Researchers from ETH Zürich have developed a technique to produce complex glass objects with 3D printing. The method is based on stereolithography, one of the first 3D-printing techniques developed during the 1980s. The researchers developed a special resin containing a plastic and organic molecules to which glass precursors are bonded. The resin can be processed using commercially available digital light processing technology, which irradiates the resin with UV light patterns. Wherever the light strikes the resin, it hardens because the light-sensitive components of the polymer...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESResearchers Use 3D Printer to Print Chalcogenide GlassFor the first time, researchers have successfully 3D-printed chalcogenide glass, a unique material used to make optical components that operate at mid-IR wavelengths. The ability to 3D print...Photonics.com 4/22/20193D Printing Offers Versatility in Optical DesignResearchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) used multimaterial 3D printing to develop tailored gradient refractive index glass optics, delivering a result that could enable the...Photonics Spectra February 2021 IssueETH Team Leads Way to More Precise Diffraction GratingsFor decades, scientists have tried to improve the design and production of diffraction gratings, one of the oldest and most important technologies for controlling light. An ETH Zürich team,...EuroPhotonics Autumn 2020 IssueTunable Photosensitive Metamaterials Could Improve Elastic Wave ControlAn international team from the Institute of Electronics, Microelectronics, and Nanotechnology (IEMN), the Polytechnic University of Turin, Empa, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology...EuroPhotonics Winter 2020 IssuePRODUCTSScan SystemThe excelliSCAN 20 scan system from SCANLAB GmbH targets demanding applications such as micromachining and additive manufacturing. SCANahead servo control technology enables extra speed and...Photonics Spectra August 2019 IssueComputational Modeling SoftwareThe nTop Platform 2.0 computational modeling software from nTopology Inc. enables engineers to simultaneously consider geometry, performance, and manufacturability within a single, reusable workflow....Photonics.com 12/6/2019Spherical MirrorsConcave spherical mirrors from Optical Surfaces Ltd. are designed for Schlieren imaging systems in a range of materials, including fused silica, Zerodur and ClearCeram. Distinct applications span...Photonics.com 4/20/2021UV-LED IlluminatorThe Model 3300 series of UV-LED Illuminators from Innovations in Optics Inc. are designed for digital light processing by pairing high-power UV-LED illuminators with precision drivers/controllers. ...Photonics Spectra February 2020 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESLaser 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 HandbookTransmission Ranges for Optical Materials: Chart showing Transmission Ranges for Optical Materials.Photonics HandbookFluorescence Lifetime Imaging: Choosing the Best Approach: Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM), which measures the spatial distribution of the fluorescence decay, can be achieved either in the time or in the frequency domain. Each approach exhibits advantages and disadvantages, depending on the type of light detector and acquisition method employed.The term fluorescence is often applied as a synonym for photoluminescence, although luminescence actually covers fluorescence and phosphorescence. Both of these terms describe the process of...Photonics HandbookData Tables: Optical Thin-Film Materials: Tables showing parameters of the most frequently used physical vapor deposition materials for a wide variety of applications.DATA TABLES: OPTICAL THIN-FILM MATERIALS Identification Physical Parameters Material Name Material Formula Transparent Region(µm) (see note a) Index at Wavelength...