Ocean Optics Adds Spectrometer Patents

DUNEDIN, Fla., Feb. 8, 2006 -- Ocean Optics was recently issued two US patents involving its spectrometer technology. The first covers the composition and a method of producing high-reflection silver mirrors or thin-film optical filters that increase sensitivity in the company's spectrometers. The second is for tuneable variable bandpass optical filters that combine its patented high-pass and low-pass linear variable filters to create a notch filter with an adjustable bandpass.

According to the company, "The patented process of producing silver reflecting layers in dielectric thin films results in coatings with extremely high reflectivity. They feature greater than 95 percent reflectivity over the visible and NIR wavelength range and over a wide range of angles of incidence. The dielectric coatings protect the silver from oxidation and enhance reflectivity. The coatings are environmentally stable and can be applied to standard optical substrates to produce mirrors and filters. The spectrometer systems incorporating them show a 10-35 percent increase in system sensitivity compared to units made with conventional aluminum coated mirrors."

The patented tuneable variable bandpass optical filters are especially useful for spectrally shaping the excitation energy from broadband sources used for fluorescence, Ocean Optics said.

"When making traditional fluorescence spectroscopy measurements they eliminate the need for multiple, expensive bandpass filters," the company said in a statement. "They also spectrally shape the excitation energy from a single broadband source as opposed to using multiple light sources with various wavelengths or a front-end scanning monochromator."

Ocean Optics, part of the Halma Group of safety and detection companies, makes spectrometers, chemical sensors, metrology instrumentation, optical fibers, thin films and optics for applications in medical and biological research, environmental monitoring, science education and entertainment lighting and display.

For more information, visit: www.OceanOptics.com