While many factors can diminish a city's quality of life, one literally takes residents breath away: smog. Traffic, industrial pollution, weather patterns and geography can turn a perfectly lovely city into a very hazy place. Cleaning the air requires a clear understanding of the pollution's sources, and photonics offers a number of techniques that can provide some clues. The metropolitan area surounding Athens, Greece, is among the world's cities with a summer smog problem. In 1994, the European research project Mediterranean Campaign of Photochemical Tracers EM DASH Transport and Chemical...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESPrecision Optics Shape Both the Light and the Limits of High-Power LasersHigh-power lasers have become a standard and ubiquitous tool in many industrial applications, due, in part, to the precisely controllable energy that they provide. But “high power” can be...Photonics Spectra April 2022 IssueA New Generation of Femtosecond Lasers Packs Practicality with PrecisionTo say that femtosecond laser technology has undergone a transformation in recent years is an understatement that not only minimizes the huge strides made in technical terms, but especially so the...Photonics Spectra May 2022 IssueThermal Imaging Takes the Temperature of New ApplicationsWhile thermal infrared imaging technology was once limited to defense and government-funded applications, it has become more mainstream over the past few decades. The growing awareness of the...Photonics Spectra April 2021 IssueAdvancements in Diode Lasers Fuel Automotive LidarLidar for autonomous vehicles debuted in 2007 as an enabling sensor technology for robotaxis and robotruck development. Within the last five years, however, the technology has trended toward broader...Photonics Spectra March 2022 IssuePRODUCTSSteerable MirrorThe High-Speed Steerable Mirror from Cognex Corp. is designed for use with the DataMan® 470 barcode reader, supporting large field-of-view applications with a single compact system. The...Photonics.com 8/2/2021Embedded Vision Processing KitAn Embedded Vision Processing Kit with various interfaces for image processing has been announced by Basler AG, allowing the connection of different camera types. The in-house developed board...Photonics.com 4/2/2021HDMI to SDI ConverterThe NA1012B-ET HDMI to SDI converter from AIVION features a board-to-board connector. With an extended temperature range from -40° to +85 °C, the device is designed for applications...Photonics.com 4/1/2021Noncontact Measuring UnitThe Roundtracer Flash noncontact measuring unit from Mitutoyo America Corp. allows images acquired by different sensors to be combined to generate a single workpiece image containing no defects or...Photonics Spectra January 2022 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESExcimer Optics: High Power Demands High Reliability: The excimer laser’s shift to commercial applications has created a demand for higher power levels and increased reliability from the laser itself, thus creating a greater demand for industrialized optics to control, redirect, reshape, and focus the intense UV radiation produced.The first high-reflectance mirror coatings for the UV and vacuum UV (VUV) were of the Al + MgF2 type produced in the late 1950s. Coatings of this design are still used today for multigas cavity...Photonics HandbookDiamond Machining: Ultraprecision Machine TechnologyUltraprecision machining can be defined in general terms as the removal of material from a substrate utilizing a machine tool that operates at a resolution of 10 nm (0.4 μin.) or less. The...Photonics HandbookMachine Vision Cameras: Making the Right Selection: Improvements and affordability have broadened the use of vision systems for inspection, but several factors should be considered before making a purchase.Technological advances have resulted in new, higher-quality sensors that enable machine vision cameras to deliver greater features and functionality at a lower cost than ever before. These factors...Photonics HandbookSpectroscopy: Mastering the Techniques: Spectrochemical analysis employing optical spectroscopic methods is used to monitor the water we drink, the food we eat, the status of human health, and the quality of the environment. Such methods are also crucial to the development of safe and valuable industrial processes.The scope of optical spectroscopic instrumentation is indeed very broad. Many analytical methods rely on the interaction of radiation with matter and are often described in the context of quantum and...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSCutting Edge Measurement of an InsertThe 3D optical profilometer S neox Five Axis makes it possible to quickly and flexibly obtain the key parameters necessary for the continuous improvement of our tools, such as the cutting edge...Photonics.com 12/10/2021IDS Imaging Development Systems Product PortfolioSimplicity is the basis of our thinking and actions. This applies to our perfectly compatible cameras as well as to our ingeniously thought-out software. 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For mobile phones, advancements such as flexible and foldable...Photonics.com 1/10/2022PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSbacklightingThe forming of a clear silhouette of an object by placing a light source behind it. Used in machine vision when surface features of an object are not important.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009direct laser interference patterningAlso called DLIP, a high-speed, high-resolution processing technique that uses high-power, pulsed laser systems to directly ablate micro- and nanoperiodic structures with different features on large...EDU.photonics.com 6/28/2017convolutional neural networkA powerful and flexible machine-learning approach that can be used in machine vision to help solve difficult problems. 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Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have developed a single flat lens that can focus the entire visible spectrum of light in the same spot and in...Photonics.com 7/5/2018Laserglow_Brightline Alignment LasersPhotonics.com 8/5/2015Continuum - Introducing Powerlite Furie, the Next Generation High Energy Nd:YAG LaserBuilt on the proven Powerlite laser platform and using our energy through efficiency approach, the Powerlite Furie delivers 7J of IR and 4J of green, ensuring excellent beam profile and overall...Photonics.com 7/11/2013Light Matters Extra: Optifab 2017 - 10.2017In this month's Light Matters Extra, we give you an in-depth look at North America's largest optical fabrication exhibition and show – Optifab 2017. 188 companies filled the showroom floor of the...Photonics.com 10/26/2017PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESOptical RadarsHo:YAG LasersRuby LasersA ruby laser is an optically pumped, solid-state laser that uses sapphire as the host lattice and chromium as the active ion. The emission takes place in the red portion of the spectrum.CoolantsCOMPANIESLaCroix Precision OpticsOptics that Defend, Build, Cure and Discover The LaCroix name is synonymous with quality precision optics. Since 1947, three generations of family leadership have placed LaCroix Precision Optics...Photonics Buyers' GuideBaumer USABaumer Group is a manufacturer of sensors, encoders, measuring instruments, and components for automated image-processing. Baumer combines innovative technologies and customer-oriented service into...Photonics Buyers' GuideIDS Imaging Development Systems GmbHIDS is a leading manufacturer of digital industrial cameras with USB or GigE interface along with 3D-cameras featuring various sensors and variants. With the vision app-based cameras IDS NXT and...Photonics Buyers' GuideAllied Vision Technologies GmbHABOUT US For 30 years, Allied Vision has helped people see the bigger picture to achieve their goals. We believe knowledge is power and always strive to deliver valuable insight with our...Photonics Buyers' Guide