New Solar Airplane Unveiled
Jun. 30, 2009
Swiss adventurer Dr. Bertrand Piccard unveiled a prototype of the solar-powered plane that he hopes to eventually fly around the world. Dubbed the Solar Impluse HB-SIA, it is designed to fly both day and night without the need for fuel and will begin test flights by year's end.
Making Nanoparticles in Cells
Jun. 29, 2009
Tailor-made nanoparticles that can be used as position lights on cell proteins were realized by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. The discovery could one day lead to applications in light sources for display screens or for optical information technology.
NASA Taps Raytheon Team
Jun. 29, 2009
NASA has selected a team led by Raytheon Company to develop enhancements to the system-wide...
Microvision Secures $15M
Jun. 26, 2009
Microvision Inc. has announced that Walsin Lihwa Corp., through its subsidiary Max Display...
First Acoustic ‘Superlens’
Jun. 25, 2009
The world’s first acoustic “superlens,” an innovation that could have practical implications for...
CEOs Look for Bright Spots
Jun. 25, 2009
While some optical technology areas are experiencing high growth rates, that growth may be limited...
Lasers Lengthen Qbit Memory
Jun. 24, 2009
Physicists have found a way to drastically prolong the shelf life of quantum bits, the 0s and 1s of quantum computers. A quantum dot is a semiconductor nanostructure that is one candidate for creating quantum bits. The scientists, including the University of Michigan's Duncan Steel, used lasers to elicit a previously undiscovered natural feedback reaction that stabilizes the quantum dot's magnetic field, lengthening the stable existence of the quantum bit by several orders of magnitude, or more than 1000 times.
Nano, Solar Top Show Agenda
Jun. 24, 2009
New research in nanoengineering, solar, optical engineering and photonics will be presented, and...
Spectral Imaging of Melanoma
Jun. 23, 2009
A new digital analysis system of multispectral images that helps physicians distinguish melanoma from other kinds of skin diseases is in process of being developed. The Computer Vision research group at the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) of Castelló is working with the Hospitals Consortium of Castelló on the research project entitled, “Characterization of melanoma through spectral imaging,” which will be carried out by physicians of the Onconolgy, Surgery and Dermatology Departments of the Castelló Provincial Hospital. The research will be led by surgeon Enrique Boldó and technicians from the Department of Computer Languages and Systems, directed by Professor Filiberto Pla.
Ultrafast Astronomical Camera
Jun. 22, 2009
The next generation of instruments for ground-based telescopes took a leap forward with the development of a new ultrafast camera that can take 1500 finely exposed images per second even when observing extremely faint objects.
Boas Blog: Brain Mapping
Jun. 22, 2009
Gary at Large
San Francisco, June 23, 2009
The concierge didn't think I could do it. Or...
IR Astronomy Pioneer Dies
Jun. 22, 2009
Infrared astronomy pioneer Frank J. Low died June 11, according to the University of Arizona, his...
Pixel-like Light Sensors
Jun. 19, 2009
Light sensors that act like pixels in a digital camera were created at the University of Toronto. The sensors benefit from a phenomenon known as multi-exciton generation (MEG). Until now, no group had collected an electrical current from a device that takes advantage of MEG.
Acoustic Saser Laser Realized
Jun. 18, 2009
A new type of acoustic laser device called a ‘saser’ was realized by scientists at the University of Nottingham. In collaboration with colleagues in the Ukraine, the group produced the sonic equivalent to the laser which produces an intense beam of uniform sound waves (rather than light waves) at the nanoscale.
Magnetochromatic Beads
Jun. 18, 2009
For the first time, stable photonic materials with tunable colors could be fabricated on a large scale after a new mechanism for inducing color change in materials was discovered at the University of California, Riverside.
Laser World Record in Munich
Jun. 17, 2009
The Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) unveiled the world’s most powerful ultrashort-pulse laser during Laser World of Photonics 2009 here this week. The femtosecond laser has an average output of more than 400 W.
4.3 GHz Record Set With LET
Jun. 17, 2009
Researchers constructed a light-emitting transistor that has set a new record with a signal-processing modulation speed of 4.3 gigahertz, breaking the previous record of 1.7 gigahertz held by a light-emitting diode.
CMOS Breakthrough Unveiled
Jun. 17, 2009
A new CMOS image sensor could become the platform of choice for scientific photonics applications such as live cell microscopy, particle imaging velocimetry, adaptive optics, machine vision, and solar astronomy, according to scientists from Andor Technology, Fairchild Imaging, and PCO, who unveiled the technology Tuesday at Laser World of Photonics 2009. Called scientific CMOS, or sCMOS, the technology doesn't have to make the tradeoffs in key performance parameters such as sensitivity, speed, dynamic range, resolution and field of view that today's other imaging detectors do, said Dr. Colin Coates, market development manager, Imaging for Andor Technology.
Revolutionizing Spintronics
Jun. 16, 2009
Physicists at the Department of Energy's (DoE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have now confirmed that there is an exotic type of material that could one day provide dramatically faster, more efficient computer chips.
AFM Gauges Atom Charge State
Jun. 15, 2009
IBM scientists in collaboration with the University of Regensburg, Germany, and Utrecht University, Netherlands, for the first time demonstrated the ability to measure the charge state of individual atoms using noncontact atomic force microscopy.
Attendance Up at Laser Munich
Jun. 15, 2009
Organizers of Laser World of Photonics 2009, which opened here today, were relieved to report that...
