AUTUM C. PYLANT, NEWS EDITOR, [email protected]Proudly called the national treasure of China, the giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family. Among the world’s most threatened species, the panda has also become the face of global conservation efforts worldwide. In an effort to represent both China and green energy, two panda-shaped solar farms were built on the mainland … with 98 more planned across China and Asia in the coming years. An artist’s renditition of the panda solar farm in Datong, China. Courtesy of China Merchants New Energy Group/Panda Green Group. Alan Li, CEO of Panda Green Energy, told...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESHigh-Performance Organic Photovoltaic Cells Developed for Indoor UseScientists from Linköping University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Science and Technology Beijing have developed organic solar cells that can convert ambient indoor...EuroPhotonics Winter 2019 IssueTandem Solar Cell Demonstrates 29.15% EfficiencyScientists at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) have achieved 29.15% efficiency in a solar cell made of perovskite and silicon. This value was certified by the CalLab of the Fraunhofer Institute...Photonics.com 2/13/2020QD Solar Cells Realize 16.6% Power Conversion EfficiencyResearchers at the University of Queensland (UQ) are harnessing the properties of quantum dots (QDs) to make solar cells that capture a wider range of light for energy, are more stable in their...Photonics.com 2/25/2020Chalcogenide Perovskites Show Promise for Optoelectronics ApplicationsA new barium zirconium sulfide (BaZrS3) thin film, developed by a team at the University at Buffalo, combines strong light absorption with good charge transport — two qualities that could be...Photonics.com 12/30/2019PRODUCTSGas Mapping LidarGas Mapping Lidar™ from Bridger Photonics Inc. uses continuous-wave lidar technology to precisely detect methane leaks in the oil and gas industry. Culminating in a map that pinpoints the...Photonics.com 10/8/2020Plant Phenotyping SystemThe HyperAixpert multisensor plant phenotyping system from Analytik Ltd. can operate hyperspectral cameras in scanning mode to enable rapid digital analysis of phenotyping traits in plants. The...BioPhotonics Jan/Feb 2021 IssueOptical Spectrum AnalyzerThe AQ6377 Optical Spectrum Analyzer from Yokogawa Electric Corp. is focused on environmental sensing and medical applications. Featuring a wavelength resolution of 0.2 nm, a wavelength...Photonics Spectra May 2020 IssueLED Illuminators for ‘Green’ LabsCoolLED, a global expert in LED microscopy illumination, is helping labs become more sustainable by reducing the environmental impact of its popular pE-300 Series Illumination Systems, which is...Promoted Content March 2021 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 HandbookOptical Materials: Transmission and Refractive IndexPhotonics HandbookCO2 Lasers: The Industrial Workhorse: Four decades ago, the first industrial use of lasers was for drilling through diamonds or wire draw dies. From that beginning the laser has become an integral part of the conventional technology in many production plants. In the forefront of that revolution has been the CO2 laser, today a varied and sophisticated tool.In the three decades since its introduction, the CO2 laser has become the workhorse of industrial lasers. Today it is available in a range of designs and sizes with output powers of 20 kW and more....Photonics HandbookIndustrial Lasers: An Introduction to Process Qualification: The step from successfully demonstrating a new laser process on a limited number of samples under laboratory conditions, to scaling that process up for high-volume industrial use is a big one. In particular, it’s necessary to determine how variations in process parameters affect end results, so that acceptable process input and operating ranges can be determined.Materials processing with lasers is actually a broad term for a diverse range of applications. The major categories of these uses, and the lasers that service them, are summarized Table 1. At one...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSLIGHTENING THE LOAD: How Photonics is Reducing our Environmental ImpactFour companies from the Luminate startup accelerator in Rochester, N.Y. are making major contributions to sustainability initiatives with emerging optics, photonics, and imaging (OPI) technologies....Photonics.com 6/12/2020Multi-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 11/13/2019Laser Marking and Coding Made EasyIn the packaging industry, new marks, codes and packaging material requirements are driving manufacturers to seek marking and coding solutions with flexible and adaptable performance. This guide...Photonics.com 2/25/20205 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 9/1/2019WEBINARSIntelligent Motion Systems Based on Fast Optimization Algorithms and Hexapod 6-Axis MechanismsPART 1: Hexapods are 6-axis parallel-kinematic machines often employed to solve complex multi-axis precision positioning and motion applications in fields such as photonics, optics, metrology,...Photonics.com 10/8/2020Photonics for OphthalmologyPhotonics Media invites you to join us for our upcoming FREE digital conference, "Photonics for Ophthalmology." The event will feature several 15-minute online presentations on the use of light-based...Photonics.com 6/9/2016Current 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 9/27/2012Improving the Design of Optical Devices Through STOP AnalysesThere is an ever-increasing interest in structural-thermal-optical performance (STOP) analysis for optical systems, in which temperature change and structural loads affect the optical performance....Photonics.com 5/12/2021PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSepitaxyA well controlled thin films technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at very low deposition rates. Epitaxy methods are well known for the growing of...EDU.photonics.com 7/22/2013biophotonicsThe technology that deals with the interaction of organic materials with light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. This includes the emission, detection, absorption,...EDU.photonics.com 3/22/2016Mossbauer effect spectroscopySpectroscopy characterized by the Mossbauer effect - recoilless emission and absorption of nuclear gamma radiation- which investigates miniscule changes in the energy levels of atomic nuclei in...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009vacuum spectrographyThe technique of producing spectrograms in wavelengths beyond 120 nm by the use of a diffraction grating and a Schumann plate in a vacuum environment.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIAPhotonics 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 2/21/2018Fundamentally Different Photonics - LIGHT MATTERS 03.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Trade Show in Austin, Texas, as new photonics innovations hit the show floor of the Austin Convention Center....Photonics.com 3/29/2018PIC 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 7/30/2018'Green' Initiatives - LIGHT MATTERS 12/2017On this month's episode of Light Matters, we introduce you to a green energy company that is transforming China's national treasure — the giant panda — into panda-shaped solar farms. We also bring...Photonics.com 12/15/2017PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESSolar CoatingsInfrared CollimatorsEnvironmental TestingEnvironmental Monitoring Laser SystemsCOMPANIESDRS Daylight Solutions Inc.The DRS Daylight Solutions Difference Mid-infrared laser light is bringing game-changing solutions to myriad molecular spectroscopy, sensing and imaging applications*. As a mid-IR technology...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' 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' GuideExcelitas Technologies Corp.Excelitas Technologies® Corp. is a photonics technology leader focused on delivering innovative, high-performance, market-driven solutions to meet the lighting, optronics, detection and optical...Photonics Buyers' Guide