JOEL WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR [email protected]Researchers in the lab of Federico Capasso at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a supermode optical resonator. The technology could have applications in telecommunications, laser technology, and fiber optics, among other areas. “This is an advance that alters in a fundamental way the design of resonators by using reflectors that convert light from one pattern to another as it bounces back and forth,” said Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in electrical...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESMetalens Design Uses Millions of Holes to Focus Light into Single PointResearchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) developed a metalens that uses deep narrow holes, rather than tall pillars, to focus light to a single...Photonics Spectra January 2022 IssueOn-chip Frequency Shifters Target Gigahertz RangeResearchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an on-chip frequency shift mechanism that could contribute to the next generation of...Photonics Spectra March 2022 IssueSingle-Crystal Diamond Mirrors Stand Up to Continuous-Wave Laser PowersResearchers at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) built highly reflective mirrors that direct the beams from high-powered continuous-wave (CW) lasers...Photonics Spectra August 2022 IssueNovel Metasurface Enables Unprecedented Laser ControlHarvard researchers have introduced a single metasurface that can effectively tune the different properties of laser light, including wavelength, without additional optical components. The...Photonics Spectra September 2021 IssuePRODUCTSOptical Wavelength MetersThe 238 Series Optical Wavelength Meter from Bristol Instruments Inc. features a broad operational range from 700 to 1650 nm. The device is designed for the precise wavelength characterization...Photonics Spectra May 2022 IssueOpen-aperture XY StagesThe AU200-15x15-01 and the AU200-15x15-04 open-aperture XY motorized stages from Optimal Engineering Systems Inc. are powered by two-phase stepper motors and have a 0.25-μm resolution and a...Photonics.com 11/11/2021Sapphire WaveplatesSapphire Waveplates from Meller Optics Inc. can convert the polarization state of laser light into a different polarization state. The devices can be made as thin as 0.5 mm and <25 mm in...Photonics.com 7/15/2022Voice Coil Servo MotorThe HVCM-051-038-019-01 direct-current voice coil servo motor from Moticont is an open aperture linear motor featuring a 2.25-in. stroke. The device has a continuous force rating of 4.2 lbs and...Photonics.com 1/7/2022PHOTONICS 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 HandbookLasers: Understanding the Basics: Although lasers range from quantum-dot to football-field size and utilize materials from free electrons to solids, the underlying operating principles are always the same. This article provides the basic information about how and why lasers work.Over 60 years have passed since the first demonstration of a laser in 1960. After the initial spark of interest, lasers were for a while categorized as “a solution waiting for a problem,”...Photonics HandbookWhat Is Photonics?: An overview and brief history of photonics technology and its applicationsPhotonics is the study of light and other types of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The impact of photonics on research, technology, navigation, culture, astronomy, forensics, and...Photonics HandbookAspheric Lenses: Design Considerations: This first of two articles will cover design and manufacturing options for aspheres; the second will include more detail on manufacturing and testing processes. These articles will provide the tools optics designers need to tailor their designs to the appropriate manufacturing process and to optimize the cost of component fabrication.Aspheric surfaces are powerful tools that combine the optical corrections of multiple lenses into a single element (Figure 1) and affect performance in ways that spherical optics cannot. For example,...Photonics HandbookWHITEPAPERSFISBA READYBeam™ - Compact Powerful Laser SourceThe FISBA READYBeam™ is our answer to customers' increasing demand for compact, powerful, and reliable multicolor laser source that can be easily integrated into existing set-ups. The multicolor...Photonics.com 12/2/2022Innovating the Tunable Light Source - How the Tunable Laser System is Applied in Fluorescence MicroscopyThe market for the tunable light source is ever expanding due to its uses in countless fields, such as the inspection industry, machine visioning, and a wide range of optical experiments....Photonics.com 12/2/2022Fast Axis Collimator Lenses (FACs) - The Essential Components for Laser DiodesWe started developing FACs more than 15 years ago. The result is highly automated