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Photonics Spectra - November 2012


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Features
Lasers Find Varied Uses in Space Applications From the first laser fired on another planet to observatory guide stars and space collision avoidance systems, lasers in space are making news with numerous advances and universal firsts (as far as we know). With the beginning of the Laser Lunar Ranging experiment in the 1960s, the use of lasers in space moved out of the realm of science fiction into reality. While lasers-as-lightsabers are still...
Telescopes Require Polishing to Perfection As astronomy projects look deeper into space, polishing the optics becomes more and more critical. This past summer, there was a go-ahead to go big. The European Southern Observatory member states...
Storage Keeps Pace with Data from Space As imaging technology improves, space researchers are accumulating incredible amounts of image data – all of which must be transmitted and stored for analysis. There are few fields in which the...
In Situ Method Optimizes Optical Coatings Real-time technology helps manufacturers produce better thin films with less downtime, higher yields and lower costs. From the simplest broadband antireflection coatings used on eyeglasses and camera...
Superpolished Optics Enable High-Sensitivity Laser Applications A review of superpolished surfaces, including fabrication and measurement, as well as some of the leading applications that depend on these optics. Superpolished optics – that is, components...
Editorial
Our Continuing Mission … Watching retired space shuttle Endeavour moving through the streets of Los Angeles on its 12-mile trip from LAX to the California Science Center, I couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic for the shuttle program. Launched on April 12, 1981, with a test mission of the Shuttle Columbia, the program was brought to an end 30 years later with the last flight of Atlantis on July 8, 2011. The first...
Tech Pulse
Replacing “consumer electronics” with “consumer photonics” Cadmium sulfide nanowires can be used to create an all-optical photonic switch, a team at the University of Pennsylvania said. They combined the switch with others to create a logic gate for on-chip information processing. “Putting switches together lets you make logic gates, and assembling logic gates allows you to do computation,” said graduate student Brian Piccione. “We used...
Record pulse provides new tool for observing quantum mechanics The young field of attosecond science marked a significant milestone recently with the generation of the shortest laser pulse to date – 67 attoseconds. The record, achieved by Dr. Zenghu...
Superstable laser could power atomic physics An optical resonator made of single-crystal silicon, a particularly stiff and low-noise material – instead of the traditional glass with its disordered and “soft” material structure...
Plasmon wave propagates for 80 µm with no diffraction A needlelike beam of light that propagates for an unprecedented distance of 80 µm without spreading could greatly reduce signal loss for on-chip optical systems and might eventually aid...
System measures limits of plasmonic enhancement Photonic interactions have been measured for the first time on the scale of a single atom. The ability to quantify the unique properties of light gives physicists a road map to precise control of...
Lasers improved for standoff sensing A new resonator design that controls both wavelength and beam quality enables the purest, brightest and most powerful beams ever from a single-mode infrared quantum cascade laser. The work improves...
X-ray, optical wave mix probes light at atomic scale Mixing x-ray and optical lightwaves enables observations of how light interacts with matter on the atomic scale. The capability can reveal certain properties of matter, and may enable the observation...
Silicon could enable mass production of quantum computing A new silicon-based approach to quantum computing could make the technology easier to mass-produce. Scientists at the University of Bristol’s Centre for Quantum Photonics, leading an...
Wireless optical networks could make vehicles lighter LED-based wireless optical networks in vehicles could significantly cut the weight of wiring under the hood, not only saving on fuel, but also allowing passengers to tap into visible or infrared...
light speed
Detection market catches fire Laser-based aspirating smoke detectors (ASDs) and multisensor detectors are forecast to see the fastest global growth in the fire detection industry over the next few years, according to IMS...
CVI Laser marks 40th anniversary CVI Laser of Albuquerque, N.M., is marking 40 years of providing thin-film-enabled optical components and subsystems to the semiconductor, life sciences, industrial, aerospace and scientific markets....
Dark energy camera achieves first light The most powerful sky-mapping machine ever created recorded its first images on Sept. 12. The 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera (DECam), the main components of which are shown here, was constructed at...
People In The News Electronic design automation company Synopsys Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., has announced the 2012 winners of the annual Robert S. Hilbert Memorial Optical Design Competition for students: Anthony...
