LightPath, UCF Ink Research Pact
ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 16, 2010 — LightPath Technologies Inc. announced Thursday its entrance into a research agreement with the University of Central Florida’s (UFC) College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) to develop new processes for the handling and molding of infrared glasses.
Funding for the agreement was partially obtained through matching funds available from the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTC).
Working to bring low-cost infrared optics to the defense, military and commercial infrared markets, LightPath is targeting such high-growth applications as infrared countermeasures, thermography, gas sensing and thermal imaging for commercial night vision systems.
With an estimated $2.5 billion value in these markets, the company intends on using the new techniques developed under the UCF agreement to increase production volumes and reduce the cost of its molded aspheric infrared lenses.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the exceptional staff at UCF to develop new processing techniques for moldable infrared glasses,” said Jim Gaynor, CEO of LightPath.
The collaborative funding by the company and the FHTC will support a research team that includes two post-graduate students led by CREOL professor Dr. Ayman Abouraddy.
LightPath Technologies manufactures optical products for industrial, medical, defense, test and measurement, and telecommunications applications. Products include precision molded aspheric optics, Gradium glass products, proprietary collimator assemblies, laser components, higher-level assemblies and packing solutions.
For more information, visit: www.lightpath.com
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Published: September 2010
Glossary
- glass
- A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or phosphoric oxides. Common window or bottle glass is a mixture of soda, lime and sand, melted and cast, rolled or blown to shape. Most glasses are transparent in the visible spectrum and up to about 2.5 µm in the infrared, but some are opaque such as natural obsidian; these are, nevertheless, useful as mirror blanks. Traces of some elements such as cobalt, copper and...
- thermal imaging
- The process of producing a visible two-dimensional image of a scene that is dependent on differences in thermal or infrared radiation from the scene reaching the aperture of the imaging device.
- thermography
- Thermography is a technique that involves the use of an infrared imaging device, called a thermal camera or infrared camera, to detect and visualize the infrared radiation emitted by objects. This technology allows for the creation of thermographic images, also known as thermograms, where variations in temperature are represented by different colors or shades.
The basic principles of thermography are as follows:
Infrared radiation emission: All objects with a temperature above absolute zero...
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