Photonics Rules of Thumb Scientists and engineers tend to want to answer simple relational questions with a blackboard covered with equations, even when questioners just want a rough estimate to gauge whether a change would cause more problems than it would fix. The rules of thumb on the...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESContinuously Variable Bandpass Filters Aid Optics and HSIHyperspectral imaging (HSI) has been used for a couple of decades in applications such as satellite imaging, air reconnaissance and other markets that are not price sensitive. Still, there is no...EuroPhotonics Spring 2018 IssueContinuously Variable Bandpass Filters Aid Optics and HSIHyperspectral imaging (HSI) has been in use for a couple of decades in applications such as satellite imaging and air reconnaissance. Despite its widespread use, there is a lack of clarity of what...Photonics Spectra June 2018 IssueNew Technique Retrieves Color Images from Scattered LightEngineers at Duke University have developed a method for extracting a color image from a single exposure of light scattered through a mostly opaque material. The new approach overcomes the...Photonics.com 7/30/2019Polymer Lenses Could Lower IR Detection Costs for Consumer ProductsA team led by University of Arizona materials scientist Jeffrey Pyun is using a sulfur-based polymer made from waste generated by fossil fuels to develop consumer-grade infrared (IR) plastic lenses....Photonics.com 10/30/2019PRODUCTSIsoDyn™ – Coating Complex ShapesDSI developed IsoDyn™ coating technology to overcome the limitations of traditional methods in producing uniform coatings on highly curved parts, or components with complex three dimensional...Promoted Content February 2018 IssueOEM Microscope ComponentsNikon provides a large range of microscopy components to satisfy diverse optical requirements. These components can be incorporated into imaging systems to fulfill unique experimental requirements....Promoted Content June 2019 IssueUltra-fast Detecting Module with Integrated Cooler ControllerAn AIP INTIR detection module combines ease of operation, high detectivity, and small dimensions of the device with a gigahertz pass band. Thanks to the use of advanced integration techniques, a...Promoted Content July 2019 IssuePEPS Series Optical Power SensorsThe PEPS sensors measure laser beam positioning as well as power and single pulse energy, suitable for either continuous wave or short pulse laser beams. These general purpose detectors measure laser...Promoted Content July 2019 IssuePHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESOptical 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 HandbookThin-Film Coatings: A Buyers' Guide: The vast majority of optics used in precision scientific, industrial, biomedical, and military applications incorporate thin-film coatings on their surfaces. Therefore, it’s useful for almost anyone involved in the specification and purchase of optical components to have some familiarity with the typical performance characteristics, trade-offs and limitations of various coating types, as well as some knowledge of the capabilities of common thin-film production technologies. This article provides an objective overview of both these topics.What are thin-film coatings? The purpose of any optical thin-film coating is to modify the transmittance and reflectance properties of the substrate material to which they are applied. Most coatings...Photonics HandbookOptical Components: Finding Your Way Through the Maze: Optical components fall into two basic groups: transmissives and reflectives. Transmissives include lenses, filters, windows, optical flats, prisms, polarizers, beamsplitters, wave plates, and fiber optics; reflectives include mirrors and retroreflectors. The performance of all may be enhanced with certain substrates and thin film coatings.Lenses come in a variety of shapes, sizes and materials. They can be made of a single piece of glass or have multiple elements; their surfaces can be spherical, aspheric or cylindrical; they can be...Photonics HandbookDigital Still Cameras: The Changing Face of Imaging: The digital camera reflects a sea change in the compact camera market. While the 20th was the century of film cameras, the 21st belongs to the digital camera.The digital camera represents an integration of optics, mechanics and electronics consisting of three layers (Figures 1a, b and c). The top and the middle layers are printed circuit boards (PCBs),...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSHow Much Will an Optical Filter Cost?Filters are a critical element in the design of most optical systems. However, optimizing the trade-off between cost and performance isn’t obvious. With nearly a half century of experience in the...Photonics.com 7/25/20198 Things Engineers Should Know About Thermal ImagingAdding thermal imaging sensors to your next project can give your customers the ability to see the unseen, and expand their senses into the unknown. If you’re considering adding thermal sensors to...Photonics.com 5/7/2018Understanding Total Measurement Uncertainty in Power Meters and DetectorsIt is important that users of calibrated power meters and detectors understand the total uncertainty or error that exists in their measurements. Often, users assume that the rated calibration...Photonics.com 12/1/2018Radiation 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 5/24/2019WEBINARSA Bird’s-Eye View of AR Coatings, from Concept Through ProductionThe most common optical thin-film coating produced today (and for more than 80 years!) is the antireflection (AR) coating. 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Toussaint Jr. Quantitative...Photonics.com 3/21/2013Quantum Dots Are Making Displays Brighter and Photomedicine BetterIf you are interested in learning how QDs are currently used in displays and how the same materials are being engineered to yield even brighter, more efficient, better colors for future displays,...Photonics.com 4/23/2019PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSintegrated opticsA thin-film device containing miniature optical components connected via optical waveguides on a transparent dielectric substrate, whose lenses, detectors, filters, couplers and so forth perform...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009spectrographAn optical instrument for forming the spectrum of a light source and recording it on a film. The dispersing medium may be a prism or a diffraction grating. A concave grating requires no other means...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009vacuum apparatusEquipment dependent on the effects of a vacuum. The principal applications in optics are in the coating of lenses and substrates and the fabrication of multilayer interference filters.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009inner focusingIn a camera, the movement of one or more lenses behind the front lens, rather than of the front lens itself, to bring the subject into focus. Because internal focusing does not require the front lens...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIAAbout AlluxaGet a tour of our factory and the inside scoop on everything Alluxa has to offer.Photonics.com 9/30/2019Light Matters Extra: Optics & Photonics Technology Program, STCC - 09.2017In this month’s Light Matters Extra, we take you to the Springfield Technical Community College campus and introduce you to Professor Nick Massa, who has been teaching Optics and Photonics there for...Photonics.com 9/28/2017Merging Industry and Education Through Photonics - LIGHT MATTERS 09.2017Tune into this month’s edition of Light Matters for the complete list of Photonics Media’s Industry Beacon award winners. We’ll also introduce you to an Industry Beacon in the Educator category, and...Photonics.com 9/28/2017Photonics 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 CATEGORIESDetector ChipsDetector/Filter CombinationsLiquid Crystal Light ValvesA liquid crystal light valve is a device that uses the properties of liquid crystals to control the level of illumination passing through an optical system.Laser OpticsCOMPANIESA.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' GuideLaCroix 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' GuideCascade Optical CorporationCascade Optical Corporation has more than 35 years of expertise in custom vacuum-deposited thin-film coatings, specializing in IAD, low temp, low stress coatings for laser crystals and fiber optics....Photonics Buyers' GuideMLD Technologies LLCExperts In Thin-film Coating Design We practice a design-before-quote approach to help customers refine specifications and minimize technical risk. We understand how coated optical elements...Photonics Buyers' Guide
