August / 2012
Aug/1
2
The List IssuePhotonicsHOT SPOTS
2012
Worldwide Coverage: Optics, Lasers, Imaging, Fiber Optics,Electro-Optics, Photonics Component Manufacturing
Wherethe JOBSAre
FutureGAME-CHANGERS
x
xoo x
Position Yourself for SUCCESS
In Your Own Words:READER POLL RESULTS
Essential Reading
Recruitment Tactics
School and Major
444
Mergers & Acquisitions
6
The List Issue • Where the Jobs Are • Invisibility
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August 2012
t TABLE OF CONTENTS
16 | TECH NEWSPhotonics Spectra editors curate the most significant photonics research and technology headlines of the month – and take you deeper inside the news. Featured stories include:
• Gigapixel “supercamera” delivers sharp shots • Tabletop device generates all wavelengths in single beam• Nondistorting mirror eliminates blind spots
30 | FASTTRACKBusiness and Markets
• EuroLED draws more than 2000 attendees• Astronomers decry UK’s defunding of Hawaii telescopes
10 | EDITORIAL
37 | GREENLIGHTSometimes green saves green – by accidentArtificial leaf could charge up developing worldNew dyes seek to replace silicon for solar
82 | PEREGRINATIONSPhotonics bestsellers that never were
NEWS & ANALYSIS
COLUMNS
70 | BRIGHT IDEAS79 | HAPPENINGS81 | ADVERTISER INDEX
DEPARTMENTS
THE COVERThis year’s list issue zooms in on topics such as jobs and categories including photonics hot spots, beginning on p. 41. Design by Graphic Designer Janice R. Tynan.
16
37
Photonics Spectra August 20124
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52
PHOTONICS: The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiantenergy whose quantum unit is the photon. The range of applications of photonics extendsfrom energy generation to detection to communications and information processing.
Volume 46 Issue 8
www.photonics.com
41 | THE LIST ISSUEOur annual compendium of information for and about our readers.
42 Ones to Watch
44 Reader Poll: School & Major
46 Mergers and Acquisitions Bring New Opportunities
46 Reader Poll: Essential Reading
48 Reader Poll: Recruitment Strategies
49 The Largest Photonics Regions in the World
50 Photonics Institutions Flourish Around the World
52 | WHERE THE JOBS AREby Howard Rudzinsky, Rudzinsky Associates This longtime photonics recruiter describes the current employment picture and offers some strategies for job seekers.
58 | TRUE INVISIBILITY REMAINS ELUSIVEby Gary Boas, Contributing EditorAlthough real-life cloaking has not been realized, advances in the technology offer new lessons in manipulating light.
62 | IR IMAGING OPTICS MEET VARIED NEEDSby Dr. Austin Richards, Flir Commercial Systems Understanding the distinct properties of each subband of this broad spectral range makes it easier to pick the optimal device for a particular application.
PHOTONICS SPECTRA ISSN-0731-1230, (USPS 448870) ISPUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Laurin Publishing Co. Inc., BerkshireCommon, PO Box 4949, Pittsfield, MA 01202, +1 (413) 499-0514; fax: +1 (413) 442-3180; e-mail: [email protected]. TITLE reg. in US Library of Congress. Copyright ® 2012by Laurin Publishing Co. Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of Pho-tonics Spectra on microfilm are available from University Mi-crofilm, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. PhotonicsSpectra articles are indexed in the Engineering Index. POST-MASTER: Send form 3579 to Photonics Spectra, Berkshire Com-mon, PO Box 4949, Pittsfield, MA 01202. Periodicals postagepaid at Pittsfield, MA, and at additional mailing offices. CIRCU-LATION POLICY: Photonics Spectra is distributed withoutcharge to qualified scientists, engineers, technicians, and man-agement personnel. Eligibility requests must be returned withyour business card or organization’s letterhead. Rates for oth-ers as follows: $122 per year, prepaid. Overseas postage: $28surface mail, $108 airmail per year. Inquire for multiyear sub-scription rates. Publisher reserves the right to refuse nonquali-fied subscriptions. ARTICLES FOR PUBLICATION: Scientists,engineers, educators, technical executives and technical writersare invited to contribute articles on the optical, laser, fiber optic,electro-optical, imaging, optoelectronics and related fields.Communications regarding the editorial content of PhotonicsSpectra should be addressed to the managing editor. Con-tributed statements and opinions expressed in Photonics Spec-tra are t hose of the contributors – the publisher assumes noresponsibility for them.
58
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e EDITORIAL COMMENT
Are you positioned for success?
The one thing that is never far from our thoughts these days is the economy and, closerto home for many of us, the state of the jobs market. The latest US jobs report toldthe grim story of only 80,000 jobs added in June, far below the number needed to
significantly lower the jobless rate. Of course, the situation is not just a US problem.
Despite the somber jobs numbers, there is hope. “Job growth has lagged somewhat behindthe recovery, but remember that employment is a lagging, not leading, indicator,” writeslongtime photonics industry recruiter Howard Rudzinsky of Louis Rudzinsky Associatesin this issue. “It is getting better. People are hiring. Keep this in mind.” In search of even a glimmer of a silver lining, we asked Howard about the future of photonics jobs, and hetold us that, despite economic woes, there are bright spots for photonics job seekers. Readwhat he has to say in “Where the Jobs Are,” beginning on page 52.
And if you’re looking for a job – or want to keep the one you have – be sure to check out Howard’s sidebar on “Positioning Yourself for Success” on page 53. He offers a list ofthings you can do to enhance your skills and marketability, including improving yourskills, your résumé and your search tactics.
As you may have guessed, education and the jobs market are a big part of our second annual “List Issue,” a compendium of your thoughts and other information that concernsyou and your work in the photonics industry.
This year, we asked you via social media what you would tell a person who may be con-sidering photonics as a course of study or a career option. My favorite answer came fromRajeev Ranjan, who wrote: “It’s going to rule the technology in the world.” Now thatsounds like a good reason to study photonics! Read the other great contributions on page48, and thanks to all of you who answered our questions.
Our good friends on Facebook, Twitter and Photonics.com are commenting daily on hot industry research and topics. If you’re not already sharing your thoughts with the photonicscommunity through these channels, we hope you’ll join us soon. Industry newsmakersshould get involved, too. Readers at Photonics.com often post comments and questions toour site about your research stories, and your responses would strengthen the conversation.
Prism AwardsThe 2013 Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation, the global competition sponsored byPhotonics Media and SPIE, is accepting nominations through Sept. 14, 2012. The awardsrecognize innovative scientific products, processes, software, devices, materials, systems,instruments and technologies that are newly available on the open market. Winners will be announced at a gala awards banquet held during SPIE Photonics West in February in San Francisco. Details and the nomination form are at www.photonicsprismaward.com. Be sure to check out finalist videos from the 2011 Prism Awards at www.photonics.com/VideoGallery.
I hope you enjoy the issue.
ErratumThe credit line was omitted from the chart in “Aspheres Deal with Bigger Deviations”(July 2012, pp. 62-65). The chart, titled “Comparing Asphere Metrology Methods,” appeared on p. 64 and was provided courtesy of Optimax.
Editorial Advisory Board
Dr. Robert R. AlfanoCity College of New York
Walter BurgessPower Technology Inc.
