Photonics Spectra: Materials|Coatings This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra: Materials|Coatings. https://www.photonics.com/Splash.aspx?Tag=Materials%7cCoatings Tue, 19 Mar 2024 02:49:25 GMT Thu, 28 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT 1800 Single-Layer OLED Design Offers Efficiency Without Complexity
With the development of a single-layer, blue-emitting OLED, researchers at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Polymer Research demonstrated that one-layer OLEDs can achieve a performance level comparable to commercial OLEDs with multiple layers, while simplifying OLED design, fabrication, and analysis.

Early OLEDs had a simple device structure. A semiconducting layer was sandwiched between two electrodes. Holes were injected into the organic semiconductor layer via the anode, and electrons via the cathode. Since then, considerable efficiency gains have been made by increasing the number of functional layers in OLEDs.

However, multilayer OLEDs are complex to design and fabricate. The need for additional fabrication steps can...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Single-Layer_OLED_Design_Offers_Efficiency/p5/a69361 A69361 Thu, 28 Sep 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Tin Coatings’ Growth Effects Reveal Path to Precise Control
Top-down produced silicon nanowires (SiNWs) are prospective nanostructured surfaces that show highly intense visible (red) light emission at room temperature, as well as different vibrational and electronic properties. SiNW templates could be useful for the development of new semiconductor devices.

To optimize their performance, SiNW arrays can be covered, or coated, with...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Tin_Coatings_Growth_Effects_Reveal_Path_to/p5/a69173 A69173 Wed, 19 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT
G&H Acquires GS Optics
Precision optics and photonics technology company G&H (Gooch & Housego) has acquired GS Optics, a designer and manufacturer of polymer optics. The $15.7 million acquisition, G&H said, is a step toward its creation of a North American Life Sciences Center of Excellence.

GS Optics, headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., develops technologies that support medical microscopy, diagnostic imaging, and laser surgery, as well as analytical instrumentation and defense. Per the deal, GS Optics has been renamed G&H | GS Optics. GS Optics will become the G&H innovation hub for research, development, and manufacturing of optics and photonics for life science applications. G&H said it intends to expand the Rochester campus by...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/GH_Acquires_GS_Optics/p5/a69109 A69109 Wed, 21 Jun 2023 10:34:10 GMT
Electrochromic Smart Window Provides High Performance at Low Cost
Researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have fabricated a smart window that provides a low-cost alternative to the traditional smart windows used in buildings and cars. The researchers’ device incorporates a chemically synthesized conducting polymer as an electrochromic layer, coated over a low-cost transparent conducting electrode.
A graphical depiction of how the dual-functional, polymer, electrochromic smart window works. Courtesy of S.C. Karumuthil et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 23265-23273, DOI: 10.1039/d2ta05973h. Smart windows have the potential to increase energy efficiency in modern structures. However, their high...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Electrochromic_Smart_Window_Provides_High/p5/a68748 A68748 Fri, 10 Feb 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Superhydrophilic Coatings Increase Efficiency of Solar Cells
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam, and Plasma Technology FEP (Fraunhofer FEP) produced hydrophobic, or water-repelling, surfaces that become superhydrophilic, or superwetting, under ultraviolet (UV) light. For solar modules, the creation of a superhydrophilic surface will better protect panels and glass facades from expensive and time-consuming cleanings to remove dirt and other debris that affect performance. In 2021, photovoltaics covered 8.9% of gross electricity consumption in Germany, with electricity generation of 50 TWh. Dirt-repellent, easy-to-clean surfaces ensure transparency and cleanliness for facades and more efficient and consistent energy production for solar, with less...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Superhydrophilic_Coatings_Increase_Efficiency_of_/p5/a68718 A68718 Mon, 30 Jan 2023 07:00:00 GMT
AGC Inc. Transfers Ownership of Group Company
AGC Flat Glass (Dalian) Inc. manufactures and sells glass for architectural, automotive, and industrial use.

Remaining AGC Inc. group companies market offerings including molded aspherical glass lenses and optical glass parts; optoelectronics products for components such as optical pickups; synthetic silica glass for semiconductor manufacturing; and optical...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/AGC_Inc_Transfers_Ownership_of_Group_Company/p5/a68643 A68643 Mon, 02 Jan 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Laser Surface Modification Aims to Reduce Infection from Implants
To help prevent infections caused by orthopedic implants, Purdue University researchers developed a laser-assisted surface modification process that may improve the efficacy of the implanted device.

Most ortho device-related infections occur because the surface of the implant has poor antibacterial and osteo-inductive properties. The laser-assisted process immobilizes silver onto the titanium surfaces of the device that have been laser-nanotextured to boost bone cell mineralization and the antimicrobial properties of the device.

