Bookham, Cascade Unveil Products

Innovations in optomechanical and motion control, optoelectronics, laser and gas detection technology are among products being unveiled at Photonics West this week.
   Companies announcing "firsts" include New Focus, a division of Bookham; Quantum Cascade Lasers, a developer of gas sensing technology; and Osram Opto Semiconductors, a maker of infrared laser products.
   Bookham/New Focus products include motorized translation stages with precision position control and a tiny footprint, a line of low-noise receivers and detectors, translation stages and single-frequency tunable lasers at new wavelengths for spectroscopy applications. It is also exhibiting its Clarity line of fluorescence filters, marking the first transfer of Bookham's thin-film optical-filter technology from the telecommunications market into the life-sciences market. Bookham is also offering a three-year extended warranty on the new optoelectronics and for New Focus receivers, detectors and modulators.
   Quantum Cascade Lasers, of Glasgow, Scotland, is exhibiting sensitive gas detection instruments for a variety of markets, including oil and gas, defense, security and medical diagnostics and is introducing a portable gas sensor that detects at a part per trillion sensitivity in real time and operates at room temperature. The system will also allow compound identification and measurement of multiple gases simultaneously.
   The technology devised by Cascade Technologies uses mid-infrared semiconductor lasers as a source of light that is passed through a gas cell to a detector. The changes in light intensity, due to absorption by the gases of interest, produce a "chemical fingerprint."
   The sensitivity of Cascade's technology enables the identification of very low levels of emissions and will potentially identify early-stage illness, the company said.
   Osram Opto Semiconductors is introducing its Sirilas SPL LG81laser diode array designed for solid-state pumping, material processing, illumination and industrial applications.
   Sirilas is the first product in the company's new group of laser diodes that includes a specially tailored heat sink. The laser bar is centered on integrated cooling ribs, enabling effective water cooling to eliminate the possibility of corrosion, the company said.