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSManufacturing Equipment for Photonics ComponentsAs products get smaller, the impact on manufacturing is significant, increasing the challenge to stay efficient and cost effective. Micro molding and lithography add multiple steps, long wait times...Photonics.com 4/6/2021Trusted Glass Measurements for Better Product DevelopmentThe PerkinElmerUL270 integrating sphere is a unique accessory that allows new accuracy to be achieved in the measurement of light-diffusing materials and adequately solves the various measurement...Photonics.com 3/18/2021Cleaving Substrates for Photonics Technologies - New Downsizing Methods for Glass and SapphireLatticeGear designs, manufactures, and sells cleanroom compatible benchtop tools for downsizing a wide variety of substrates, both crystalline and amorphous, including silicon, GaAs, InP, sapphire,...Photonics.com 5/4/20205 Most Common Mistakes in Designing Precision Super Hard ComponentsOver nearly four decades, IRD has been manufacturing precision optical and non-optical components in super hard materials. Roughly 80% of the designs have benefited from IRD’s proprietary Design for...Photonics.com 9/1/2019WEBINARSNext Generation 3D Printing: The Emergence of Enabling MaterialsThree-dimensional printing technology has the potential to eventually dissolve the boundaries between traditional manufacturing and the end user, who until now has only used objects generated by...Photonics.com 11/15/2017Materials and Methods for Smart Glass, Smart Windows, and Building ShellsInventor Keith Goossen will introduce a cost-efficient, high-performing smart glass system for windows, windshields, roof panes, and building envelopes. Goossen’s optofluidic smart glass system...Photonics.com 12/5/2018Quantitative CMOS Imaging – qCMOS: The Dawn of a New EraThis webinar with Peter Seitz, Ph.D., will provide an overview of semiconductor image sensors and introduce photon-resolving quantitative CMOS imaging (qCMOS). Imaging in general and...Photonics.com 5/19/2021Photonics Spectra Optics Conference 2021: April 27-28Photonics Media invites you to attend a free virtual conference spanning two days. The Photonics Spectra Optics Conference will feature educational presentations on optics manufacturing, covering...Photonics.com 4/27/2021PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSannealingThe process of heating and slowly cooling a solid material, like glass or metal, to stabilize its thermal, electrical or optical properties or, as in semiconductor materials, to reverse lattice...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009etching liquidAn acid used to etch the surfaces of particular materials. For glass, hydrofluoric acid is used either as a liquid or a vapor. Metals are etched by means of suitable acids or other liquids, often to...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009adhesiveAn intermolecular substance that serves to hold materials together. Two types are used in the optical industry: one, which must be transparent and colorless, to cement lenses together; and a...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009acetoneOptic surface cleaning liquid that may be applied to glass, crystal, dielectric and metal surfaces; however, may not be applied to plastic and polymer materials.EDU.photonics.com 4/15/2013MEDIAHow to Make a Glass Molded LensISUZU GLASS produces over 100,000~ glass molded lenses monthly at its own factory in Osaka, JAPAN.Photonics.com 7/13/2020Thermal Imaging Helps Nab Bomber - LIGHT MATTERS 04.24.2013-Plasmonic Waves -2000 Sun Power -Reading while Running This week on Light Matters: bad guys can run, but they can’t hide from thermal imaging, on-chip optics makes advances, solar dish pulls in the...Photonics.com 4/24/2013Laser Classroom & Spaghetti SERS - LIGHT MATTERS 09.04.2013-Spaghetti SERS -Light Heart -Laser Classroom This week on Light Matters: a spaghetti-like surface makes for stronger SERS sensors, light might replace electricity blasts to restore healthy...Photonics.com 9/4/2013Photonics on the Showroom Floor and in the Lab - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you on a brief tour of the Higgins Laboratories at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Quinsigamond Community College and WPI received a $4M grant...Photonics.com 2/21/2018PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESGlass-Melting FurnacesA glass-melting furnace is a furnace used to heat glass materials. The raw materials are fed into one end and the molten glass withdrawn from the other end in a continuous fashion.Glass TubingScintillator GlassStereolithography ServicesCOMPANIESA.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' 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' GuideMeller Optics Inc.Meller Optics has been providing high quality optics to defense, medical, laser and industrial markets for over 50 years. Specializing in grinding and polishing of hard, durable materials such as...Photonics Buyers' GuideGlass Fab Inc.A History of Quality Since 1974 Glass Fab Inc. has met customers' stringent specifications by providing fabricated parts made of optical glass, filter glass, fused quartz and fused silica, low...Photonics Buyers' Guide