Dr. Michael J. CumboIDEX Optics & Photonics
Dr. Timothy DayDaylight Solutions
Dr. Donal DenvirAndor Technology PLC
Patrick L. EdsellAvanex Corp.
Dr. Stephen D. FantoneOptikos Corp.
Randy HeylerOndax Inc.
Dr. Michael HoukBristol Instruments Inc.
Dr. Kenneth J. KaufmannHamamatsu Corp.
Brian LulaPI (Physik Instrumente) LP
Eliezer ManorShirat Enterprises Ltd., Israel
Shinji NiikuraCoherent Japan Inc.
Dr. Morio Onoeprofessor emeritus, University of Tokyo
Dr. William PlummerWTP Optics
Dr. Richard C. PowellUniversity of Arizona
Dr. Ryszard S. RomaniukWarsaw University of Technology, Poland
Samuel P. SadouletEdmund Optics
Dr. Steve ShengTelesis Technologies Inc.
William H. ShinerIPG Photonics Corp.
John M. StackZygo Corp.
Dr. Albert J.P. TheuwissenHarvest Imaging/Delft University
of Technology, Belgium
Kyle VoosenNational Instruments Corp.
10 Photonics Spectra August 2012
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Photonics Spectra August 201212
Photonics Media’s industry-leading site features the latest news and events from around the world.
Blog: Different WavelengthsTwice each month Gary Boas, our nomadic contributing editor, chronicles his takeon the photonics industry through his blog – Different Wavelengths. Whether hetakes inspiration from pop culture, old sci-fi comic books or government policy,Gary has a knack for telling stories that have the reader conjuring new ideas,questioning old theories or remembering what made science so appealing in thefirst place. To explore Gary’s blog, visit: www.photonics.com/DifferentWavelengths.
The Photonics Buyers’ GuideNever sift through irrelevant searches again.
Search for products and services, search by company name, review company profiles, map their locations, link to their websites and send them an email – all at PhotonicsBuyersGuide.com.
For the mobile version scan this code.
Call for Entries!The Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation, a joint collaboration between Photonics Media and SPIE, is a leading international competition celebrating innovation and honoring new product invention. For more information, visit: www.PhotonicsPrismAward.com/application.aspx
Applications are being accepted until Sept. 14, 2012. Enter to win – get your product the recognition it deserves.
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
Head-Up DisplaysAs cars have gotten smarter and the information they supply richer, drivers have naturally devoted more attention to instrument clusters. The latest head-up displays project important information on the windshield to provide data without as much distraction.
Industrial LasersFor applications such as CIGS thin-film PV manufacturing, glass machining using newer generations of 532-nm Q-switched diode-pumped solid-state lasers provide the proper combination of throughput and quality at a cost that is consistent with the demands of the markets.
PC Camera Vision SystemsNew classes of smart cameras use more advanced low-power, low-heat microprocessors in CPU/GPU architectures, and software is also responding with better parallelization tools. The result is new single-box machine vision solutions that offer the features of PC host solutions.
New DLC Coatings for IR CamerasApplying new diamond-like carbon or hard carbon coatings on optical substratesfor front-surface FLIR lens assemblies results in a drastic reduction of the Narcissuseffect, without compromising the HC durability.
Laser (Car) Ignition ResearchCars of the future may trade spark plugs for laser-based ignition systems – or so it has been said for several years now. In this article, we take a look at current progress toward this ideal, and see why lasers should make a better “spark.”
Factors in Designing a Laser LabThis laser safety column from Ken Barat of LBNL will provide guidance, reminders and explanations of items to consider in establishing or retrofitting your lab.
You’ll also find all the news that affects your industry, from tech trends and market reports to the latest products and media.
In the September issue of
Photonics Spectra …
Check out a sample of the new digitalversion of Photonics Spectra magazine at www.photonics.com/DigitalSample. It’s a whole new world of information forpeople in the global photonics industry.
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Gigapixel “supercamera” delivers sharp shotsDURHAM, N.C. – The challenge to creat-ing high-pixel imaging lies in the sophisti-cation of the integrated circuits rather thanthe optics, and now scientists have over-come this hurdle by developing a super-camera that synchronizes 98 microcamerasinto a single device with the potential tostitch together images with a resolution of50 gigapixels.
The Duke University camera, calledAWARE 2, yields five times better resolu-tion than that of 20/20 human vision overa 120° horizontal field, and it has the po-tential to capture up to 50 gigapixels, or50,000 megapixels, of data. By compari-son, consumer cameras can take photoswith sizes ranging only from 8 to 40megapixels.
“We built 300 microcameras in our firstrun and decided to build two AWARE 2 systems rather than one, which left usabout 100 microcameras for each systemwith about 100 for testing and future development,” David J. Brady told Pho-tonics Spectra. Brady is the Michael J.Fitzpatrick professor of engineering atDuke’s Pratt School of Engineering. “Wewill have the capacity to build one to tengigapixel cameras per month starting this fall.”
With each containing a 14-megapixelsensor, the 98 tiny cameras yield nearly100 separate but accurate images that acomputer processor stitches together into a single highly detailed image. Each camera captures information from a specific area of the field of view, manytimes capturing images of things that pho-tographers cannot see themselves but candetect when the image is later viewed,Brady said.
Traditionally, adding more glass ele-ments to a device has yielded better opticsbecause it increases complexity, saidMichael Gehm, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at theUniversity of Arizona in Tucson and thedeveloper of the software that combinesthe input from the microcameras.
“This isn’t a problem just for imagingexperts,” Gehm said. “Supercomputersface the same problem, with their ever-more-complicated processors, but at some
point, the complexity just saturates andbecomes cost-prohibitive.”
Instead of making increasingly complexoptics, Gehm said their approach offers aparallel array of electronic elements.
“A shared objective lens gathers lightand routes it to the microcameras that sur-round it, just like a network computerhands out pieces to the individual worksta-
tions,” he said. “Each gets a different viewand works on their little piece of the prob-lem. We arrange for some overlap, so wedon’t miss anything.”
For now, Brady said, his team willfocus on the electronics and not try to increase the complexity of the optics because their new lens design approach was successful.
The prototype camera, which measures2.5 � 2.5 ft and 20 in. deep, needs a lot ofspace to house and cool its electronic con-trol boards; only about 3 percent of thecamera is made of the optical elements.Because of this, the device is a long wayfrom commercial availability.
Brady estimates that it will be five yearsbefore a more efficient, handheld con-sumer version of the technology is avail-able for purchase.
“The optics is already small enough forhandheld devices,” he said. “As electron-ics shrink, we anticipate building 100-megapixel to 500-megapixel handheld devices and one- to ten-gigapixel tripod-mounted systems. This technology will get into consumer devices, and consumersmay hire photographers to record wall-size wedding photographs.”
NEWSTECH
Photonics Spectra August 201216
A closer look at the most significant photonics research and technology headlines of the month
A photograph of the Seattle skyline taken with AWARE 2 with image details as shown. The new camera can capture up to 50 gigapixels of data; today’s consumer cameras can achieve only 8- to 40-megapixel resolution. Images courtesy of Duke University Imaging and Spectroscopy Program.
The AWARE 2 camera synchronizes 98 micro-cameras into a single device that stitches images together for higher resolution.