“The first step of the two-step process creates a hierarchical nanostructure onto the titanium implant surface to enhance the bone cells’ attachment,” professor Rahim Rahimi said....]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Laser_Surface_Modification_Aims_to_Reduce/p5/a68443 A68443 Wed, 19 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT
DOD’s Largest Telescope Receives Recoat: Week in Brief: 09/30/22
The Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing site’s Advanced Electro-Optical System, or AEOS, the Department of Defense’s largest telescope, measuring 3.6 m, has been recoated. Results of the recoating process were sent to private industry coating experts in Albuquerque, N.M., and Tucson, Ariz. Located on the summit of the 10,023-ft volcano Haleakala, the telescope is part of a series of telescopes called the Maui Space Surveillance System, which the U.S. Space Force uses for space domain awareness. The first mirror recoat occurred in 2008, about 12 years after application of the original coating.
A team from Boeing poses with the Advanced Electro-Optical System, or AEOS, primary mirror following a recoat at the Air Force...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/DODs_Largest_Telescope_Receives_Recoat_Week_in/p5/a68402 A68402 Fri, 30 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Durable Coating Self-Heals in 30 Minutes Upon Sunlight Exposure
Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) developed a transparent protective coating material that can self-heal in 30 minutes when exposed to sunlight.

According to the researchers, excellent durability of automotive coatings is the most important issue in protecting a vehicle surface. In addition, protective coating materials should be colorless and transparent so that the original color of the product can be seen. However, it is difficult to provide a self-healing function while satisfying these conditions. Materials with free molecular movement have high self-healing efficiency, but have low durability, whereas materials with high hardness and excellent durability have remarkably poor self-healing...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Durable_Coating_Self-Heals_in_30_Minutes_Upon/p5/a68300 A68300 Tue, 23 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Silicon Component Keys Environmental Satellite’s Optical System
Two Fraunhofer institutes have delivered the core optical innovation supporting a recently launched space-based environmental mapping and analysis initiative. The components and devices supplied by the Fraunhofer Institute for Microengineering and Microsystems (Fraunhofer IMM) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (Fraunhofer IOF) comprise the enabling technologies of the Environmental Mapping Analysis Program — a German environmental satellite abbreviated as EnMAP.

The satellite launched from the U.S. Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 1. The program is intended to span five years and deliver information on the effects of climate change, the availability and quality of water, and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Silicon_Component_Keys_Environmental_Satellites/p5/a68241 A68241 Tue, 02 Aug 2022 15:31:52 GMT
3 Quantum Startups Receive Cash Injections
Quantum computing startup planqc closed a financing round of €4.6 million ($4.67 million) led by UVC Partners and Speedinvest. With the funding, planqc will develop a highly scalable quantum computer operating at room temperature and based on atoms trapped in optical lattices. The startup was founded by scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Ludwig Maximilians University.
Experimental setup of planqc’s future quantum computer at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. Courtesy of Axel Griesch/MPQ. BRUSSELS — PRUUVE, a spinoff project at TU Dresden, won the Photonics21 Innovation Award at the Photonics Partnership Annual Meeting. The PRUUVE (Phosphorescent Response Under UV Excitation) project...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/3_Quantum_Startups_Receive_Cash_Injections/p5/a68173 A68173 Fri, 08 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Matt Eichenfield Named SPIE Endowed Chair: People in the News: 07/06/22
Matt Eichenfield, a specialist in quantum photonics and distinguished member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, has joined the University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences as the inaugural SPIE Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences. The $2 million endowed position was established with a $500,000 gift from SPIE that was matched by a factor of three with funds donated by Wyant College founding dean James C. Wyant and his family. The University of Arizona endowed chair was also the inaugural gift of the SPIE Endowment Matching Program.
Matt Eichenfield was named the inaugural SPIE Endowed Chair in Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona’s Wyant College of Optical Sciences. Courtesy of SPIE....]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Matt_Eichenfield_Named_SPIE_Endowed_Chair_People/p5/a68161 A68161 Wed, 06 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Reusable Light-Writing Solution Reduces Paper Waste
A team led by professor Yadong Yin at the University of California, Riverside formulated a light-sensitive coating material for rewritable light-printing. The material is made from doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanocrystals that are synthesized in a single-step process.

When the nanocrystals are applied to a glass or paper substrate, they form a uniform coating that can be written on with UV light. The writing can be erased by exposing it to oxygen.

The method used to produce the light-writable coating relies on standard, nontoxic starting materials that are compatible with a range of other materials. The light-sensitive material supports high-resolution printing and writing, delivers stable color at ambient temperature, and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Reusable_Light-Writing_Solution_Reduces_Paper/p5/a68099 A68099 Tue, 14 Jun 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Precision Optics Shape Both the Light and the Limits of High-Power Lasers
High-power lasers have become a standard and ubiquitous tool in many industrial applications, due, in part, to the precisely controllable energy that they provide. But “high power” can be a challenging term to parse, and it often needs some external context to define.


