Marie Freebody, marie.freebody@photonics.comThe next time you are sitting at your desk full of papers, pens, files and perhaps a coffee mug, take a closer look at the points where these objects meet the desk. What do you see? If you could magnify the nanoscale interface of where the object meets the desk, you would actually see a world of...Read full articleRelated content from Photonics MediaARTICLESPhotoelectrode Traps, Converts Light EfficientlyA photoelectrode developed by a team at Hokkaido University harvests visible light across a wide spectral range using a semiconductor titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer sandwiched between gold film (Au...Photonics Spectra December 2018 IssueSpectroscopy Technique Could Detect Chemicals in Minuscule AmountsA microscope that can chemically identify μm-sized particles could one day be used in airports and other high-security venues to rapidly screen people for microscopic amounts of potentially...Photonics Spectra April 2017 IssueSingle-Nanoparticle Maps Pave the Way for Better, Safer NanotechnologyA method that combines electron microscopy and optical microscopy to map individual nanoparticle responses in different situations and contexts could pave the way for better nanomaterials and safer...Photonics Spectra January 2018 IssueLaser-Heated Nanowires Produce Microscale FusionA dense fusion environment was created by irradiating arrays of nanowires using joule-level pulses from a compact, ultrafast laser. The irradiation of ordered nanowire arrays with femtosecond pulses...Photonics Spectra July 2018 IssuePRODUCTS3D Laser Scanning Confocal MicroscopeThe VK-X160K 3D Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope from Keyence Corp. improves throughput and accuracy of metallurgical studies. The microscope features a 408-nm wavelength semiconductor laser,...Photonics.com 4/6/2017Powerful Femtosecond Fiber LasersThe FemtoFiber ultra series are compact lasers that work reliably after a push-button start. No water-cooling is required since simple air-cooling is sufficient for stable operation. These...Promoted Content April 2018 IssueUltrafast Laser SystemThe InSight X3 ultrafast laser system from Spectra-Physics delivers >50 percent higher power than its predecessor. The system outputs ultrashort pulses and high power over a broad 600-nm...BioPhotonics June 2017 IssueCO2 OpticsA line of field-replacement CO2 optics that feature lenses in a wide range of focal lengths for low power lasers where depth-of- field is critical is available from Laser Research Optics. The...Photonics Spectra April 2017 IssueMEDIALight Matters Extra: Weird and Strange: Quantum Photonics - 03.2018In this month's Light Matters Extra, we take you to the Quantum Photonics Laboratory at MIT run by Dr. Dirk Englund. Dr. Englund's group, the Quantum Photonics Group, is made up of postdocs and...Photonics.com 3/29/2018Photonics on the Showroom Floor and in the Lab - LIGHT MATTERS 02.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you on a brief tour of the Higgins Laboratories at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Quinsigamond Community College and WPI received a $4M grant...Photonics.com 2/21/2018Fundamentally Different Photonics - LIGHT MATTERS 03.2018On this month's episode of Light Matters, we take you to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Trade Show in Austin, Texas, as new photonics innovations hit the show floor of the Austin Convention Center....Photonics.com 3/29/2018Penn'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 10/1/2018WHITEPAPERSHyperspectral Imaging Cameras in Rapid Detection and Potential Diagnosis of Agricultural Crop ThreatsRemote monitoring of crops via satellites using color cameras was the earliest form of spectral imaging in agricultural management. Due to limited capabilities, only basic plant health parameters...Photonics.com 6/6/2018Advantages of Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers – Invariant Beam PropertiesThe optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL) is a unique patented technology that combines the most desirable attributes of laser diodes, DPSS (Diode Pumped Solid State) and Ion lasers, while...Photonics.com 7/31/2018Modern CMOS Sensors and Their Use in Fluorescence-Based ApplicationsDr. Felix Asche, Product Manager at Basler, outlines possibilities and application areas of modern CMOS sensor technology in medicine and science. System manufacturers whose devices are equipped with...Photonics.com 11/7/2017Behind the Scenes of Today's Imaging ProcessImage