812_TechNews_Layout 1 7/19/12 1:02 PM Page 16
Brady foresees many other consumerapplications as well.
“I expect the first near-term applicationwill be online broadcast of scenic sites,wildlife preserves and significant events,”he said. “These cameras enable interac-tive websites that become essentially100- to 1000-channel broadcast centers.People will log in and track their favoritebird or animal, search for their favoriteplayer, etcetera. These cameras will alsobe used for interactive telepresence –
enabling, for example, overpoweringgaming experiences (image real-timeIMAX over the Grand Canyon).”
Although the research is supported byDARPA, Brady said the technology ismore for the consumer than for defensepurposes. “Ironically, in an age of con-strained government resources, defenseapplications may develop more slowlythan entertainment applications. Con-sumers will first experience the camera asa service, but, eventually, high-pixel-count
cameras will be affordable to serious ama-teur photographers.”
Brady’s team is working to build proto-types of the AWARE 10, a series of 10-gigapixel cameras. The researchers plan to focus on strategies to reduce power re-quirements and increase frame rates oncethese systems come online, he said.
Their next generation of cameras willuse color sensors, he added.
The research was published online inNature (doi: 10.1038/nature11150).
17Photonics Spectra August 2012
Tabletop device generates all wavelengths in single beamARLINGTON, Va. – For the first time, adevice small enough to fit on a single lab-oratory table has converted a coherent, directed light beam generated from morethan 5000 low-energy photons into onehigh-energy x-ray photon.
“This device can be a valuable tool fornanoscience and nanotechnology, with thecapability to image materials in 3-D andcapture the fastest process relevant tofunction with very high space and timeresolution,” JILA professor Margaret Mur-nane told Photonics Spectra. She led thestudy with engineering and physics profes-sor Henry Kapteyn in collaboration withscientists from Cornell University inIthaca, N.Y., the University of Salamancain Spain and Vienna University of Tech-nology.
For quite some time, scientists have understood how to use nonlinear optics to combine low-energy laser photons togenerate higher energy photons, but it wasnot until recently that they understood thatthis process could be pushed to an extremelimit – where 5000 mid-IR laser photonscould be combined to generate a 1.5-keVphoton, Murnane said.
The team, led by engineers from theNational Science Foundation’s Engineer-ing Research Center for EUV Science andTechnology, focused intense pulses of IRlight from a 4-μm tabletop laser into ahigh-pressure gas cell (up to 80 atmos-pheres of helium gas) and converted partof the original laser energy into a coherent supercontinuum of light that extends well into the x-ray region.
The emerging x-ray burst had muchshorter wavelengths than the original laserpulse, making it possible to follow thetiniest, fastest physical processes in nature,including the coupling of electrons and
ions in molecules as they undergo chemi-cal reactions or the flow of charges andspins in materials.
“There are many practical applicationsfor broad-bandwidth coherent x-rays,”Murnane said. “We are using similar lightsources in the extreme-ultraviolet region(where they are already quite bright) tocapture the fastest processes in materialsand molecules. This understanding isneeded to design and optimize next-gener-ation electronics, data- and energy-storagedevices, and medical diagnostics.”
The scientists used high-harmonic gen-eration (HHG) in their experiment – amethod discovered in the late 1980s whenscientists focused a powerful, ultrashortlaser beam into a spray of gas – and dis-
An actual coherent (laserlike) x-ray beam. In con-trast to the incoherent light emitted in all directionsfrom a roentgen x-ray tube, the x-rays produced byhigh-harmonic generation emerge as well-directedlaserlike beams. Courtesy of Tenio Popmintchev,JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder.
The experimental setup used to create a coherent version of the roentgen tube in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum. When a long-wavelength femtosecond laser is focused into this hollow waveguide filled with high-pressure helium gas, part of the laser is converted into an ultrafast, laserlike x-ray beam. Courtesy of Tenio Popmintchev, JILA, University of Colorado at Boulder.
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covered that the output beam containednot only the original laser wavelength, butalso a small amount of many differentwavelengths in the ultraviolet region. Gasatoms ionized by the laser created the newUV wavelengths.
“Just as a violin or guitar string willemit harmonics of its fundamental soundtone when plucked strongly, an atom canalso emit harmonics of light when pluckedviolently by a laser pulse,” Murnane said.“The laser pulse first plucks electronsfrom the atoms, before driving them backagain where they can collide with theatoms from which they came. Any excessenergy is emitted as high-energy ultravio-let photons.”
When HHG was first discovered, therewas little science to explain it, but aftermany years of work, scientists eventuallyunderstood how very high harmonics areemitted. However, one significant chal-lenge remained: The output HHG beamswere extremely weak for most wave-lengths in the x-ray region.
To turn the phenomenon into a useful x-ray source, Murnane, Kapteyn and their
students developed a tabletop-scale instru-ment that had been a goal for laser science since shortly after the first laserwas demonstrated by Theodore Maiman in 1960.
The task proved difficult because – unlike lasers, which get more intense asmore energy is pumped into the system –in HHG, if the atoms are hit too hard by the laser, too many of the electronsare freed from the gas atoms, causing the laser light to speed up, Murnane said.If the laser and x-ray speeds are notmatched, the x-ray waves cannot be com-bined to generate a bright output beam because the x-ray waves from differentgas atoms destructively interfere with one another.
To make x-ray waves from multiple gasatoms interfere constructively, the teamused a relatively long-wavelength mid-IRlaser and a high-pressure gas cell that alsoguides the laser light. The result was abright x-ray beam that maintained the coherent, directed beam qualities of thelaser that drives the process.
The HHG process works only when the
atoms are hit “hard and fast” by the laserpulses, with durations nearing 10 to 14 s –a fundamental limit that represents just afew oscillations of the electromagneticfields. This technology was developed in1990 by Murnane and Kapteyn, usinglasers that developed HHG-based lightsources in the extreme-UV region in the2000s.
Although scientists have used this tech-nology to measure ever-shorter-durationlight pulses, the two JILA professors werestuck on how to make coherent light atshorter wavelengths in the more penetrat-ing x-ray region.
“We would have never found this if we hadn’t sat down and thought aboutwhat happens overall during HHG: when we change the wavelength of thelaser driving it, what parameters have tobe changed to make it work,” Kapteynsaid. “The amazing thing is that thephysics seem to be panning out, even overa very broad range of parameters. Usuallyin science you find a scaling rule that prevents you from making a dramaticjump, but in this case, we were able togenerate 1.6 keV – each x-ray photon was generated from more than 5000 infrared photons.”
The findings appeared in Science (doi:10.1126/science.1218497).
In the future, the team hopes to breakinto the hard x-ray regime.
“Our best guess is that we will under-stand the underlying physics in five years,and then we will know better if we cangenerate hard x-ray beams from tabletopfemtosecond lasers,” Murnane said. “Theexciting thing is that we currently see noroadblock to achieving hard x-rays, andthere are several routes that we can use.We need femtosecond lasers with milli-joules of energy in the five- to twenty-mi-cron-wavelength region, or other advancedpulse-shaping technologies, to test our un-derstanding experimentally.”
For now, she said, her colleagues want touse soft x-rays for nanoscience and nano-technology. They also intend to explorethe limits of how far they can push the science of extreme nonlinear optics.
