A report from Insight Media indicates that projectors with ultrahigh pressure-type lamps accounted for about 99 percent of all ultraportable projectors sold in 2008.
Airborne Laser System Tested
Apr. 30, 2009
Flight tests have begun for Boeings Airborne Laser (ABL), a heavily modified 747-400F aircraft. The...
Phosphorescent OLED Lighting Saves Energy
Apr. 30, 2009
The next time you're watching your older TV set and see Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu tackling an offensive lineman, you might ask yourself: Should I chuck the old set and get a plasma or an LCD? Or how about a newer LED or laser TV? Actually, the answer may be none of these.
Photolithography Improved Without UV Light
Apr. 30, 2009
As computer chips become smaller and more powerful, it is important that their features remain precise. The fact that smaller light wavelengths create smaller features has demanded that developers and manufacturers use expensive and difficult to work with ultraviolet light as the basis for such photolithographic nanofabrication – until now.
Laurin Mourns President
Apr. 29, 2009
Francis T. Laurin, president of Laurin Publishing Co. Inc., died on Tuesday, the company announced. He was 92 years old.
Holograms Hold 500 GB on Disc
Apr. 29, 2009
Microholographic technology was used to produce a standard-size DVD with a 500-GB storage capacity, the equivalent of 100 DVDs, GE Global Research announced.
Bookham, Avanex Form Oclaro
Apr. 28, 2009
Bookham Inc. and Avanex Corp. announced that they have completed their merger. The newly combined company, Oclaro Inc., is now the fourth-largest provider of optical components and subsystems to the fiber optics market and one of the largest providers to the long-haul and metro markets.
Photonics ‘Wire’ Nanosensors
Apr. 27, 2009
Silicon-based nanocantilevers smaller than the wavelength of light eliminate the need for electric transducers and expensive laser setups, a team at Yale University has discovered. The work could usher in a new generation of tools for ultrasensitive measurements at the atomic level.
Lasers Induce Brain Waves
Apr. 27, 2009
Researchers at MIT used a new technology called optogenetics, which combines genetic engineering with light to manipulate the activity of individual nerve cells, to induce gamma waves in mouse brains. The resulting information about neuron function could be used to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders. “Gamma waves are known to be [disrupted] in people with schizophrenia and other psychiatric and neurological diseases,” said the study’s co-author Li-Huei Tsai, professor of neuroscience at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. “This new tool will give us a great chance to probe the function of these circuits.”
DNA Lenses Drive Night Vision
Apr. 24, 2009
Nocturnal mammals have adapted to the challenges of their lifestyle by developing unique distributions of DNA in the sensitive rod photoreceptors of their eyes, with the nucleus of each rod acting as a sort of microlens, an international team discovered.
Crystals Curb Qubit Errors
Apr. 23, 2009
A technique for efficiently suppressing errors in quantum computers has been realized by...
SPIE Taps ’09 Award Winners
Apr. 23, 2009
Each year SPIE, an international optics and photonics society, recognizes outstanding achievements...
Cognex Cutting Costs by $15M
Apr. 22, 2009
Machine vision sensors and systems maker Cognex Corp. announced it will trim executive pay, eliminate 85 employees and contractors, and institute mandatory shutdown days in an effort to cut expenses by $15 million a year amid the dismal global business environment.
Scrambled Light Hones Images
Apr. 22, 2009
A new imaging system can unscramble the rich visual information provided by nonlinear optical materials to produce sharper images with a wider field of view. This method makes it possible to create high-resolution images at any chosen point – at the camera, at the location of the object itself or somewhere in between. By capturing information that normally would be lost, it could greatly enhance resolution using normal light – allowing scientists to build microscopes and other devices capable of so-called superresolution. Conventional methods could attain similar resolution using ultraviolet light or x-rays, which have much smaller wavelengths than visible light, but which harm living cells. "The new method could help you see with much better precision, but with a light the cell actually likes," said Jason Fleischer, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Princeton University who led the research.
