NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer satellite (ICON) is scheduled to launch next month for a two-year mission to gather information on weather and other physical processes within the ionosphere — the frontier of space, where Earth’s weather and space weather meet. A central component of the ICON satellite’s instrument package is the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-Resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI), developed by a team at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and Jenoptik, which built the imaging optics. MIGHTI represents a significant...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESNASA’s ICON Satellite Begins Study of IonosphereNASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) satellite launched at 9:59 p.m. EDT Oct. 10 from the Kennedy Space Center. Northrop Grumman’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft carrying the... January 0001 IssueJenoptik Lenses to Provide First Images from Mars 2020 Rover MissionJenoptik’s flight lenses designed for the Mars Rover 2020 mission have been delivered to NASA and will provide the first images that will be sent back to earth in February 2021. The...Photonics Spectra October 2019 IssueSwain Joins Jenoptik’s Silicon Valley Application CenterOptical systems developer Jenoptik has appointed Robin Swain senior director of the Silicon Valley Application Center. Swain will lead the company’s applications center in Fremont,...Photonics.com 11/20/2018Kitt Peak Observatory to House Windows on the Universe CenterA $4.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) has been awarded to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) for the development of a new “Windows on the...Photonics Spectra February 2019 IssuePRODUCTSLaser 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 IssueHyperbolic MirrorsHyperbolic mirrors from Optical Surfaces Ltd. are designed for deep space observation telescopes and earth observation satellites. Hyperbolic mirrors are used in a telescope design to correct...Photonics Spectra October 2019 IssueOptic Design SoftwareOpticStudio 19.8 software from Zemax Inc. includes high-yield optimization, a capability that enables engineers to select best as-built performance for higher manufacturing yields at a reduced cost....Photonics Spectra January 2020 IssueGlass Fabrication and CoatingCorning® Gorilla® Glass fabrication and coating services are available from Abrisa Technologies. Corning’s® Gorilla® Glass 3 alkali-aluminosilicate thin sheet glass...Photonics.com 7/3/2020PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESAcousto-Optic Devices: Charts showing the characteristics of acousto-optic scanning devices, acousto-optic figures of merit, and solutions for common problems with acousto-optic processor devices.ACOUSTO-OPTIC SCANNING DEVICES: CHARACTERISTICS MODULATORS Material Bandwidth (MHz) Rise Time (ns) Acousto Input Power (W) (Saturation) Material Wavelength Range...Photonics HandbookOptical System Design: Keeping the Coatings in Mind: The design of optical systems should balance the coating constraints with the optical and mechanical requirements. Understanding the key properties and limitations of optical coatings enables the system designer to improve the performance of the optical system.An optical coating engineer is frequently confronted with a difficult specification for a coating. Often the difficulty in the specification results from the particular form of the optical system. If...Photonics HandbookOptical Objective Systems: A Schematic GuideSimple Meniscus Lens The simple meniscus lens is almost universally used in inexpensive cameras. To get an image of good quality it must be used with a separate aperture stop, reducing the...Photonics HandbookGlobal Optimization: A Tool for Successful Design: Optical Research Associates’ Global Synthesis (GS) algorithm has been in use for more than ten years. During that time, the algorithm has been applied to numerous types of problems, and has proved remarkably successful with an approach that is feasible for both large (e.g., >90 variables) and small problems running on personal computers.Some efforts in global optimization research for optical design center around probabilistic methods such as global search. While promising for small problems with few variables, these methods...