“By having multicolor x-rays all per-fectly synchronized with respect to oneanother, we can probe many different mol-ecules and materials and generate theshortest pulses to date,” Murnane said.“Even shorter zeptosecond pulses will be possible if we use longer laser wave-lengths.”
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Nondistorting mirror eliminates blind spotsPHILADELPHIA – Have you ever been passed on the road by avehicle that seems to have come out of nowhere? Well, drivers:Take heed. A new subtly curved side mirror that dramatically in-creases the field of view with minimal distortion could offer analternative to traditional mirrors that induce blind spots.
Created by Drexel University mathematics professor Dr. R.Andrew Hicks, the new mirror uses a mathematical algorithm toprecisely control the angle of light bouncing off its curves; it wasrecently issued a US patent.
“Imagine that the mirror’s surface is made of many smallermirrors turned to different angles, like a disco ball,” Hicks said.“The algorithm is a set of calculations to manipulate the directionof each face of the metaphorical disco ball so that each ray oflight bouncing off the mirror shows the driver a wide, but not toodistorted, picture of the scene behind him.”
Traditional flat mirrors on the driver’s side of a car give an ac-curate sense of the distance of vehicles and objects behind them,but the field of view is narrow. This results in a region of spacebehind the vehicle, known as the blind spot, which drivers cannotsee via either the rearview or side mirrors.
Now with Hicks’ curved mirror, a driver’s field of view couldbe as great as 45°, compared with the 15° to 17° field producedby a traditional flat side mirror. The new mirror barely detectsany visual distortion of shapes and straight lines, unlike simplecurved mirrors that squash the perceived shape of objects andmake straight lines appear curved.
US regulations dictate that cars coming off the assembly linemust have a flat mirror on the driver’s side; curved mirrors are allowed for the passenger side only if they include the sentence“Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.” Because of suchregulations, Hicks’ mirror will not be installed on new cars soldin the US anytime soon.
“The rationale for current regulations that say mirrors must be
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
A side-by-side comparison of a standard flat driver’s-side mirror with a newslightly curved mirror designed at Drexel University. With minimal distortion, thenew mirror shows a much wider field of view; note the wide area to the left ofthe silver car seen in the distance, behind the tree. Courtesy of R. Andrew Hicks,Drexel University.
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flat is that flat mirrors give an accurate reflection of depth and distance,” Drexelnews officer Rachel Ewing told PhotonicsSpectra.
“A mirror that is curved to show awider field of view will make objects ap-pear smaller and farther away, just becausethings have to look smaller if you want tofit more stuff in,” she added. The Hicksmirror doesn’t solve that problem, but
drastically reduces the distortion of shapesyou would see in a simple convex mirror.”
The device could be manufactured andsold as an aftermarket product that driversand mechanics can install on cars afterpurchase. Slightly curved mirrors are al-lowed on some new cars in certain Euro-pean and Asian countries.
Currently, only two prototypes of themirror exist, Ewing said.
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
HAMBURG, Germany – A free-electronlaser (FEL) x-ray technique that obtainshigh-resolution structural insight into bio-molecules to deliver structural data even-tually could be used to design tailor-mademedications.
Understanding the structure of biomole-cules is important for the fields of medi-cine and biology because the molecules’shapes often determine their functions.These structures are commonly distin-guished by x-ray crystallography, but thisprocess often is difficult and slow, and thefailure rate high.
Now, scientists from Max Planck Ad-vanced Study Group and Max Planck In-stitute for Medical Research have used theLinac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) inCalifornia to determine the structure of thesmall protein lysozyme – the first enzymeever to have its structure revealed – downto a resolution of 0.19 nm. A total of10,000 snapshot exposures from crystalsmeasuring only one-thousandth of a mil-limeter were collated; the data was compa-rable to that obtained using traditional ap-proaches on lysozyme crystals that are a
hundredfold larger. No signs of radiationdamage were found.
“We were able to show that atomic res-olution information can be collected be-fore radiation damage has a chance to takeeffect,” said Anton Barty, co-author and ascientist at the German accelerator center
FEL reveals protein architecture in detail
Schematic representation of the experimental setup at the Coherent X-ray Imaging end station at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Millions of tiny crystals are injected into the free-electron laser beam in a thin liquid jet.Diffraction patterns are generated when a crystal intersects a free-electron x-ray flash and are captured ona detector shown on the left. Images courtesy of Max Planck Institute for Medical Research.
Structure of the protein lysozyme. The spatialarrangement of the 129 amino acids is schemati-cally depicted in the form of spirals (helices) and arrows (pleated sheets).
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DESY (Deutsches Elektronen Synchro-tron). “The key is ultrashort pulses – wesee no effects of damage before the x-raypulse has already passed.”
“The good agreement benchmarks themethod, making it a valuable tool for sys-tems that yield only tiny crystals,” saidIlme Schlichting of the institute for med-ical research.
The LCLS enables scientists to studypreviously intractable molecular structuresbecause the x-ray flashes from the laserare extremely bright, so only the tiniestcrystals are needed for a structural analy-sis. The microcrystals used in this studyalmost vaporized immediately when sub-jected to the intense x-ray light.
“The exceptionally intense x-ray pulses
possible with FELs open the door for ana-lyzing completely new classes of biomole-cules, like proteins from the cell mem-brane, that are hard or nearly impossibleto crystallize,” said Henry Chapman ofDESY. “This will allow us to explore un-charted terrain in structural biology.”
The study appeared in Science (doi:10.1126/science.1217737).
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OCT device could KO chronic ear infectionsCHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A new optical coher-ence tomography (OCT) device that cansee difficult-to-detect bacteria behind theeardrum could help clinicians better diag-nose and treat chronic ear infections.
Ear infections are the most commonconditions that pediatricians treat. Chronicear infections can be detrimental to hear-ing and often require surgery to placedrainage tubes in the eardrums. Patientswho suffer from chronic ear infectionsmay have a film of bacteria or other mi-croorganisms that build up behind the
eardrum, according to studies. To treatsuch infections, these biofilms must be detected and monitored.
“We know that antibiotics don’t alwayswork well if you have a biofilm, becausethe bacteria protect themselves and be-come resistant,” said Stephen Boppart, aUniversity of Illinois electrical and com-puter engineering professor. “In the pres-ence of a chronic ear infection that has abiofilm, the bacteria may not respond tothe usual antibiotics, and you need to stopthem. But without being able to detect the
biofilm, we have no idea whether or notit’s responding to treatment.”
Middle-ear biofilms are difficult to di-agnose, and current invasive tests to seeevidence of biofilms are unpleasant for thepatient and cannot be used routinely.
Now, Boppart and his research teamhave devised a noninvasive imaging sys-tem that uses beams of light to collecthigh-resolution, 3-D tissue images, scan-ning through the eardrum to the biofilmbehind it – much like ultrasound imagingbut using light.
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“We send the light into the ear canal, and it scatters and re-flects from the tympanic membrane and the biofilm behind it,”said Cac Nguyen, a graduate student and lead author of the paper.“We measure the reflection, and with the reference light, we canget the structure in depth.”
The single scan is performed in a fraction of a second and im-ages a few millimeters deep behind the eardrum. Thus, doctorscan see not only the presence of a biofilm, but also how thick it is and its position against the eardrum.
