Laser Limits Shattered
Aug. 31, 2009
A new type of nanoscale laser can concentrate light into an area one-hundredth the size of the smallest spot that can be produced by a conventional laser -- a space smaller than a single protein molecule. The breakthrough breaks new ground in the field of optics.
Molecule's 'Anatomy' Imaged
Aug. 31, 2009
The chemical structure inside a molecule has been imaged with unprecedented resolution through the use of noncontact atomic force microscopy. Imaging individual atoms within a molecule has been a long-standing goal of surface microscopy. The results push the exploration of using molecules and atoms at the smallest scale and could greatly impact the field of nanotechnology, which seeks to understand and control some of the smallest objects known to mankind.
Plasma Probes Pulp Painlessly
Aug. 31, 2009
To reduce the process involved in routine root canal procedures, researchers developed a cold-plasma jet that may prevent deposits of bacteria from being left behind once the diseased pulp tissue is removed, while also relieving pain.
Solution Makes Smog Glow
Aug. 31, 2009
Kazunori Koide and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a fluorescent solution that glows bright green in the presence of ozone. Compounds that can detect ozone and other oxidants are already in existence, but what makes this substance special is that it is specific for ozone.
Headwall Awaits DoD Funding
Aug. 28, 2009
Spectral imaging instruments maker Headwall Photonics will receive $2.5 million to make sensors for unmanned aerial vehicles if the proposed fiscal 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act becomes law.
‘Up-scale’ NIR Spectrometry
Aug. 27, 2009
In what may prove to be a major development for scientists in fields ranging from forensics to quantum communications, NIST researchers developed a new, highly sensitive, low-cost technique for measuring light in the near-infrared range.
FARO Cuts Work Force by 8%
Aug. 25, 2009
Laser tracker maker FARO Technologies Inc., which had cut about 21 percent of its work force during the first quarter of 2009, announced it will trim another 8 percent in order to return to profitability as soon as 2010.
Solar Conversion Record Set
Aug. 25, 2009
Solar advances include a new solar power record (a 43 percent conversion of sunlight to electricity) by scientists at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and nanoparticle “inks” developed at the University of Texas at Austin that allow them to be printed like newspaper or painted onto the sides of buildings or rooftops to absorb electricity-producing sunlight.
Plastic SCs Go with the Flow
Aug. 25, 2009
A problem with plastic circuits that conduct electricity -- namely that they only allow one type of charge to move through them -- was reported solved by researchers at the University of Washington, who created a process that allows organic electronics to transport both positive and negative charges.
Syndiant Raises $10.7M
Aug. 25, 2009
Syndiant, a Dallas-based fabless semiconductor company, announced the closing of a $10.7 million series B funding round led by the the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and private investors. The company's high-resolution light modulating chips are used in pico projectors embedded in handheld electronics.
Border Patrol Goes High Tech
Aug. 24, 2009
The Department of Homeland Security has accelerated plans to build a "virtual fence" on the US-Mexico border that will incorporate steel towers equipped with infrared sensors, remotely operated cameras, communications devices and radar. The system is designed to aid border patrol agents in identifying and intercepting 70 to 85 percent of all illegal passages into the US.
Flexible Uses for Micro-LEDs
Aug. 21, 2009
By printing large arrays of ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic LEDs and interconnecting them using thin-film processing, materials scientists at the University of Illinois combined the advantages of both inorganic and organic LEDs for use in lighting and display systems with interesting properties, such as see-through construction and mechanical flexibility.
Plextronics Nets $14M
Aug. 20, 2009
Plextronics Inc., a maker of printed solar, lighting and other organic electronics, announced the completion of its $14 million series B-1 financing round, led by a $12 million investment by Solvay North American Investments LLC.
Imaging Reveals Hidden Art
Aug. 20, 2009
The use of a new x-ray imaging technique to reveal, for the first time in a century, unprecedented details of a painting hidden beneath another painting by famed American illustrator N.C. Wyeth was reported to the American Chemical Society.
DoE Awards OLED Contract
Aug. 20, 2009
Phosphorescent organic LED (PHOLED) technology and materials developer Universal Display Corp. has...
Light Controls Cell Movement
Aug. 19, 2009
A new technique developed by Dr. Klaus Hahn and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill uses light to manipulate the activity of a protein at precise times and places within a living cell, providing a new tool for scientists who study the fundamentals of protein function. The technique uses light to control protein behavior in cells and animals simply by shining light on the cells where they want the protein to be active.
