Photonics Spectra: positioning This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra: positioning. https://www.photonics.com/Splash.aspx?Tag=positioning Thu, 28 Mar 2024 21:18:01 GMT Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT 1800 AI and Laser Tech Automate Rapid Sorting and Analysis of Live Cells
To realize the potential of personalized medicine and overcome crisis situations like the recent pandemic, labs need an efficient way to isolate living cells for analysis and testing. The ability to isolate specific cell types without impairing cell vitality is also necessary to advance pharmaceutical research.

In response to this need, the Fraunhofer Institutes of Laser Technology (ILT) and Production Technology (IPT) developed an AI-assisted tool that automatically sorts and isolates living cells from samples using a high-throughput process. The technology, called LIFTOSCOPE, combines high-speed microscopy, AI-based analysis, and localization of living cells and cell clusters with laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT).
The MIR...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/AI_and_Laser_Tech_Automate_Rapid_Sorting_and/p5/a69836 A69836 Mon, 25 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Photonics-Based Oscillator Provides Precise Signals on Compact Chip
Many technologies — from communications, to radar and sensing, to positioning and navigation — rely on low-noise microwave signals for precise timing and synchronization. Advances in these technologies intensify the demand for stable, low-phase noise microwave sources.

Although photonic lightwave systems provide advantages over conventional electronic approaches for generating low-noise microwaves, the large size and power consumption of photonic systems restrict their use to laboratory environments.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, the University of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonics-Based_Oscillator_Provides_Precise/p5/a69821 A69821 Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
VIAVI Solutions Agrees to Takeover of Spirent Communications in $1.3B Deal
The acquisition is expected to close during the second half of 2024.

Spirent is a provider of products, services, and managed solutions for test assurance and automation of technologies including 5G, software-defined wide area networks, cloud, and autonomous vehicles. The company’s international...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/VIAVI_Solutions_Agrees_to_Takeover_of_Spirent/p5/a69796 A69796 Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:30:12 GMT
Optical-Plasmonic SERS Platform Clocks Molecular Systems
An optical plasmonic tweezer-controlled surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) platform developed by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) enables efficient, high-throughput, single-molecule characterization in solution. It has the potential to uncover hidden molecular mechanisms that can affect the health of people living with type 2 diabetes.

Existing single-molecule approaches are limited to ultra-dilution or molecular immobilization because their diffraction-limited detection volume cannot be further reduced. These methods hinder the ability to study the dynamic actions of these molecules, necessitating the development of advanced single-molecule methods.

In a recent breakthrough, the research team led...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Optical-Plasmonic_SERS_Platform_Clocks_Molecular/p5/a69626 A69626 Wed, 10 Jan 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Optofluidics Yields a Better Reflective Display
With the advent of the IoT, there is increased need to display large amounts of information to people quickly and without distortion in all types of lighting conditions. Though transmissive and emissive displays such as LEDs and OLEDs are widely used, reflective displays are more capable of providing comfortable readability and clear vision in outdoor strong-light environments with low energy consumption. Examples of commercially available reflective displays include electrophoretic displays (EPDs), interferometric modulator displays, electrowetting displays, cholesteric liquid crystal displays, and photonic crystal displays.

