Sixty years ago this month, Theodore H. Maiman, a physicist at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, Calif., constructed the first laser using a cylinder of synthetic ruby and photographic flash lamps. There have been many milestones in the last six decades. In honor of this breakthrough, Photonics Media will be running periodic coverage throughout the month.LEXINGTON, Mass., May 6, 2020 — The MIT Lincoln Laboratory has been the site of numerous discoveries and has yielded some incredibly important technologies — many of them based on lasers. The Firepond wideband laser radar (ladar) successfully collected the first range-Doppler images of an orbiting satellite in 1990. The experiment was part of the Firefly flight-test program designed to demonstrate the performance of the Firepond ladar, based on research into coherent laser radar at the laboratory. In 1997, the laboratory developed the concept for a biological agent warning sensor, based on the principle of...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESA Laser History of Lincoln Laboratory, Part 1The MIT Lincoln Laboratory has been the site of numerous discoveries and has yielded some incredibly important technologies — among them, lasers. In the fall of 1962, the laboratory...Photonics.com 5/4/2020US Patent #2,929,922In May 1960, Theodore Maiman revealed to the world the first successful demonstration of a laser at Hughes Atomic Physical Department in Malibu, Calif. However, the landmark event was achieved due to...Photonics.com 5/1/2020A History of the VCSELThe VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) was invented in 1977 by Kenichi Iga. VCSELs are used in myriad applications, such as cellphone security, optical communication, computer mice, gas...Photonics.com 5/18/2020As Displays Evolve, Lasers Offer New Bonding OptionsThe display industry has used anisotropic conductive film (ACF) for component packaging applications for decades. By aligning display parts precisely and applying heat and compression for the right...Photonics Spectra October 2020 IssuePRODUCTSSilicon Photonics PlatformThe Odin™ silicon photonics platform from Ranovus Inc. is a multi-terabit technology designed to handle massive growth in data traffic and communications. Odin™ scales the...Photonics Spectra July 2020 IssueLaser Production Optical SystemThe JENvelt™ from Jenoptik Optical Systems GmbH is a complex optical system that integrates into laser production machines. The compact plug-and-play system caters to various...Photonics Spectra December 2019 IssueInP LasersHigh-speed InP electro-absorption modulated lasers (EML) have been announced by II-VI Inc. for datacenters and 5G optical access infrastructure. The InP component portfolio includes Fabry-Perot...Photonics Spectra June 2020 IssueFiber CollimatorsThe 60FC-SF series of fiber collimators from Schäfter + Kirchhoff GmbH is an improved, advanced line of the 60FC-F collimator series, providing an even more precise focus setting. The...Photonics.com 11/9/2020PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESQCL Primer: History, Characteristics, Applications: The versatility of quantum cascade lasers make them a good choice for the mid-infrared region.Since its first successful operation in 1960 at Hughes Research Labs, the laser has been at the center of innovation and research. Semiconductor lasers first made their appearance in 1962 when Robert...Photonics HandbookWhat Is Photonics?Photonics is the study of light and other types of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The impact of photonics on research, technology, navigation, culture, astronomy, forensics, and...Photonics HandbookLaser Safety: Important Considerations: Laser safety is nothing to scoff at; lasers can be hazardous. Enter Class 1 laser products — lasers that are so safe that the user doesn’t require specific laser safety training or protective eyewear. Some precautions still exist, though.When purchasing an industrial laser system, the astute buyer will look for a Class 1 laser product — a system where the laser beam hazard is completely enclosed and there is no potential laser...Photonics HandbookPowering Lasers: Evaluating Bench Power Supplies: Supplying power to a laser is delicate work because lasers are extremely sensitive and easily damaged. A single pulse of excessive current, lasting only a few microseconds, can overheat and damage the light-emitting facets of a laser diode. While a laser diode driver is the safest and most effective method for powering a laser, in some cases, a bench power supply may be an option. The answer depends on the application and on the performance of the specific bench supply in question.A bench power supply should be thoroughly tested and characterized before it is used to power a laser. The quality of the controls and safety measures incorporated into a bench supply will need to be...