Keithley Sells RF to Agilent
Nov. 20, 2009
Electronic test systems maker Keithley Instruments Inc. announced Thursday that it is selling its...
QDs Improve Medical Imaging
Nov. 19, 2009
Changes in a living cell that take place over a long period of time are difficult to scrutinize and...
Light Moves Nanostructures
Nov. 18, 2009
With a bit of leverage, Cornell researchers used a very tiny beam of light with as little as 1 mW of power to move a silicon structure up to 12 nm. That's enough to completely switch the optical properties of the structure from opaque to transparent, they reported. The technology could have applications in the design of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) -- nanoscale devices with moving parts -- and micro-optomechanical systems (MOMS) which combine moving parts with photonic circuits.
Complex Solar Surface Imaged
Nov. 17, 2009
The most detailed images to date of the sun's grainy-looking surface were produced by the Sunrise balloon-borne telescope, a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany, and partners in Spain and the US.
Virtual Cloaking Unveiled
Nov. 16, 2009
Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology created a virtual visualization tool that shows what a partially or completely cloaked object would really look like. Even as an invisibility cloak hides an object, the cloak itself is apparent because of surface reflections and imperfections, they revealed.
Mess-Free Graphene Growth
Nov. 16, 2009
A research team at Cornell University invented a simple, less expensive way to make graphene electrical devices by growing graphene -- one-atom-thick layers of carbon -- directly onto a silicon wafer.
Light Squeezed Even Tighter
Nov. 13, 2009
Scientists at the University of Adelaide proved that light can be squeezed into much tighter spaces than previously thought, thanks to new breakthroughs in the theoretical understanding of how light behaves at the nanoscale.
Laser Charts Green Protein
Nov. 12, 2009
Chemists at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered the secret to the structural changes that green fluorescent proteins (GFPs), used in biological studies, undergoe when they fluoresce.
Applied Cutting 1300+ Jobs
Nov. 12, 2009
In the wake of posting a net loss of $305 million for 2009, chip-making equipment manufacturer...
Finding Life in Martian Ice
Nov. 11, 2009
Doctors with the Kinohi Institute and the University of Innsbruck in Austria devised an imaging technique to detect bacteria in frozen Antarctic lakes, with the ultimate goal of using the technology to identify microbial life in the extreme environments on Mars, on the icy moons of our solar system and on exoplanets.
Capsules Mock Photosynthesis
Nov. 11, 2009
German chemists report progress toward achieving artificial photosynthesis by packing thousands of...
GigOptix Acquires ChipX
Nov. 11, 2009
Optoelectronics maker GigOptix Inc. has announced that it acquired fabless integrated circuits...
Hamamatsu Licenses JDSU IP
Nov. 9, 2009
JDSU announced it has licensed patent rights for fundamental picosecond laser technology to Hamamatsu Corp. for the development of microelectronic products.
Vision Market on the Upswing
Nov. 9, 2009
The machine vision industry has been hit hard by the economic downturn, but many exhibitors at the Vision 2009 trade show in Stuttgart, Germany, shared the view that the crowd was surprisingly optimistic, despite a 5 percent decline in attendance over 2008.
Show Plans Laser Tribute
Nov. 6, 2009
Special events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser, including a “Cirque...
T-ray Tool Up and Running
Nov. 5, 2009
A new terahertz ray (T-ray) instrument installed at Iowa State University will allow scientists to take a unique look at material reliability, biofuel combustion, cancer screening, and other science and engineering research fields by reading high-speed pulses of silent and invisible T-rays.
Atom Imaged in Ultracold Gas
Nov. 5, 2009
A high-resolution microscope was developed to image individual atoms in an ultracold quantum gas, marking the first time scientists detected single atoms in a crystalline structure made solely of light called a Bose Hubbard optical lattice.
3-D PV Cell Folds, Travels
Nov. 5, 2009
A new technology for growing nanostructures on optical fibers can be used to make 3-D photovoltaic systems foldable and portable, no longer confined to traditional locations such as rooftops.
Scope-Headed Rats Roam Free
Nov. 4, 2009
By building a tiny laser microscope small enough to mount on a rat’s head, researchers found a way...
Momentive Awarded $4.5M
Nov. 3, 2009
Momentive Performance Materials was awarded $4.5 million by the US Department of Energy to develop crystal growth technology aimed at accelerating low cost mass production of LED-based solid-state lighting.
Machine Vision Standards Set
Nov. 3, 2009
Machine vision trade groups European Machine Vision Association, Japan Industrial Imaging Association and the Automated Imaging Association signed an agreement Tuesday at the Vision 2009 show in Stuttgart to jointly develop machine vision standards, something they previously did separately.
Flipping Photonic Shock Waves
Nov. 3, 2009
Speedy electrons or other charged particles can briefly outrun light in matter, producing a shock wave in the form of a cone of light known as Cerenkov radiation. For the first time, physicists have experimental verification of reversed Cerenkov radiation in a specially tailored structure known as a left-handed metamaterial.
T Cell Trigger: Sheer Force
Nov. 3, 2009
An array of techniques including optical tweezers were used to find the "switch" that can swiftly change a T cell – a white blood cell that patrols the bloodstream and organs for signs of disease – from jury to executioner. Revealing this "missing link" in immune response to disease may lead to precisely targeted therapies for cancers and infections.
Frequency Comb Shows Teeth
Nov. 2, 2009
The first optical frequency comb that actually looks like a comb has been built and demonstrated by scientists in the US and Germany. The "teeth" of the new comb – a tool for precisely measuring different frequencies of visible light – are separated enough that when viewed with a simple optical system the human eye can see each of the approximately 50,000 teeth spanning the visible color spectrum from red to blue.