This marks the first demonstration of an ear OCT device to de-tect biofilms in human patients. To test the device, the researchersworked with clinicians at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana.They scanned patients with diagnosed chronic ear infections aswell as patients with normal ears; in all patients with chronic in-fections, they identified biofilms, whereas none of the normalears showed evidence of biofilms.
Next, the researchers plan to investigate various ear patholo-gies, particularly comparing acute and chronic infections, andwill examine the relationship between biofilms and hearing loss.They hope that improved diagnostics will lead to better treatmentand referral practices.
They would like to make their device, currently a handheldprototype, more compact, easy to use and inexpensive. WelchAllyn of Skaneateles Falls, N.Y., has collaborated on the project,which was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
The team also hopes to tweak the device so that it may be ap-plied to other areas commonly examined by primary care physi-cians. Doctors could change the tip of the OCT device to look atthe eyes, nose, mouth or skin.
“All the sites that a primary care physician would look at, wecan now look at with this more advanced imaging,” Boppart said.“With OCT, we are bringing to the primary-care clinic high-resolu-tion 3-D digital imaging and [are] being able to look at many dif-ferent tissue structures in real time, noninvasively and in depth.”
The ear-imaging device is the first in a suite of OCT-based imaging tools that Boppart’s group plans to develop.
The research appeared in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (doi: 10.1073/pnas.1201592109).
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
To learn more about Boppart’s work in biomedical imaging, listen to the Photonics Media webinar “The Future of Imaging, Three Perspectives.”
http://www.photonics.com/Webinar.aspx?WebinarID=13.
University of Illinois researchers have tested a prototype of a new device that can see biofilms behind the eardrum to better diagnose and treat chronic ear infections. Courtesy of Stephen Boppart.
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Even with the largest telescopes, thesetypes of planets cannot be imaged directly.Measuring the tiny Doppler shifts, or wob-ble, in the spectrum of a parent star – re-sulting from the recoiling motion causedby the planet – is the most successful detection method to date. The light thatreaches us from distant stars is composedof multiple spectral lines that are charac-teristic of the different chemical elementsin the star’s gas atmosphere. When the staris moving toward or away from the ob-server, these lines shift slightly to higheror lower frequencies.
By measuring the Doppler shifts, as-tronomers can obtain information aboutthe star’s movement. This provides apromising way of locating extrasolar plan-ets that reveal their identity only indi-rectly: While traveling around their centralstar, they push and pull it a little bit, caus-ing a relatively small change in its veloc-ity. For this reason, the amount of Dopplershift in the star’s spectrum is very smalland can be detected only with the help ofhigh-precision measurement tools.
Unfortunately, adapting laser frequencycombs for astronomical spectroscopy ap-plications has posed a few major technicalchallenges. Even precision spectrographssuch as HARPS provide limited frequencyresolution – typically around 105. This
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
Laser rulers join the planet hunt
Use of Doppler shift measurements in the search for extrasolar planets. When a planet (red ball) orbits a star (yellow ball), the recoil it exerts gives rise to a periodic movement: At one time the star is moving toward the observer (above), and the light waves appear to be squeezed. This means the radiation is shiftedtoward higher frequencies, which is called a “blueshift.” If, on the other hand, the star is traveling awayfrom the observer (see below), the waves seem to be stretched, resulting in a so-called “redshift” toward lower frequencies. Courtesy of Th. Udem, MPQ.
GARCHING, Germany – Astronomerssearching for extrasolar planets may be a step closer to finding other Earth-likeplaces in the universe around sunlike stars,thanks to a new tool that promises to in-crease the accuracy of planet-hunting de-vices by tenfold.
Scientists from the Max Planck Instituteof Quantum Optics, in collaboration withthe European Southern Observatory(ESO), the Instituto de Astrofisica de Ca-narias and Menlo Systems GmbH, havemodified the laser frequency comb tech-nique so that it can be applied for the cali-bration of astronomical spectrographs.Laser frequency combs are calibrationtools designed to precisely measure “wobble” in stars.
The researchers successfully tested theinstrument with the High Accuracy Radialvelocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), a spec-trograph at the 3.6-m telescope at La SillaObservatory in Chile. They achieved atenfold improvement in precision over tra-ditional spectral lamp calibrators, whichwill significantly enhance the chances ofdiscovering Earth-like planets outside oursolar system. This modification could helpastronomers determine whether our solarsystem is the only place in the universethat provides the conditions needed for lifeas we know it.
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means that the lines of the frequency combwould have to be spaced at intervals ofmore than 10 GHz or it would not be ableto resolve them. Another challenge is thatastronomical spectrographs operate in thevisible spectral region.
To overcome these challenges, the re-searchers chose a fiber laser system as thebasis of the frequency comb. These sys-tems emit light in the infrared region andhave spectral distances of a few hundredmegahertz. The scientists changed theseproperties, however, by implementing acascade of several spectral filters andusing advanced fibers developed by PhilipRussell of Max Planck Institute for theScience of Light in Erlangen. The resultwas a frequency comb with the desiredmode spacing and a broad spectrum in thevisible range.
When calibrated with the HARPS spec-trograph, the modified frequency combdelivered 2.5-cm/s sensitivity for velocitychanges. This was demonstrated in a seriesof measurements taken in November 2010and January 2011.
Next, the researchers plan to pursue a
task even more challenging than lookingfor planets. Astronomical observationshave shown that the universe is not staticbut rather expanding continuously. Newresults on the microwave background radi-ation and the observation of supernovaesuggest that this expansion is acceleratingover time. However, the change of the ve-locity is expected to be very small, on theorder of 1 cm/s annually. This precision isexpected to be delivered by the next ESOproject, the European Extremely LargeTelescope, which is planned for construc-tion in Chile in the next decade. High-precision frequency combs will be at theheart of its Codex spectrograph, provid-ing a calibration precision of one part per300 billion – a feat equivalent to measur-ing the circumference of the Earth to halfa millimeter.
The findings appeared in Nature (doi:10.1038/nature11092).
Matter waves conjured in Schrödinger’s hatSEATTLE – An amplifier devised to boostlight, sound or other waves while hidingthem inside an invisible container couldlead to the construction of a quantum mi-croscope that captures quantum waves andmonitors electronic processes on computerchips.
The University of Washington system,dubbed “Schrödinger’s hat,” refers to the quantum mechanical paradox ofSchrödinger’s cat and the creation ofsomething from what appears to be nothing.
“In some sense, you are doing some-thing magical, because it looks like a particle is being created,” said GuntherUhlmann, a mathematics professor at theuniversity. “It’s like pulling something out of your hat.” Matter waves also can be shrunk inside the system, although concealing very small objects is not so interesting, Uhlmann said.
“You can isolate and magnify what youwant to see and make the rest invisible,”he said.
By manipulating waves, the mathemati-cians hope to create a quantum micro-scope that can capture quantum waves.
“You can amplify the waves tremen-dously,” Uhlmann said. “And although the wave has been magnified a lot, youcannot see what is happening inside thecontainer.”
Previously, the team collaborated on the math that formulates invisibilitycloaks. The international group also cre-ated wormholes in which waves disappearin one place and reappear in another.
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
For more information, see “StarComb Joins Quest for Other Earths,”
www.photonics.com/wa50310.