According to researchers led by the International Joint Laboratory of Optofluidic Technology and System at...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Optofluidics_Yields_a_Better_Reflective_Display/p5/a69527 A69527 Tue, 12 Dec 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Physik Instrumente Establishes Innovation Hub in Karlsruhe
Physik Instrumente (PI) has established an “innovation hub” in Karlsruhe, Germany, as the company looks to intensify its cooperation with leading universities and research institutions. The nanopositioning equipment developer and provider said it is transferring areas from R&D to its so-called innovation hubs in close proximity to technical universities and colleges.
Physik Instrumente established an innovation hub in the iWerkx on the Hoepfner Areal in Karlsruhe, Germany. The hub is located near the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the FZI Research Center for Information Technology, and the Technologiefabrik Karlsruhe. Courtesy of PI. The company began this effort in September, leasing around 500 sq m of office and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Physik_Instrumente_Establishes_Innovation_Hub_in/p5/a69373 A69373 Thu, 05 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Murad Alam Named ASLMS President; SPIE Journal Pegs Bennett Landman as Editor: People in the News: 05/24/23
Murad Alam was introduced as president of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery during the annual business meeting on April 15. Alam is vice-chair of dermatology; professor of dermatology, otolaryngology, and surgery; and chief of the cutaneous and aesthetic surgery section at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Bennett A. Landman of Vanderbilt University will become editor-in-chief of Journal of Medical Imaging, published by SPIE, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Landman, professor and department chair of electrical and computer engineering, succeeds Maryellen Giger, who was editor of the journal starting in 2014.
Bennett A. Landman has been appointed editor-in-chief of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Murad_Alam_Named_ASLMS_President_SPIE_Journal/p5/a69036 A69036 Wed, 24 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT
SMARTTECH3D Partners with Oqton
SMARTTECH3D solutions additionally support photogrammetry and positioning control. Software solutions from Oqton target additive production, 3D scanning, and robotic welding. The company’s additive production software delivers AI-powered capabilities for image segmentation, additive design and inspection, simulation, and more.]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/SMARTTECH3D_Partners_with_Oqton/p5/a68789 A68789 Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Bruker Acquires Neurescence; VIAVI Opens Arizona Facility: Week in Brief: 11/18/22
Bruker signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Neurescence, a medical imaging company. Neurescence’s ultralight fiber-bundle multiscopes allow simultaneous multiregion, optical functional neuroimaging. Its flagship product, Chromatone, enables simultaneous imaging and stimulation of three subtypes of neurons in up to four regions for flexible investigation of the central nervous system with single-neuron resolution in naturalistic behavior. The acquisition complements Bruker’s existing multiphoton solutions as well as the portfolio of products obtained through its recent acquisition of Inscopix. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Meta Materials, a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Bruker_Acquires_Neurescence_VIAVI_Opens_Arizona/p5/a68520 A68520 Fri, 18 Nov 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Understanding Resolution, Accuracy, and Repeatability in Micromotion Systems
Resolution, accuracy, and repeatability are all metrics for measuring the critical requirements of motion systems. In addition to defining performance, they fundamentally define and affect system complexity, cost, and development time. Understanding these terms and how they are measured can help designers and integrators to further refine and optimize their instrument requirements.

Consider a closed-loop motion system with a motor, drive circuit, position sensor, and digital controller. The motor produces motion directly or drives a mechanical stage, lens holder, or actuator tip. Growing demand for smaller, high-precision motion control has drawn more attention to motors made of piezoelectric materials, such as quartz or ceramic, that...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Understanding_Resolution_Accuracy_and/p5/a68476 A68476 Tue, 01 Nov 2022 15:25:51 GMT
Frequency Comb Advancement Improves Speed, Precision of Measurements
Researchers at NIST have developed a method to enable frequency combs to measure light pulse arrival times with greater sensitivity than was previously possible — potentially improving measurements of distance, along with applications such as precision timing and atmospheric sensing.

The NIST team attempted to address some of the limitations that arise when using frequency combs to make precise measurements outside the laboratory in more challenging situations, where signals can be very weak. Until now, frequency comb lasers needed to create light pulses with metronomic regularity to achieve their effects. The NIST team showed that manipulating the timing of the pulses can help frequency combs make accurate measurements under a...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Frequency_Comb_Advancement_Improves_Speed/p5/a68459 A68459 Thu, 27 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Leonardo DRS Secures Army Contract; ZEISS Microscopy Strikes Contract: Week in Brief: 10/14/2022
ARLINGTON, Va. — Leonardo DRS received a contract to produce its next-generation thermal weapon sights for the U.S. Army. The firm fixed-price contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command is valued at $579 million over five years. The Leonado DRS Electro-Optical Infrared Systems (EOIS) business will produce advanced Family of Weapons Sights - Individual (FWS-I) systems for its U.S. Army customer. Using DRS’ uncooled thermal imaging technology, FWS-I is a stand-alone clip-on weapon sight that connects wirelessly to helmet-mounted vision systems.

BETHESDA, Md. — Lockheed Martin and Ayar Labs established a strategic collaboration to develop future sensory platforms that leverage Ayar Labs’ advanced optical...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Leonardo_DRS_Secures_Army_Contract_ZEISS/p5/a68436 A68436 Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Low-Cost Method Offers Solution for Small-Volume MEMS Sensor Production
Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a 3D-printing technique for specialized manufacturing of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The approach offers a cost-efficient way to manufacture custom-designed MEMS devices, in small volumes, that could be used as sensors in robotics, navigation, and more.

Although MEMS technologies can be efficiently produced at high volumes using large-scale semiconductor manufacturing techniques, the manufacture of MEMS components in small and medium-size batches is challenging, due to the high startup cost of manufacturing process development and device design optimizations. As a result, engineers often must choose between suboptimal off-the-shelf MEMS devices or economically...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Low-Cost_Method_Offers_Solution_for_Small-Volume/p5/a68435 A68435 Fri, 14 Oct 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Rare-Earth Elements Offer Stable Multiband Microlasing Platform
A recent demonstration by a team at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) spotlights the possibility of stable multiband lasing by rare-earth elements. In the work, the research team used polymer-assisted thermal doping to fabricate rare-earth-doped microcavities with ultrahigh intrinsic Q factors exceeding 108. The doping process did not introduce any obvious ion clustering or scattering loss. The ultrahigh intrinsic Q factor makes the process a natural platform for achieving lasing and further nonlinear phenomena that require low power.