Dr Späth Wins Visionary Award
Jun. 15, 2009
SPIE, the international optics and photonics society, today presented Dr. h.c. Lothar Späth with the 2009 Visionary Award, recognizing him for his “exceptional foresight, creativity advocacy and vision” in promoting global business and helping to rebuild the city of Jena, Germany, as a seat of technology.
1st Photonics21 Student Award
Jun. 15, 2009
As part of today's opening session of Laser 2009's World of Photonics Congress in Munich, the first ever Photonics21 Student Award was handed over to PhD student Yannick Chassagneux, and was presented by Jan Ostoja-Ostaszewski, president of Photonics21 network.
Flir Buys Salvador Imaging
Jun. 12, 2009
Thermal imaging and stabilized camera systems maker Flir Systems Inc. announced it has acquired...
Light Powers DNA Nanomotor
Jun. 11, 2009
A new mechanism created by chemists transforms light into motion, albeit at an extremely small...
Raydiance Unveils Innovation
Jun. 11, 2009
Vascular stents - small tube-like devices that are sometimes inserted into arteries during...
Awards Recognize Innovation
Jun. 11, 2009
Photonics-related technologies were big winners at the 12th annual Medical Design Excellence Awards...
Zeiss Adds Extreme Metrology
Jun. 10, 2009
Carl Zeiss IMT Corp. is planning to roll some of its existing products into a new extreme metrology group. The new group will offer manufacturers solutions for products that are “different from the run-of-the-mill stuff,” said Kevin Legacy, the company’s manager of computed tomography and engineering.
Opening Day at LaserTec 2009
Jun. 10, 2009
On the first day of the exhibition at Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East, the...
Metrology at Mahr: Diversify
Jun. 9, 2009
Mahr Federal Inc. knows the value of diversifying. The company, which provides dimensional...
4 Photons Controlled on Chip
Jun. 9, 2009
A team of physicists and engineers at the University of Bristol Centre for Quantum Photonics has demonstrated the ultraprecise manipulation skills needed to make a major advance toward quantum technologies by precisely controlling four photons on a silicon chip. "This precise manipulation is a very exciting development for fundamental science as well as for future quantum technologies," said professor Jeremy O'Brien, director of the Centre for Quantum Photonics, who led the research. The team coupled photons into and out of the chip, fabricated at CIP Technologies, using optical fibers.
ABL Talk Draws CLEO Crowd
Jun. 9, 2009
During the PhAST Track session at CLEO 2009, Steve Post of the Missile Defense Agency offered an overview of the Airborne Laser program, describing mission objectives, weapon system elements and program progression.
New Life for QPC Lasers
Jun. 8, 2009
The investment group Laser Operations LLC announced it bought the assets of struggling semiconductor laser maker QPC Lasers Inc. for $750,000 after acquiring its $6 million debt from Finisar.
Labsphere, Orb Optronix Team
Jun. 8, 2009
Light measurement companies Labsphere and Orb Optronix announced a far-reaching collaboration on the development of a broad range of new LED, display and light metrology products.
MD&M Touts Tools of the Trade
Jun. 8, 2009
The Big Apple this week is home to a trade show devoted to the tools that help doctors diagnose...
Light's Might Harnessed
Jun. 5, 2009
A nanoscale device created at the California Institute of Technology exploits the mechanical properties of light to create an optomechanical cavity in which interactions between light and motion are greatly strengthened and enhanced.
It harnesses the power of light on a silicon chip at the smallest scale to date and has potential applications in force detection and optical communication.
Oclaro, Newport Trade Assets
Jun. 3, 2009
Oclaro Inc., formerly Bookham, announced t it will sell the New Focus business of its Advanced Photonics Solutions division in exchange for the Newport Spectra Physics high-power laser diodes business in Tucson, Ariz. Oclaro will also receive $3 million in cash for transition and integration costs.
Staying Cool in a Bad Economy
Jun. 3, 2009
“If you haven’t done the right thing before the downturn, chances are you’re not going to make it,” said Milton Huffaker of Coherent Investments during the PhAST Power Lunch at CLEO/IQEC 2009, entitled "Strategies for Surviving a Downturn."
A Twist on Chip-based Memory
Jun. 3, 2009
The same polymer sheets used to make transparencies for overhead projectors have been used by engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to create an electronic memory chip that can be bent or twisted — some 4000 times in tests — and still keep functioning. “We wanted to make a flexible memory component that would advance the development and metrology of flexible electronics, while being economical enough for widespread use,” said NIST researcher Nadine Gergel-Hackett. “Because the active component of our device can be fabricated from a liquid, there is the potential that in the future we can print the entire memory device as simply and inexpensively as we now print a slide on an overhead transparency.”
Moses Fired Up Over NIF Start
Jun. 3, 2009
In 2012, according to fans of fringe "science," the world as we know it will come to an end -...
CLEO's Crème de la Crème
Jun. 2, 2009
It was evident that there's a lot of excitement surrounding this year's CLEO/IQEC conference, which...
The Final Days of CLEO 2009
Jun. 1, 2009
Pittsfield, June 9, 2009
Nestled back in to the comforts of my desk and all that is...
Laser Zap Brightens Bulbs
Jun. 1, 2009
Firing a beam from an ultrapowerful laser onto the filament of an incandescent bulb can double its brightness without increasing its energy consumption, optics researchers at the University of Rochester announced. The laser process creates a unique array of nano- and microscale structures on the surface of a regular tungsten filament — the tiny wire inside a light bulb — and these structures make the tungsten become far more effective at radiating light. The process could make a light as bright as a 100-W bulb consume less electricity than a 60-W bulb while remaining far cheaper and radiating a more pleasant light than a fluorescent bulb can.