processing has become so ingrained in everyday life that we often forget how quickly it has advanced over the last few decades. Today, we are able to snap photos and then rotate, crop, and...Photonics.com 8/31/2018WEBINARSBiophotonic Imaging for Medicine: A Digital ConferenceResearchers from around the world presented their latest work at “Biophotonic Imaging for Medicine: A Digital Conference.” Presentations focused on a range of light-based imaging and...Photonics.com 6/11/2015The Future of Lasers: Two PerspectivesThe Future of Lasers: Two Perspectives brings together two expert viewpoints on the future of quantum cascade lasers, fiber lasers and next-generation solid-state lasers. Our Expert Panel: ...Photonics.com 6/21/2011Computational Microscopy, Sensing and Diagnostics for Telemedicine and Global Health ApplicationsAdditional Questions and Answers from the Webinar are below: With more than 6 billion cell phone users in the world, the majority of them in developing countries, there are opportunities for...Photonics.com 6/5/2013Techniques in Biophotonic ImagingFREE WEBINAR Sponsored by: Hamamatsu & Applied Scientific Instrumentation Additional Questions & Answers from the webinar are below: Dr. Kimani C. Toussaint Jr. Quantitative...Photonics.com 3/21/2013PHOTONICS DICTIONARY TERMStribologyThe science of interfacing surfaces in moving contact, which includes areas such as friction, lubrication and wear.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009laser reflow solderingUse of a laser to solder joints by melting the solder coatings on the mating components.EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009direct laser interference patterningAlso called DLIP, a high-speed, high-resolution processing technique that uses high-power, pulsed laser systems to directly ablate micro- and nanoperiodic structures with different features on large...EDU.photonics.com 6/28/2017nanopositioning actuatorA positioning device capable of producing repeatable motion in increments as small as 1 nm or less. Nanopositioning actuators are frictionless devices that are typically piezoelectrically driven....EDU.photonics.com 9/8/2009PHOTONICS HANDBOOK ARTICLESTunable Lasers: Generating Wavelengths from the UV Through the IR: Many lasers allow the operator to tune or change the output wavelength from the UV to the IR on demand.Applications facilitated by tunable lasers can be divided into two basic categories. The first are situations where one or more discrete wavelengths are not available from any single- or multiline...Photonics HandbookNanopositioning: A Step Ahead: It is almost a cliché among students of creativity that innovation occurs at the intersection of fields. Since nanopositioning is a discipline that has enabled swiftly evolving application arenas as diverse as materials science, genomics, photonics, defense, biophysics and semiconductors, it’s unsurprising that its pace of innovation is nothing short of blistering in recent years.By its original definition, a nanopositioning device is a mechanism capable of repeatedly delivering motion in increments as small as one nanometer. Lately demands from industry and research have...Photonics HandbookVibration Control: Limiting Mechanical Noise: Vibration control plays a critical role in research and industry. Mechanical noise, for example, can obscure high-resolution images and affect the quality of nanotechnology processes. Fortunately, vibration can be controlled through proper experimentation, process design and the use of specialized equipment.In general, there are three common approaches to reducing mechanical excitation of photonic systems. The first is identifying the sources of vibration and implementing ways to eliminate or reduce...Photonics HandbookCamera Resolution: Combining Detector and Optics Performance: Most image-quality discussions center on resolution, which is thought to uniquely determine system performance. Resolution, however, is a more complex concept.Camera resolution depends upon the optical blur diameter and the detector size. Schade combined these to create an equivalent resolution that is a function of Fλ/d where F is the focal ratio,...Photonics HandbookPHOTONICS BUYERS' GUIDE CATEGORIESFiber Optic Rotary JointsElectrically Scanned Image MicroscopesLaser Scanning MicroscopesCoolantsCOMPANIESPCO-TECH Inc.PCO – three decades as Pioneers in Cameras and Optoelectronics PCO is a Pioneer in Cameras and Optoelectronics with more than 30 years of expert knowledge and experience developing and...Photonics Buyers' Guide