Block Engineering Block Engineering, a Marlborough, Mass., manufacturer of quantum cascade laser-based and Fourier transform infrared spectrometers, has added the Griot Group as a sales representative for the Pacific...
SPI Lasers Rapid customer growth in the Asia market has spurred fiber laser designer SPI Lasers of Southampton, UK, to expand its Asia facilities with the addition of combined office and laboratory space in...
WITec GmbH In response to its growing client base in Europe and Asia, nanoanalytical microscopy systems maker WITec GmbH of Ulm, Germany, has opened regional offices at the Kanagawa Science Park in Japan, and...
Corning Inc. Specialty glass maker Corning Inc. has opened the Corning Technology Center Berlin for telecommunications customers. Located in the Adlershof Science and Technology Park, the new facility is home to...
New Scale awarded linear motor system patent The reduced-voltage Squiggle micromotor and drive application-specific integrated circuit are displayed by Daniele Piazza. Motion system device developer New Scale Technologies Inc. of Victor,...
Kodak reorganizes, sheds more jobs Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y., will cut another 1000 jobs by year’s end as the imaging company continues to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company has cut 2700 employees...
Oclaro Inc. Optical communications suppliers Oclaro Inc. of San Jose, Calif., and 3SP Group of Nozay, France, have entered a multi-source agreement that enables more compact pump laser packaging. The new 10-pin...
Glass-Cutting Technology Three industrial laser companies have allied to bring new glass-cutting technology to market. InnoLas Systems of Krailing, Germany, has licensed process technology developed by the Portland,...
GreenLight
Spinach power boosts silicon solar cells Popeye’s muscles get energy-boosting powers extracted from spinach – and now so do solar panels. Combining the vegetable’s photosynthetic protein with silicon produces significantly higher current levels than can be achieved by other such “biohybrid” cells composed of the plant protein and metal. “This combination produces current levels almost 1000 times...
Lighter Side
878-MP nightscape image reveals light pollution Bright city lights help us get around more easily at night, but they also can affect nocturnal wildlife, the environment, sleep patterns and more. “I became interested in light pollution because we know so little about it,” said Helga Küchly of the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries. “Many negative effects of artificial light at night on the...
Products
Life Sciences Software For surface imaging and metrology compatible with scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) and multispectral Raman instruments, Digital Surf has announced a new generation of Mountains 7 software. ...
Digital Surf
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Scientific ICCD Cameras Launched by Princeton Instruments, the PI-MAX4 series of intensified CCD (ICCD) cameras are for time-resolved scientific imaging and spectroscopy applications. The fiber optically coupled cameras...
Teledyne Princeton Instruments
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Infrared and Broadband Optics Custom-fabricated infrared and broadband optics that match the material and surface characteristics required for specific applications are available from Meller Optics Inc. They can be...
Meller Optics Inc.
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Molding Technology Docter Optics GmbH provides vendors of concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems with optical components produced with the use of its DOCFast molding technology. CPV designs are based on the use...
Docter Optics SE
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UV Starter Kit The easy-to-use Hyperspec UV starter kit unveiled by Headwall Photonics Inc. provides everything needed to evaluate and categorize the spectral composition of materials and samples within the UV...
Headwall Photonics Inc.
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Five-Axis Fiber Laser Cutting System The Sigma five-axis fiber laser cutting system unveiled by Miyachi Unitek Corp. enables 3-D cut paths. High-speed, high-precision, position-based firing laser power control and cutting features...
AMADA WELD TECH Inc.
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WDXRF Spectrometer Rigaku Americas Corp. has released the Supermini200 wavelength-dispersive x-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer. Elemental analysis is among the most important fundamental measurements made...
Rigaku Americas Corp.
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AR Coating of GRIN Lenses The complex coating of temperature-sensitive optics at process temperatures below 100 °C, previously challenging, is now promising – despite the long coating times required for such complex...
Laser Components Germany GmbH
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Blackbody Calibration Device Process Sensors Corp. has added the two-piece model BBS1050 Compact blackbody calibration source to its line of precision blackbody radiation sources for verification and calibration of noncontact...
Process Sensors Corp., IR Temperature Div.
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C-Mount Spectrometer Adapters Adapters manufactured by McPherson simplify integration of C-mount CMOS and CCD cameras with the company’s spectrometers. Easy and secure C-mount adapters are suitable for cryogenic,...