Alleged Bilker: 'Not Guilty'
Aug. 18, 2009
A former bookkeeper accused of embezzling $230,000 from Boulder-based laser optics company Precision Photonics Corp., to fund purchases such as a Mercedes Benz and luxury cruise, pleaded not guilty in Boulder district court Friday.
Broadband Exterior Cloaking
Aug. 18, 2009
A new active cloaking method might someday shield submarines from sonar, planes from radar, building from earthquakes and coastal structures from tsunamis, said a group of mathematicians at the University of Utah.
Sony Delays OLED TVs
Aug. 18, 2009
Poor performance at its TV division led Sony to delay sales of its new organic LED (OLED) display television until at least 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sony had planned to introduce a model with a screen bigger than its 11-in. OLED, which was released in early 2008, but pulled back as its TV division seems poised to lose money for the sixth straight year.
'Spaser' Nanolaser Realized
Aug. 17, 2009
By harnessing clouds of electrons called surface plasmons instead of photons, engineers at Purdue University overcame a barrier preventing lasers from being integrated into electronic circuits. Their nanolaser, the "spaser," is the first of its kind to emit visible light. “This work represents an important milestone that may prove to be the start of a revolution in nanophotonics, with applications in imaging and sensing at a scale that is much smaller than the wavelength of visible light,” said Timothy D. Sands, the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park.
Future Visions, Near and Far
Aug. 14, 2009
Kicked off with a bit of laser-driven music and the typical National Instruments flair, NIWeek...
Camera Flash Forms Conductor
Aug. 13, 2009
The new process invented at Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science replaces high-temperature heating or chemical reduction by using a camera flash to instantly convert the low-cost insulator graphite oxide into graphene, a material that conducts electricity.
Capping Two-faced Particles
Aug. 13, 2009
In Roman mythology Janus, known as the god of gates, doorways, and beginnings and endings, was...
Yb Tops Cesium in Superclock
Aug. 12, 2009
An experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, the nation's civilian time standard. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) evaluated the clock by measuring the natural frequency of ytterbium, carefully accounting for all possible deviations such as those caused by collisions between the atoms, and by using NIST-F1 as a "ruler" for comparison. The results were good enough to indicate that the ytterbium clock is competitive in some respects with NIST-F1, which has been improving steadily and now keeps time to within 1 second in about 100 million years.
Lasers Aid Supernova Search
Aug. 12, 2009
One single atom of a certain isotope of hafnium found on Earth would prove that a supernova once exploded near our solar system. The problem is how to find such an atom among billions of others. Now researchers at the University of Gothenburg have developed a laser technique that, in combination with standard techniques, may be able to do the job.
Light Controls Living Cells
Aug. 12, 2009
Light energy can gently guide and change the orientation of living cells within lab cultures, researchers at the University of Central Florida have demonstrated. The ability to optically steer cells could be a major step in harnessing the healing power of stem cells and guiding them to areas of the body that need help.
Biosensor Images Tumors
Aug. 12, 2009
A new oxygen nanosensor created by coupling a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors, said chemists at the University of Virginia who developed the material. Such tumors are associated with increased cancer aggressiveness and are particularly difficult to treat.
Earthquake Halts LCD Output
Aug. 11, 2009
Corning Inc. said that production at its LCD glass manufacturing facility in Shizuoka, Japan, was disrupted by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in Honshu Monday. While there were no reports of injuries or structural damage at the Corning plant, the shutdown will reduce sales by about $65 million in the July-September quarter, the company said.
Coherent Loses $7M in Q3
Aug. 6, 2009
Laser maker Coherent Inc. posted a loss of $7 million, or 29 cents a share, for the third quarter of 2009, compared with a net gain of $8.4 million, or 35 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Net sales for the third quarter of 2009 were $98.5 million, plunging more than 60 percent from the year-ago quarter’s $157 million.
Publisher Dies Unexpectedly
Aug. 5, 2009
Diane M. Laurin, group publisher for Laurin Publishing's slate of international trade magazines, and daughter of company founder Teddi C. Laurin, died unexpectedly, the company announced last week. She was 57.
IPG Photonics Posts Q2 Loss
Aug. 5, 2009
Weak pulsed laser sales for materials processing contributed to a $1.2 million, or 3 cents a share, loss posted by high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers maker IPG Photonics Corp. for the second quarter.
SPIE O+P Blog: Hornet's Nest
Aug. 3, 2009
Features Editor Gary Boas documents his experience at SPIE Optics + Photonics 2009, including special events marking the 400th birthday of the telescope and the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.