Self-Assembled Nanowires
Apr. 21, 2009
Researchers at the University of Illinois created the first metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor fabricated with a self-assembled, planar gallium-arsenide nanowire channel to make such transistors smaller and faster.
MRI Predicts Tumor Mutation
Apr. 21, 2009
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found a method that uses magnetic resonance imaging to identify a tumor mutation associated with more aggressive cancers.
Light Colors Shrink Chips
Apr. 20, 2009
A University of Colorado at Boulder team used both blue and UV light to reduce the size of devices such as computer chips and solar cells. The blue light inscribed the circuitry pattern on a substrate, while the UV light "erased" the pattern edges, resulting in much smaller structures.
Boas Blog: ISMRM
Apr. 20, 2009
ISMRM Day 4: Dale a Tu Cuerpo AlegríaHonolulu, April 23, 2009 It wasn't the first Dancing MR Tech...
PETRA III Speeds 1st Beam
Apr. 17, 2009
The Petra III, a 5.8-ton, 2.3-km synchrotron radiation source, accelerated its first beam April 16, according to DESY, the largest research center for particle physics in Germany. The brilliant storage-ring-based x-ray source should be especially useful for small-sample analysis and materials research.
Fermions Boost Atomic Clock
Apr. 16, 2009
Physicists at JILA and NIST-Boulder, both in Colorado, have controlled collisions between neutral strontium atoms called fermions, an advance that could lead to more accurate atomic clocks.
DSS Day 1: Business as Usual
Apr. 15, 2009
The mood was one of quiet efficiency on the first day of exhibition at SPIE’s Defense, Security and...
Imaging the Upshot of Chemo
Apr. 15, 2009
Oncologists can now assess the effectiveness of chemotherapy in about a week, a process that typically takes months. The noninvasive method combines PET and CT scanning to image the tumor's metabolic function and quickly determine if the toxic drugs are killing the cancer.
Speed Bumps with Sensors
Apr. 14, 2009
Army vehicles will soon be able to drive over a high-tech “speed bump” to assess damage to critical suspension components, said mechanical engineers in Purdue University's Center for Systems Integrity.
A Jewel of a Boule Displayed
Apr. 14, 2009
At SPIE DSS 2009, Rubicon Technology showed off what it considers to be the world's largest sapphire crystal -- a 441-lb. super boule used for wafers up to 12 in.
Laser Polarization Controlled
Apr. 13, 2009
Lasers with controlled polarization were demonstrated for the first time through the integration of the polarizer on the laser facet, an innovation that could open new applications in photonics and communications. Harvard Univerity and Hamamatsu Photonics researchers showed that the direction of oscillation of the emitted radiation, known as polarization, can be designed and controlled at will. "Polarization is one of the key features defining a laser beam. Controlling it represents an important new step towards beam engineering of lasers with unprecedented flexibility, tailored for specific applications," said Harvard researcher Federico Capasso. Light sources with a desirable polarization state are useful for a variety of applications, such as satellite communications, detecting certain biomolecules and quantum cryptography.
Narrower Chip Patterns Made
Apr. 13, 2009
A method for etching extremely narrow lines on a microchip was realized by MIT researchers, who used a material that switches from transparent to opaque, and back again, through exposure to certain light wavelengths.
IBM, CEA/Leti to Collaborate
Apr. 10, 2009
IBM will collaborate with a public research and technology organization in France on research in...
Curving ‘Light Bullets’
Apr. 10, 2009
Wave patterns called Airy beams, combined with "light bullets" -- short, intense laser pulses so fast the beam is broader than it is wide -- created curving "needle" bullets that might help monitor air pollution, said physicists at the University of Arizona.
Trapped Ions Keep Their Cool
Apr. 9, 2009
A new ion trap enables them to go through an intersection while keeping their cool, NIST physicists said. This new method keeps the ions 10 million times cooler than in prior similar trips and is a step toward large-scale quantum computing.
Efficient Tandem White LEDs
Apr. 8, 2009
A new type of LED made from cheap, plastic-like organic materials and designed with a simplified tandem structure can produce twice the light of a normal LED, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences reported.