McPHERSON
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Polarization Measurement System General Photonics Corp. has announced a new version of its PolaWise polarization measurement system, which characterizes all polarization-related properties of light sources and optical materials,...
General Photonics Corp.
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Precision Cutting/Scribing on Glass Precision Glass & Optics offers precision glass cutting and scribing on thin flat substrates measuring up to 600 × 600 mm. The company uses the Gen-3 Phoenix-600 machine from TLC...
Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O)
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Spectral Surface Mapping Craic Technologies has announced Spectral Surface Mapping (S2M) capabilities for its Perfect Vision microspectrophotometer line. S2M allows the company’s microspectrometer users to map the...
CRAIC Technologies
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Thin-Film Analysis Systems Ocean Optics’ NanoCalc systems use spectroscopic reflectometry to determine optical thin-film thicknesses for consumer, semiconductor, medical and industrial applications. Customer-designed and...
Ocean Optics
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CO2 Laser Beam Delivery Optics A line of CO2 laser beam delivery optics for use with high- and low-power lasers is available from Laser Research Optics. The CO2 beam-steering optics include beam combiners, beamsplitters,...
Laser Research Optics
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Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy Bruker Corp. has released the PeakForce Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) mode for its line of atomic force microscopes (AFMs). It uses frequency-modulation detection to provide...
Bruker Nano Surfaces
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Laser Line Polarizers TechSpec high-energy laser line polarizers efficiently polarize high-power lasers with greater than 98% transmission of p-polarized light. They combine high laser damage thresholds (2 J/cm2, 10...
Edmund Optics
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Digital IR Video Thermometer Omega Engineering Inc.’s OS-VIR50 digital infrared video thermometer features dual lasers, which indicate the ideal measuring distance where the two laser points converge to a 25.4-mm target...
OMEGA Engineering Inc.
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Co-Fired Piezo Bimorph Actuators PI (Physik Instrumente L.P.) is offering a line of co-fired multilayer piezo bimorph actuators that achieve a mechanical amplification effect via different layers expanding at different rates. They...
PI (Physik Instrumente) LP, Motion Control, Air Bearings, Piezo Mechanics
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Achromatic Quartz-MgF2 Wave Plates Newport Corp. has introduced large-diameter achromatic zero-order quartz-MgF2 Wave Plates. The large-aperture optics consist of two birefringent crystals — crystalline quartz and magnesium...
MKS/Newport
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Inspection System for Thin Glass Fabrics Elbit Vision Systems Ltd. has unveiled a system for thin, lightweight glass fabric inspection during the production process. The glass fabric industry, which supplies the key component for...
Uster Technologies Ltd.
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Single-Longitudinal-Mode Lasers Two new Verdi G lasers from Coherent Inc. offer single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) output. The Verdi G SLM series lasers deliver a linewidth of <5 MHz, which corresponds to a coherence length of tens...
Coherent Inc.
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Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer AFL has announced enhancements to its NOYES OFL280 FlexTester optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) that improve overall performance and fiber event analysis, save optical power meter results for...
AFL
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Silicon Drift Detector/Sample Viewport Edax Inc. has introduced detector and sample viewport options for its Orbis micro-XRF (x-ray fluorescence) elemental analyzer system. The thermoelectrically cooled 50-mm2 silicon drift detector (SDD)...
EDAX Inc., Corporate Headquarters
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Snapshot SWIR Cameras UTC Aerospace Systems has introduced its next-generation Sensors Unlimited short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) digital video cameras. The high-resolution InGaAs mil-rugged cameras feature a 30-Hz...
Sensors Unlimited Inc.
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Blazed Concave Grating Spectrum Scientific Inc. has expanded its concave gratings product line. A new blaze wavelength of 250 nm for the 1200 g/mm concave grating has been manufactured. Designed for use in analytical...
Spectrum Scientific Inc. (SSI)
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Negative GDD Mirrors REO has introduced negative group delay dispersion (GDD) mirrors for use with industrial ultrafast lasers having output in the visible or near-infrared. The mirrors deliver GDD values as high...
Research Electro-Optics Inc. (REO)
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Fiber Optic Simulator A compact fiber optic network simulator that can be customized to emulate a physical network in the laboratory with high reliability and repeatability is available from M2 Optics Inc. The Fiber...
M2 Optics Inc.
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