This graphic shows a matter wave hitting a so-calledSchrödinger’s hat. The wave inside the container ismagnified. Outside, the waves wrap as though theyhad never encountered any obstacle. Courtesy of G.Uhlmann, University of Washington.
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The new system has the potential tomake various types of waves disappear,including longer ones such as quantummatter waves, sound and microwaves.
“From the experimental point of view,
I think the most exciting thing is how easy it seems to be to build materials foracoustic cloaking,” Uhlmann said. “Wehope that it’s feasible, but in science youdon’t know until you do it.”
The team is now working toward build-ing a prototype.
The findings appeared in the Proceed-ings of the National Academy of Sciences(doi: 10.1073/pnas.1116864109).
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Laser ARPES helps explain superconductivityBERKELEY, Calif. — A new ultrafastlaser angle-resolved photoemission spec-troscopy (ARPES) technique may soonhelp scientists realize some of the biggestobstacles to the electronic states of high-temperature superconductors so that theymay one day put these energy-saving met-als to practical use.
Superconductivity, in which electric cur-rent flows without resistance, promises sig-nificant energy savings, but for everydayapplications such as low-voltage electricgrids with no transmission losses or super-efficient motors and generators, conven-tional superconductivity cannot do the job.Superconductors must be maintained attemperatures a few degrees above absolutezero, which is difficult and expensive.
For wider uses, higher-temperature superconductors that can function wellabove absolute zero will need to be cre-ated. Yet known high-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors are complex materialswhose electronic structures, despitedecades of work, are still far from clear.
Now scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley NationalLaboratory and the University of Califor-nia, Berkeley, have used a powerful newtool to attack some of the biggest obsta-cles to understanding the electronic statesof high-temperature superconductors –ARPES.
“What we’ve done with ultrafast laserARPES is to start with a high-Tc supercon-ductor called Bi2212 and cool it to well
below the critical temperature where it be-comes superconducting,” said ChristoperSmallwood, first author of the paper.
The researchers fired an infrared laserpulse at the sample, temporarily crackingopen some of the Cooper pairs – electronsthat form correlated charge carriers thatbarely interact with their crystalline sur-roundings – into their constituent parts,called quasiparticles. As these states decayed, recombining back into Cooperpairs, the researchers used ARPES tomeasure their changing energy and momentum.
“The relaxation process takes just a fewtrillionths of a second from start to finish,and in the end, we were able to assembleand watch an extremely slow motion
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movie of Cooper-pair formation, whichshowed that the quasiparticles tend to re-combine faster or slower, depending bothon their momentum and on the intensity ofthe pump pulse,” Smallwood said. “It’s anexciting development because these trendsmay be directly connected to the mecha-nism holding Cooper pairs together.”
A Cooper pair has less energy than twoindependent electrons, leaving an energygap between the sea of Cooper pairs andthe usual lowest energy of the charge car-riers in the material. Maps of this super-conducting gap can be calculated, or, re-markably, drawn directly by the chargecarriers themselves.
In ARPES experiments, the electron’smomenta and angles that are knocked
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Part of the momentum map of Bi2212 derived from ultrafastlaser ARPES shows that, after initial excitation by a pumpprobe, the speed with which quasiparticles recombine intoCooper pairs depends upon their position in momentumspace. (Only one of the four corners of the Fermi surfacemomentum map is shown – as insets in left panels.) Nearthe central nodes, the quasiparticles recombine slowly. Far from the nodes, they recombine quickly. Courtesy ofLanzara Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley.
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loose by a sufficiently energetic beam oflight are used to map out the material’smomentum space on a flat detector screen.The momentum space map shows the ma-terial’s band structure, the energy levelsaccessible to its charge carriers.
“We’re stuck with 5.9-electron-voltphoton energy, and we can’t tune it much,like we could at the ALS [Berkeley Lab’sAdvanced Light Source],” Smallwoodsaid. “But by happenstance, this energy isgreat for looking at high-Tc superconduc-tors, and the low photon energy gives usbetter momentum resolution.”
Most high-Tc superconductors, includ-ing Bi2212, resemble cuprate ceramics,rich in copper and oxygen. The supercon-ducting gap is uniform for almost all con-ventional metal superconductors, but inthe cuprates, it varies greatly. For somemomenta, the gap is large, but at four spe-cial points in momentum space, it dropsall the way to zero. The existence of such“nodes” in the gap is a distinguishingcharacteristic of cuprate high-Tc supercon-ductors.
“This is where ultrafast laser ARPES,
which is only about five years old, reallycomes into play to give us results not ac-cessible by other means,” he said. “Thelaser we use is a titanium-sapphire laserthat can emit femtosecond-scale pulses.”
The same beam pulse that creates theinfrared pump pulse is split to form themore energetic ultraviolet probe pulse, by passing part of it through frequency-doubling crystals. A motorized mirror can be used to adjust with femtosecondprecision the time delay between pumpand probe. The tiny sample can be tilted to any desired angle, which determineswhich part of the band structure is beingexamined by ARPES.
The research team determined the rela-tion between the initial excitation energy,the quasiparticles’ position in momentumspace, and how quickly the quasiparticlesdecay. Greater initial excitation energyyields faster recombination into Cooperpairs, but so does crystal momentum farfrom the nodes. Quasiparticles with mo-mentum that places them near the nodeson the Fermi surface decay very slowly.
When additional ultrafast all-optical
techniques, using infrared for both pumpand probe pulses, were applied to thesame sample, the results were in goodagreement with ARPES.
“It’s exciting that now we are able tomeasure these components of recombina-tion distinctly and see what each con-tributes,” Smallwood said. “It gives us anew handle on ways to assess some of thecandidate ideas about how Cooper pairsform, such as the suggestion that the en-ergy and momenta of quasiparticles farfrom a node may resonate with waves ofspin density or charge density to formCooper pairs. We’ve shown the way tomeasure this and other ideas to see if theyplay a significant role in the transition tohigh-temperature superconductivity.”
The research appeared in Science (doi:10.1126/science.1217423).
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EuroLED draws more than 2000 attendeesBIRMINGHAM, UK — The ninth annualeuroLED exhibition, gala dinner and con-ference attracted more visitors than ever.The two-day event for the LED and solid-state lighting industry was held at Birm-ingham Science Park’s National Exhibi-tion Centre in June and drew more than2000 attendees from across the UK andcontinental Europe.
At the exhibition – which was spon-sored by Philips, Arrow Electronics andPurEcoLED – 95 companies showcasedtheir latest products. Underwriters Labora-tories (UL) sponsored the technical con-ference, which brought in keynote speak-ers from across Europe. The dinner wassponsored by UK Trade & Investment,and Total Lighting was the euroLED 2012media partner.
“With a record number of visitors to euroLED 2012, we could not be more excited about the show’s potential for nextyear – our 10th birthday,” said MichelleCleaver, Birmingham Science Park’s headof euroLED.
“To build up the momentum and fuelfurther debate about the unprecedentedgrowth in the LED lighting sector, we willbe holding kicker events over the next 12months at Birmingham Science Park, withfantastic speakers who are at the forefrontof industry innovations.
“These events will also enable delegatesto pay a visit to our acclaimed Optical
Performance Centre, which is workingwith some of the biggest names in LED onresearch, testing and accreditation, as well
as supporting highly innovative startupbusinesses.”
