Daily News Briefs

Spectronic Devices Ltd., a Befordshire, England, manufacturer of line cameras and miniature spectrometers, has received a Smart award -- a grant for feasibility studies and development projects from the UK Department of Trade and Industry Small Business Service -- to develop a dual-channel line camera for applications such as dual-channel spectroscopy, wide-bandwidth spectroscopy and dual-channel metrology. The DuoflexT camera uses two separate, facing linear arrays and a prism arrangement positioned so that one beam strikes an array while a second beam hits the opposite array. The space between the detectors can be adjusted from 0 to 15 mm. First production models will be available in January. . . . ElectroniCast Corp., a market forecast firm for the fiber optic, optoelectronic and photonic industries, announced that David Milverton, PhD, has joined a project to analyze the markets for and technology of liquid crystal-based components used in optical communication applications, including variable optical attenuators, wavelength blockers, switches and multifunctional integrated components. Milverton was formerly business development manager of Intel Corp.'s photonics technology operation and was previously director of sales and marketing at Optical Micro Devices Ltd. . . . Optics for Hire announced it was selected by Promet International Inc., of Shoreview, Minn., to assist in the development of a new generation of PROMET's FiBO interferometer. Optics for Hire will provide electrical design and electrical board prototyping for the new system. The FiBO is a portable version of the Michelson interferometer, used for fiber optic surface inspection. The Optics for Hire research and development team is comprised of 18 physicists and engineers based in the Ukraine.