Fitting Pieces for Biosensors
Apr. 8, 2009
Under a new collaboration, researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany will develop new nanostructured biosensors to measure harmful substances in water.
Flir Receives $4M Order
Apr. 7, 2009
Flir Systems received a $4.1 million order from Northrop Grumman for multisensor target designation systems, to be installed on Northrop's Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicles.
U-Sydney: Future in Photonics
Apr. 7, 2009
The Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), the newest institute at the University of Sydney and the only one of its kind in Australia, will officially open April 23 with the symposium “The Photonic Universe – Faster, Further, Smarter.”
'Nano-Camo' Clothing Coming
Apr. 7, 2009
Just as certain fish species blend with their environment by changing color, researchers have theorized that they could cause synthetic materials to change color by manipulating motor proteins through the use of nanoscopic, light-emitting dots of cadmium selenide. “Camouflage outfits that blend with a variety of environments without need of an outside power source – say, blue when at sea and then brown in a desert environment – is where this work could eventually lead,” said principal investigator George Bachand of Sandia National Laboratories. “Or the same effect could be used in fabricating chic civilian clothing that automatically changes color to fit different visual settings.” Such clothing could be a reality in five to 10 years, he said.
Canon Buys Virtual Imaging
Apr. 6, 2009
Canon USA Inc. acquired Florida-based diagnostic imaging solutions provider Virtual Imaging Inc. for an undisclosed amount, a move Canon says will bolster its portfolio of medical imaging products.
Micron Posts $751M Loss
Apr. 6, 2009
For the second quarter of fiscal 2009, Micron Technology Inc. has posted a net loss of $751 million...
Gates: Scrap 2nd ABL
Apr. 6, 2009
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is recommending that a second Airborne Laser (ABL) prototype...
ESI, Zygo Cancel Merger
Apr. 3, 2009
Electro Scientific Industries Inc. (ESI) and Zygo Corp. announced that they have terminated their stock-swap merger plans.
Defense Show to Set Record
Apr. 3, 2009
SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing 2009 will kick off with a record-breaking 500-plus exhibitors,...
Light Squeezed From QDs
Apr. 3, 2009
Light has successfully been amplified with semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots) suspended in another medium. The technology, once seen as a dead-end, could lead to advances in lasers, optical computing and telecommunications.
EPO Revokes Solar Patent
Apr. 3, 2009
The University of Neuchâtel and Oerlikon Solar were dealt a blow after the European Patent Office revoked the solar patent that was the basis for their infringement case involving a California company.
Powerlase Secures Funding
Apr. 2, 2009
Powerlase Ltd., a manufacturer of powerful nanosecond Q-switched, diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS)...
NIF Foes Fear Finished Laser
Apr. 2, 2009
The Department of Energy (DoE) announced the completion of what they are calling the world’s...
Light Analyzes Single Cells
Apr. 2, 2009
A new optical technique using only light to analyze of single human immune cells, has been...
3-D Nanofluidic Devices
Apr. 1, 2009
By manufacturing integrated circuits at the nanometer level, a method was devised for creating nanofluidic devices with complex 3-D surfaces.
Carbon's Crystal Crawl Caught
Apr. 1, 2009
Carbon atoms moving along the edge of a graphene crystal have been captured on film, the first-ever live recording of the dynamics of carbon atoms in graphene. The work could lead to a new level of understanding and control of nanomaterials, such as those needed to advance artificial photosynthesis. “The ability to see individual atoms move around in real time and to see how the atomic configuration evolves and influences system properties is somewhat akin to a biologist being able to watch as cells divide and a higher order structure with complex functionality evolves,” said Lawrence Berkeley National Lab physicist Alex Zettl, who led the research.
OFC: Industry Looks Ahead
Apr. 1, 2009
The OFC/NFOEC 2009 exposition played host to a broad swath of today's telecommunications industry, with nearly 9500 attendees and 550 participating companies.