Aside from the advantages for laser applications, the ultrahigh-Q doped microcavity may also offer a platform for ultrahigh-precision sensing, optical memories, and investigation of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Rare-Earth_Elements_Offer_Stable_Multiband/p5/a68349 A68349 Fri, 09 Sep 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Hollow-Core Fibers Enable Precise Positioning in Space
A consortium led by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration (Fraunhofer IZM) is using hollow-core optical fibers to develop a reliable method to transmit light to make gyroscopes less susceptible to interference caused by certain material properties, and/or by electrical or magnetic fields. Such improvements to the instrument are poised to support gyroscope performance in the aerospace sector, among other industries in which the sensor is deployed.

The team’s platform uses miniature collimators — highly precise lenses that capture light from one fiber and emit it before any diffraction can occur — to enable functionality.

Both hollow- and solid-core optical fiber are widely...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Hollow-Core_Fibers_Enable_Precise_Positioning_in/p5/a68291 A68291 Thu, 18 Aug 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Integrated Photonics Processor Outperforms Wireless Systems
An international team led by researchers at the Politecnico di Milano has devised a way to separate and distinguish optical beams even when the beams are superimposed, and even when the form in which the beams arrive at a destination is drastically changed and/or unknown. In the researchers’ design, the beams were separated in the optical domain and were simultaneously detected with negligible crosstalk — even when they shared the same wavelength and polarization.

The phenomenon is enabled by a programmable photonic processor built on a 5-mm2 chip that receives all optical beams through microscopic optical antennas integrated onto the chip. A network of integrated interferometers manipulates the beams and separates them on...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Integrated_Photonics_Processor_Outperforms/p5/a68183 A68183 Wed, 13 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Imaging Technique Enables Gas Leak Tracking in 3D
Researchers at the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a method to create a 3D image of a leaked gas cloud. The image provides detailed information about the leak, such as its location, volume, and concentration. The automated detection approach could be used to provide early warnings, assess risk, and help determine the strategies to fix the leak, the researchers said.

“With the rapid development of society, there are now large facilities located around the world where toxic, harmful, flammable, and explosive chemicals are being stored,” said research team leader Liang Xu from the Anhui Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics. “If there is a leak at one of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Imaging_Technique_Enables_Gas_Leak_Tracking_in_3D/p5/a68165 A68165 Thu, 07 Jul 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Allied Motion Reaches Merger Agreement with ThinGap
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The companies expect the deal to close in the second quarter of 2022.

Allied Motion CEO Dick Warzala said that the merger creates potential for the combined company to advance total solution capabilities in the robotics, semiconductor, and instrumentation markets. Key markets for ThinGap are aerospace, defense, and medical. Its motors support high-end applications such as satellites, optics platforms, and medical robotics.

Between Nov. 2 and Dec. 31 last year, Allied Motion acquired...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Allied_Motion_Reaches_Merger_Agreement_with/p5/a68034 A68034 Fri, 20 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Advanced Navigation Adds Sensing Capabilities with Vai Acquisition
AI robotics and navigation technology company Advanced Navigation has acquired Australian National University (ANU) spinout Vai Photonics. Vai is developing photonic sensors for precision navigation and joins Advanced Navigation to commercialize its research into autonomous and robotic applications across land, air, sea, and space, according to a press release.

“Precision navigation when GPS is unavailable or unreliable is a major challenge in the development of autonomous systems,” said James Spollard, CTO and co-founder of Vai Photonics. He said the company’s emerging photonic sensing technology will enable positioning and navigation that is more stable and precise than existing solutions operating in such...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Advanced_Navigation_Adds_Sensing_Capabilities/p5/a68003 A68003 Tue, 10 May 2022 07:00:00 GMT
Light-Powered Robot Decontaminates on Water’s Surface
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have devised a sustainable solution to clean contaminants in open waters. The researchers have introduced a light-powered, floating, autonomous, soft robot that is fueled by vaporized water.

The robot is called Neusbot, after “neustons,” a category of organisms that float on the top of water or live right under the surface.

Neusbot can generate adjustable, mechanical oscillating movements — a capability that is essential for the robot to function in a controlled way. To achieve controllability, the researchers based the design of their sunlight-powered robot on the steam engines that powered the first locomotives.

“There aren’t many...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Light-Powered_Robot_Decontaminates_on_Waters/p5/a67595 A67595 Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:00:00 GMT