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSRadiation Resistant LensesDrawing upon approaching 30 years experience — Resolve Optics has built a strong reputation for specialist lens design and manufacture of smaller production quantities of radiation resistant...Photonics.com 5/24/2019Knight Optical Meets Customer's Quality ExpectationsIt is with great pleasure that Knight Optical – the industry-leading supplier of metrology-tested, on-spec optical components – announces a 99.9% pass rate from its state-of-the-art Metrology...Photonics.com 9/9/2020Light Changes Matter – with Optics, Lasers and SensorsThe Light & Optics division is a global OEM supplier of solutions and products based on photonics technologies. Jenoptik provides a broad portfolio of technologies combined with deep experience of...Photonics.com 9/11/2020Making Innovation Faster: 7 Lessons from Luminate on Building Effective Accelerators for Optics EntrepreneursAll entrepreneurs face obstacles moving a product from lab to launch. Companies developing optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI) technologies face additional challenges often not addressed by...Photonics.com 8/5/2019WEBINARSImaging Applications in Quantum ResearchQuantum technology, an exciting and evolving field combining physics and engineering, applies the properties of quantum mechanics to next-generation computing applications. It has the potential to...Photonics.com 9/26/2018Advancements in Precision Motion Control for Electro-Optical Manufacturing and Laser Materials ProcessingWith a focus on high-throughput/high-yield positioning and microrobotic solutions for leading-edge manufacturing, Scott Jordan and Matt Price from Physik Instrumente (PI) will present the latest...Photonics.com 1/22/2020Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Platforms, Manufacturing Issues and ResearchQuestions, Answers & Comments from the Webinar Current Status of Solar Photovoltaic Technology Platforms, Manufacturing Issues and Research Thursday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m. EDT ...Photonics.com 9/27/2012Industrial Imaging and VisionAdditional Questions & Answers from the webinar are below Speakers: 3-D Vision for Industrial Robot Guidance Clay Flannigan Manager, Robotics and Automation Engineering ...Photonics.com 4/10/2013PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSdiscontinuously reinforced aluminum (DRA)A composite derived from aluminum alloy powder and silicon carbide, used as an optical substrate in air- and spacecraft applications. It is as light as aluminum but exhibits greater strength and...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009thin-film solar cellA solar cell that is lightweight and flexible because of its construction by vacuum deposition of a semiconductor material (e.g., gallium arsenide or cadmium sulfide) onto a thin metal or plastic...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009infrared photodetector arrayAn impurity-doped silicon detector array sensitive to long infrared wavelengths, installed in optical collecting systems capable of detecting the presence of infrared-emitting objects at extensive...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009free-space optical interconnectA type of internal photonic connection in an integrated circuit in which a holographic grating is used to focus light at points on a silicon chip, maximizing the speed of signal propagation.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIATech 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 6/19/2018PIC Fundamentals, Design at Heart of AIM Photonics Summer AcademyStudents from large and small size companies and bigger Department of Defense affiliates of the AIM Photonics Institute took part in the recent AIM Photonics Summer Academy at MIT. This was the third...Photonics.com 7/30/2018Light Tomorrow with TodayLuminate NY, the only optics, photonics and imaging (OPI) accelerator and investment fund in the world, announced the final winners at the Light Tomorrow with Today event in Rochester, NY. For the...Photonics.com 7/2/2018Luminate NY 2019: Lightning AwardsLuminate is the world's largest Optics, Photonics and Imaging accelerator focused on advancing next-generation OPI-enabled companies. The accelerator program accepts ten companies per year to compete...Photonics.com 11/16/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESOptical MaterialsOptical materials are materials that, by virtue of their optical characteristics, are used in optical elements.Printed Circuit Board and Mounted Integrated OpticsDetector/Filter CombinationsCrystalline QuartzCOMPANIESJenoptik Optical Systems LLC, Light & OpticsJenoptik is a globally operating technology group. Optical technologies are the very basis of our business with the majority of our products and services being provided to the photonics market. Our...Photonics Buyers' GuideNational Laser CompanyNational Laser is the leading U.S. manufacturing plant of argon lasers and the foremost integrator of customized laser and opto-electronic systems for Original Equipment Manufacturers. We’ve...Photonics Buyers' GuideII-VI Aerospace & Defense Inc.As a vertically integrated provider, II-VI Aerospace & Defense is uniquely positioned to meet the critical and complex design, engineering and production requirements of customers in the...Photonics Buyers' GuideA.R.W. Optical CorporationARW Optical is your reliable manufacturer of quality optics and coatings. Beamsplitters • Prototyping through volume-production quantities • High-performance and durable optical...Photonics Buyers' Guide