The euroLED conference lineup for2012 included Tom van den Bussche, Eu-ropean marketing director for BridgeluxInc. in France; Dr. Heinz Seyringer, headof research collaborations at ZumtobelGroup AG in Austria; Netherlands-basedHideki Kaneguchi, deputy managing di-rector of Nichia Europe; and Dr. UlrichSteegmueller, vice president and chieftechnology officer of Osram Opto Semi-conductors GmbH of Germany.
30 Photonics Spectra August 2012
TRACKFAST
Attendees listen to speakers in the euroLED 2012 Seminar Theatre; the Institution of Lighting Professionals andthe Lighting Industry Association organized the speaker lineup. Images courtesy of euroLED.
A wide range of products was on display at the event.
Astronomers decry UK’s defunding of Hawaii telescopesHARWELL, UK — May 31 was “a sadday for British astronomy,” according toDavid Southwood, president of the RoyalAstronomical Society (RAS). That was theday the Science and Technologies Facili-ties Council (STFC) announced that itwould close — or transfer to other organi-zations — the Hawaii-based James ClerkMaxwell Telescope (JCMT) and the UKInfra-Red Telescope (UKIRT).
STFC Chief Executive John Womersley
said that the council had met two days ear-lier and decided, upon the recommenda-tion of its science board, that both tele-scopes would close if a “suitable alternateoperator” were not found. Both are on thevolcano Mauna Kea on the main island ofHawaii; UKIRT will be decommissionedin September 2013 and JCMT, in Septem-ber 2014, after it has completed the sci-ence program for the Submillimetre Com-mon User Bolometric Array 2 (SCUBA-2)
instrument. UKIRT and JCMT are bothoperated by the Joint Astronomy Centre.
“The closure of these innovative facili-ties, telescopes that continue to deliverground-breaking research ... will furtherreduce the capacity of UK astronomers tocarry out world-leading science,” South-wood said.
With a 3.8-m mirror, UKIRT is the sec-ond-largest dedicated IR telescope in theworld. Sited atop the volcano at an alti-
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tude of 4200 m, it began operation in1979. It is carrying out the Deep Sky Sur-vey, searching for objects ranging fromnearby brown dwarfs to distant quasars.
The JCMT, also on Mauna Kea, is thelargest telescope in the world dedicated tosubmillimeter radiation, between the far-IR and microwaves. The telescope saw“first light” in 1987 and is run by the UK,Canada and the Netherlands. The SCUBA-2 is mounted on JCMT and is surveyingthe galaxy and wider universe for undis-covered populations of stars and galaxies.
“We must now also commence negotia-tions with the University of Hawaii as theleaseholder of the Mauna Kea sites, andwith other potential operators of each ofthe Hawaii telescopes. If a suitable alter-nate operator is not identified for eitherHawaiian telescope, STFC will decommis-sion that telescope and restore the site asrequired by the lease,” Womersley said.
“It is sad to see plans for the end of lifeof facilities which have given such goodservice to the astronomy community andmade possible major advances in our un-derstanding of the universe we live in,”said professor Stuart Palmer, the Instituteof Physics’ interim chief executive. “Theystill offer unique capabilities, and we hopethat ways will be found to make themavailable for UK astronomers to use aslong as they are of value.”
The STFC also said that operations ofthe Isaac Newton Group of telescopes onLa Palma in the Canary Islands, primarilythe William Herschel Telescope (WHT),
will be extended until March 2015 to pro-vide time for negotiations with existingpartners, in the hope of continued accessfor UK astronomers. The WHT observesthe sky in visible light.
“Without the WHT, UK astronomerswould have been in the odd position ofbeing unable to observe the NorthernHemisphere of the sky ... at optical wave-lengths,” the RAS said. “This access isalso critical for instrument developmentand for observations that complement newradio observatories like the pan-EuropeanLOFAR [low frequency] array.”
The decision, a consequence of govern-ment cuts to the UK science budget, willresult in the loss of about 40 jobs, theRAS said.
“After consultation with the astronomi-cal community, I am pleased that STFChas found a solution that will allow UKscientists to continue to use the IsaacNewton Group, an issue of concern for theRAS since 2007,” Southwood said. “Atthe moment, UK astronomers and spacescientists are amongst the most productivein the world and are second only to theUnited States in the number of citations ofour scientific papers.”
The UKIRT board said in a statementthat it was “very disappointed” in theSTFC’s decision “and [we] do not under-stand why the opportunity to continue sci-entific operations for another year hasbeen rejected, particularly as the opera-tions costs that would fall on STFC arevery low.” With contributions from inter-
national customers and the shared opera-tion with JCMT, the additional fundingneeded to operate UKIRT to September2014 is less than £100,000 (about$155,000), the board said.
“UKIRT’s productivity is at an all-timehigh, with the number of papers publishedin 2011 amongst the highest of any tele-scope in the world,” the board added. “Wehope that another organization will comeforward to take over operation of UKIRTand continue its heritage of outstanding,world-leading astronomy from one of thevery best observing locations on Earth.”
“As we move to step up involvement inprojects like the Square Kilometre Arrayand the European Extremely Large Tele-scope, the UK needs to remain a credibleinternational partner with a decent re-search infrastructure. Reduction in accessto astronomical observatories and in re-search funding more generally puts this at risk,” Southwood said.
“We hope that UK astronomers will beable to play a full part in these new pro-grams,” Palmer said.
The STFC is an independent, nonde-partmental public body of the Departmentfor Business, Innovation and Skills. TheSTFC’s predecessor council for astronomyagreed in 2001 to wind down operationsof the island telescopes as part of UK ac-cession to the European Southern Obser-vatory organization. Membership in ESOgives UK astronomers access to world-class telescopes in Chile.
In 2009, a prioritization of the STFCscience program recommended the closureof both sites by the end of 2012; however,the STFC extended the life of both groupsof telescopes to complete existing scienceprograms and commissioned a review ofthe future of both telescopes by its scienceboard, an independent scientific advisorybody. The STFC council’s decision wasbased on that advice.
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UKIRT, the second-largest dedicated infrared telescope in the world, is slated to close in 2013. Courtesy of the Joint Astronomy Centre.
BUSINESSBRIEFS
Mobius Granted Patent Fiber laser producerMobius Photonics Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.,has received US Patent No. 8,160,113 for itspulse burst laser system. The optical system canproduce user-specific bursts of laser pulses tai-lored in pulse heights, widths and spacings. Itdoes not require an acousto-optic modulator orinternal Q-switch. It is suitable for applicationsthat require a simple laser system that producesconsistent, high-quality pulse bursts that can becustomized for processes including laser directimaging and solar panel processing. With the
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technology, the company is able to offer laser systems with flexibility for a broad range of applications.
AFL Expands in Europe AFL of Spartanburg, S.C., has announced theNetherlands-based Systicom Solutions as an authorized distributor of itsspecialty fiber optic cable products. The partnership enables AFL to extendits presence into additional European countries and provide fiber optic so-lutions to enhance communications. AFL’s fiber optic cable products in-clude the SkyWrap, all-dielectric self-supporting cable and optical groundwires manufactured in its Swindon, UK, facility. Systicom Solutions offersFTTx cables and accessories, specialized telecom cables and solution-based engineering to serve the oil and gas, power utilities and renewableenergies industries.