in-house processes which allow for competitive prices – even with high volumes. Diode lasers are efficient, compact,...Photonics.com 12/2/2022Antireflection Coatings for Space ApplicationsSpace can be a harsh environment for optical coatings. Optimax has successfully provided antireflection (AR) coatings for a wide range of space applications. This paper outlines the results of...Photonics.com 9/2/2022WEBINARSPhotonics Spectra Conference 2022: January 10 - 13Photonics Media will host its second annual Photonics Spectra Conference Jan. 10-13. The virtual event will comprise four technology tracks — Lasers, Optics, Sensors and Detectors, and Imaging...Photonics.com 1/10/2022Ultrafast Laser Micro-Machining – Fundamentals and Process OptimizationOver the last decade, material processing using ultrafast laser pulses with pulse durations in the range between 300 fs and about 15 ps has gained in popularity due to the small heat-affected zone...Photonics.com 9/15/2020European Photonics Manufacturing Services Funded by ECThis event is supported by the European initiatives presented and is moderated by EPIC, the European Photonics Industry Consortium. The European Commission is helping companies access the...Photonics.com 6/30/2021QCL Dual-comb Spectroscopy for Density and Melt Flow Rate Prediction of PolyethyleneThe high variety of tailor-fitted molecular structures of Polyethylene (PE) can fulfill the requirements of various applications, however, it also poses difficulty in the mechanical recycling of...Photonics.com 4/19/2023PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMSion laserA laser in which the transition involved in stimulated emission of radiation takes place between two levels of an ionized gas. The gases are electrically excited in a container called a plasma tube,...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009QThe figure of merit of a resonator, defined as (2p) x (average energy stored in the resonator)/(energy dissipated per cycle). The higher the reflectivity of the surfaces of an optical resonator, the...EDU.photonics.com 3/5/2018confocal resonatorA type of optical resonator that uses two facing spherical mirrors whose focal lengths are the same and whose foci coincide. Since the focal length of a spherical mirror is one-half its radius of...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009distributed feedback (DFB) laserA laser system in which feedback is used to make certain modes in the resonator oscillate more strongly than others. In semiconductor lasers, a periodic corrugation in the active layer replaces the...EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009MEDIACapasso Group Embeds, Projects Independent Images on MetasurfaceMembers of the Capasso Group at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have successfully encoded multiple holographic images in a metasurface. The separate...Photonics.com 8/9/2018Capasso Group's Optical Harmonic Combs Could Operate as THz SourceResearchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have discovered a new phenomenon of quantum cascade laser frequency combs, which would allow the devices to...Photonics.com 8/10/2018Penn's Agarwal Group Focuses on Light-Matter Interactions for Optoelectronic DevicesThe Agarwal Group at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Materials Science and Engineering focuses on understanding how light interacts with small scale nanostructures. They also work to...Photonics.com 10/1/2018CTL - Continuous - Toptica PhotonicsThe CTL is the ultimate choice when looking for a laser that is widely and continuously tunable without any mode-hops. It has high power, a narrow linewidth, and low drift. Scans can be performed...Photonics.com 3/4/2022PHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESOptical Talk SetsOptical Communications SystemsMultimode, Single-Fiber Fiber Optic ConnectorsLaser ModelockersCOMPANIESIPG Photonics CorporationIPG Photonics is the world's leading provider of high power fiber lasers and fiber amplifiers that are revolutionizing performance and utility in a remarkable array of materials processing,...Photonics Buyers' GuideFOCtek Photonics Inc.FOCtek provides customers with all types of custom manufactured lenses, Precision Optical Components, Polarizing Optics, Prisms, Filters, Coatings, Optical Systems, Crystals, Nonlinear Crystals,...Photonics Buyers' GuideExcelitas Technologies Corp.Excelitas Technologies® Corp. is a leading industrial technology manufacturer focused on delivering innovative, market-driven photonic solutions to meet the illumination, optical, optronic,...Photonics Buyers' GuidePhoton Engineering LLCPhoton Engineering LLC is a consulting and software development firm based in Tucson, AZ specializing in all phases of optical engineering including design, analysis, and implementation. Photon...Photonics Buyers' Guide