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSMulti-line Lasers Simplify Biomedical ImagingThe introduction of multi-line lasers to fluorescence instrumentation provides a compact, easy-to-use, and service-free solution for integrating up to four laser wavelengths with reliable, stable...Photonics.com 11/13/2019PDH Technique with Moku:Lab’s Laser Lock Box — An FPGA-based all-in-one Solution for Laser Frequency LockingThe Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) technique was first introduced by R.V. Pound, Ronald Drever, and John L. Hall in 1983. It is a widely used method to match the emitting optical frequency of a laser to a...Photonics.com 11/10/2020Technology Leaps in Quantum SensingIrrespective of which quantum sensing technology prevails, current solutions rely on the availability of state-of-the-art components. This in turn drives the development of new lasers and electronics...Photonics.com 2/23/20213SAE End-Cap Fusion Splicer (ECS)The world's first portable end-cap fusion splicer that provides capabilities that overcome the limitations of current end-cap splicing processes.Photonics.com 6/24/2020WEBINARSIntroduction to Quantum Computer Hardware and ModalitiesQuantum computers hold the potential to address complex problems in fields such as material science, quantum chemistry, finance, and pharmaceuticals. How can we realize this promise, and what are the...Photonics.com 4/15/2021Directed Energy Lasers: A Historic and Future PerspectiveLasers were first demonstrated over 60 years ago, and some have evolved to become almost a commodity in the defense sector as a directed-energy solution to multiple threats. Greg Quarles provides an...Photonics.com 1/19/2021CLEO 2015 Technology Transfer Preview WebinarThe Technology Transfer Program, part of the annual Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics, is a chance for researchers to learn about turning their discoveries into marketable products. This...Photonics.com 4/30/2015Improving Production Economics in Photonics Test/Assembly and Ultrafast Laser Materials Processing of Transparent MaterialsThis webinar will present the latest advancements in precision motion control techniques, system architecture, software, algorithms, hardware, and mechanisms for system designers in the laser...Photonics.com 4/6/2021PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSphotobiomodulationA light therapy that utilizes nonionizing light sources, including lasers, LEDs, and broadband light, in the visible and infrared spectrum. It is a nonthermal process involving endogenous...EDU.photonics.com 6/15/2018light sourceThe generic term applied to all sources of visible radiation from burning matter to ionized vapors and lasers, regardless of the degree of excitation.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009dye laserA laser using a dye solution as its active medium. Its output is a short pulse of broad spectral content and its achievable gain is high. Dye lasers function at room temperature. Synchronous pumping...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009metal vapor laserDevices in which the lasing medium is a vapor of metal atoms or ions, sometimes mixed with another gas. Metal vapor lasers use a variety of metal types to generate a variety of laser lines for...EDU.photonics.com 2/15/2013MEDIAEdinburgh Instruments Product RangeEdinburgh Instruments is a world-leader in both single photon counting and time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) based fluorescence spectrometers. Our product range includes: FLS1000...Photonics.com 6/19/2019Tech Transfer Programs Bridge Gap Between Industry and ResearchTechnology Transfer Programs are often a concerted effort to share skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing, and facilities among governments or...Photonics.com 6/19/2018UniKLasers Lab Virtual TourPhotonics.com 1/18/2021Penn's Agarwal Group Focuses on Light-Matter Interactions for Optoelectronic DevicesThe Agarwal Group at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Materials Science and Engineering focuses on understanding how light interacts with small scale nanostructures. They also work to...Photonics.com 10/1/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESBragg CellsTi:Sapphire LasersA Ti:sapphire laser is a solid-state laser that is continuously tunable in the wavelength region from 700 to 1100 nm. It is suitable for both pulsed and continuous-wave operation. Usually written...Dye Laser CellsHarmonic GeneratorsCOMPANIESFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Crystals, Nonlinear Crystals,...Photonics Buyers' GuideOhara Corporation, Western OfficeOhara manufactures precision optical glasses: strip/slab, cut/molded blanks, pressings, high homogeneity blanks, fine gobs, polished ball lenses, near-UV transmitting i-Line glass, ceramic...Photonics Buyers' GuideOZ Optics LimitedEstablished in 1985, OZ Optics is a leading worldwide supplier of fiber optic components, test equipment and sensors. OZ Optics manufactures its products in three locations, Ottawa (Canada),...Photonics Buyers' GuideSino-Galvo (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd.Who we are Sino-Galvo Tech., founded in 2001, is a high-tech enterprise that devotedly integrates R&D, manufacture, and sales of galvo scanners as well as control systems for industrial and...Photonics Buyers' Guide