High-power lasers require specially designed mirrors, beam expanders, filters, and lenses that can guide and shape beams without suffering damage in the process. Courtesy of Edmund Optics.
Laser applications are of limited help when qualifying the threshold for high-power output, as laser parameters can range from a 10-W beam in a 3D printer to the 100-kW beams generated by satellite-based lasers. What constitutes an abundance of power for one...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Precision_Optics_Shape_Both_the_Light_and_the/p5/a67835 A67835 Thu, 03 Mar 2022 13:22:53 GMT
Leica Opens Imaging Center in Heidelberg: Week in Brief: 02/04/22
Researchers at the Australian National University achieved a fill factor of more than 86%, breaking their previous record. According to the researchers, the conversion efficiency of state-of-the-art cells is limited by the cell’s fill factor — typically less than 83%, which is below the Shockley Queisser limit of approximately 90%. The team introduced a reverse-doping process to fabricate nitrogen-doped titanium oxide electron transport layers with outstanding charge transport performance, creating cells with fill factors greater than 86%, and an average fill factor of 85.3%. The research was published in Nature (www.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04216-5).

WETZLAR, Germany — Leica Microsystems, a manufacturer of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Leica_Opens_Imaging_Center_in_Heidelberg_Week_in/p5/a67753 A67753 Fri, 04 Feb 2022 07:00:00 GMT
AI to Automate Laser Material Deposition
Industrial organizations in Germany and Canada are collaborating to provide automated control of laser material deposition (LMD) and other additive processes using artificial intelligence (AI). The partners in the Artificial Intelligence Enhancement of Process Sensing for Adaptive Laser Additive Manufacturing (AI-SLAM) project aim to develop an AI-powered expert system to automate LMD to detect quality issues swiftly, reliably, and economically.

LMD is used to make precise repairs to industrial machines that receive a lot of use and require frequent overhauls. An operator will use an LMD process to apply new layers to the equipment until it is restored to its original geometric shape. The uneven wear that is typical for most parts...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/AI_to_Automate_Laser_Material_Deposition/p5/a67738 A67738 Tue, 01 Feb 2022 07:00:00 GMT
People in the News: 1/5/22
CHEMNITZ, Germany — Laser micromachining company 3D-Micromac AG appointed Hartmut Schubert CTO, effective immediately. Previously, Schubert worked in various technical and managerial positions at Dr. Heinrich Schneider Messtechnik GmbH. Schubert will be responsible for the strategic management of the company’s technology division.
Hartmut Schubert. courtesy of 3D-Micromac AG.
HAYWARD, Calif. — Delphon, a provider of polymers and adhesive products for the semiconductor, photonics, medical, and electronics industries, appointed Joe Montano CEO. Montano was named president of the company last year and will continue to serve in that role. As CEO, he succeeds Jeanne Beacham, who is transitioning executive chair, where...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/People_in_the_News_1_5_22/p5/a67657 A67657 Wed, 05 Jan 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Omega Optical Holdings Acquires Two Companies
The businesses provide Omega with capabilities that complement its focus on serving challenging optical applications in high-growth markets, said Michael Cumbo, CEO of Omega.

“The impressive scale of EMF’s thin-film deposition chambers dramatically increases our ability to offer precision coatings for large optics with diameters up to 2.7 m,” Cumbo said. “Optometrics brings a unique combination of ruled, holographic, replicated, and filtered diffraction gratings that are highly valued, particularly in applications where...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Omega_Optical_Holdings_Acquires_Two_Companies/p5/a67615 A67615 Mon, 20 Dec 2021 07:00:00 GMT
Structural Color Gives Sustainable Sparkle to Plant-Based Materials
Not all that glitters is gold and not all that’s glitter is good for the environment. Used to add sparkle to everything from cosmetics to Christmas ornaments, glitter is getting an environmentally friendly makeover from scientists at the University of Cambridge. The researchers are developing biodegradable glitter made from plant-based, structurally colored cellulose materials. It has all the sparkle found in conventional glitter but none of the toxic materials, and it is for consumer and industrial use.
The photograph shows three vials containing an ensemble of photonic CNC particles dispersed in three different solvents: water; water: ethanol; and ethanol. The particles are the same in the three vials. The color difference...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Structural_Color_Gives_Sustainable_Sparkle_to/p5/a67545 A67545 Fri, 26 Nov 2021 07:00:00 GMT
Photonics News: Week in Brief: 10/1/21
ALBANY, N.Y. — AIM Photonics certified Synopsys Inc.’s IC Validator solution for the physical verification signoff of PICs. Synopsys, an electronic design automation company that focuses on silicon design and verification, said that its solution aids in the development of high-performance networking systems on chips, AI accelerator engines, and more. In combination with Synopsys’ PIC design suite software, IC Validator enables design rule checking signoff for integrated photonics design. In addition to receiving IC Validator certification, Synopsys renewed its AIM Photonics membership to provide electronic/photonic design automation solutions.

The Heraeus Group will acquire Mo-Sci Corp., a supplier of glass...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonics_News_Week_in_Brief_10_1_21/p5/a67400 A67400 Fri, 01 Oct 2021 07:00:00 GMT