SPIE Backs SMART Jobs Bill A new bill that would enable foreign stu-dents educated in US graduate programs to stay in the country and workhas gained the support of SPIE. The Sustaining our Most Advanced Re-searchers and Technology (SMART) Jobs Act of 2012 would create a visacategory for students in science, technology, engineering and mathemat-ics fields. The category would allow students who declare their intent toobtain work in their fields to remain in the US for a certain amount oftime to seek employment and apply for a green card.
Teledyne Acquiring Companies Teledyne RD Instruments Inc., a sub-sidiary of Teledyne Technologies Inc. of Thousand Oaks, Calif., has en-tered an agreement to acquire BlueView Technologies Inc. of Seattle. Theclosing of the transaction, which is subject to various conditions includingthe approval of BlueView’s shareholders, was expected to be completedaround July 2. BlueView provides compact high-resolution acoustic imag-ing and measurement solutions for underwater vision, monitoring, survey,detection and navigation. Teledyne Technologies supplies instrumentation,digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics,and engineered systems.
Teledyne Technologies and LeCroy Corp. of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., havejointly announced their entrance into a definitive agreement stating that awholly owned subsidiary of Teledyne will acquire all outstanding commonshares of LeCroy for $14.30 per share, payable in cash.
NSF Award Creates Partnership The National Science Foundationawarded $3.3 million to the University of Texas at El Paso and the Univer-sity of California, Santa Barbara, to establish a long-term partnership formaterials science and engineering research, including solar energy. Theaward is part of the national Partnerships for Research and Education inMaterials (PREM) grant program. The UTEP-UCSB PREM program broadensthe participation and advanced degree attainment of underrepresentedminorities, primarily Hispanic students, in materials science and engineer-ing. It will enable students to participate in research internships at thepartner university.
Süss MicroTec Takes Over Company Süss MicroTec AG of Garching,Germany, has increased its shareholding in Suss MicroOptics SA ofNeuchâtel, Switzerland, from 85 to 100 percent. Suss MicroOptics manu-factures refractive and diffractive micro-optics. Süss MicroTec suppliesequipment and process solutions for microstructuring in the semiconductorindustry and related markets.
Light Brigade Names VP The Light Brigade, a fiber optic trainingprovider, has appointed Dario De Paolis as its vice president and generalmanager, responsible for strategic development and management ofworldwide operations. He has served as director of worldwide sales of aFluke Corp. division of Danaher Corp. and was the business unit managerand director of sales operations for AMPAC. Most recently, he worked atPartMiner Worldwide Inc. as vice president of worldwide component sales.The Light Brigade of Tukwila, Wash., offers public and custom classes onfiber optic design, maintenance and testing, and produces educationalDVDs and CDs.
Edmund Named Finalist Robert Edmund is a finalist in the Ernst &Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 program based in the GreaterPhiladelphia region, according to optical components provider EdmundOptics of Barrington, N.J. The award recognizes entrepreneurs whodemonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in the areas of innova-tion, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses
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and communities. Under his leadership, Ed-mund Optics has expanded to more than 700employees worldwide, servicing more than200,000 global customers through 12 regionaloffices. Regional award winners are eligible forconsideration for the Ernst & Young NationalEntrepreneur of the Year program. The winnerwill be announced in November.
Genia Photonics Granted Loan Genia Pho-tonics of Laval, Quebec, Canada, has received$300,000 in financial assistance from the
Canadian government to acquire state-of-the-art production equipment and laboratory mate-rials. The repayable funding was awardedunder the Canada Economic Development’sbusiness and regional growth program andcould result in the creation of 22 jobs by 2014.The equipment and laboratory facilities will en-able the company to meet growing customerdemand and to further accelerate research anddevelopment it has initiated over the past twoyears. Genia Photonics supplies pulse-program-mable and multifunctional fiber-based lasers
for security, biomedical, pharmaceutical and chemical applications.
Laser Operations Names CEO Laser veteranDr. Vittorio Fossati-Bellani is the new CEO ofQPC laser manufacturer Laser Operations LLCof Sylmar, Calif. He had served as chief market-ing officer since the beginning of the year. Previously, he held executive positions at Dilasand Pyrophotonics and also managed his ownlaser and photonics consulting business. He also spent 27 years at Coherent, where he wasSemiconductor Group president and chief marketing officer. Robert Miller also has joinedthe company as senior director of manufactur-ing. He previously worked at Melles-Griot, Advanced Bionics and Coherent.
LightPath Hires Hayden IR Optical compo-nents manufacturer LightPath Technologies Inc.of Orlando, Fla., has retained Hayden IR to develop and implement a strategic investor relations program to raise its visibility and tostrengthen its relationship with the investmentcommunity. “LightPath is at an exciting inflec-tion point, and we believe the timing is appro-priate to increase investor awareness and dis-cuss our opportunities with new investors,” saidJim Gaynor, president and CEO. “The technol-ogy and manufacturing expertise we’ve devel-oped has given us an exciting platform forgrowth for our core precision-molded opticsbusiness as well as a compelling, incrementalopportunity in the infrared space.”
Nufern Wins Military Contracts Fiber lasermanufacturer Nufern of East Granby, Conn.,has been awarded multiple contracts on com-petitively bid programs to build 46 >1-kW fiberamplifiers in support of multiple governmentlaser efforts. The amplifiers, to be deliveredlater this year, will be used to develop and testcoherent optical phased array and spectrallycombined array technologies that enable scala-ble laser weapons 10 times lighter and morecompact than existing high-power chemicallaser systems. The systems could perform laserradar, target designation, tactical and self-protection tasks.
Raytheon Executives Honored Mark E. Russelland James A. Horkovich of Raytheon Co., whichis based in Waltham, Mass., were honored as2012 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fellows at an awards galaMay 9 in Washington. Russell is the company’svice president of engineering, technology andmission assurance. Horkovich is the chief engi-neer of the collaborative weapons project in the advanced missiles and unmanned systemsproduct line at Raytheon Missile Systems. Thehonor is given to members of the institute whohave made notable contributions to the arts,sciences or the technology of aeronautics andastronautics.
Biolase Responds to Patent Suit CAO GroupInc. of West Jordan, Utah, has filed a lawsuitagainst dental laser company Biolase Technol-ogy Inc. of Irvine, Calif., in US District Court, alleging patent infringement involving Biolase’sezlase diode laser, the California company an-nounced. The only claimed novelty of the single
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asserted patent pertains to how excessive fiber is stored and does not relate to the actual design, features or functions of the ezlase laser. TheBiolase ezlase is used by dentists and hygienists to whiten teeth and hasreceived FDA 510(k) clearance for pain relief and for therapy in sportsmedicine, orthopedics, physical therapy and chiropractic medicine appli-cations. “With close to 300 issued and pending patents, we are very confident in the breadth of our intellectual property portfolio and in thestrength of our laser technology,” said Federico Pignatelli, chairman andCEO of Biolase. “We will fully and vigorously defend Biolase against anyallegations levied by CAO which are without merit.”
Evans Joins Artemis Optical Chris Evans has been appointed salesmanager for defense and aerospace at Artemis Optical Ltd. of Plympton,UK. He previously worked at Meggitt Aerospace Ltd., Honeywell Defenceand Lucas Girling. Artemis Optical manufactures thin-film coatings andsubassembly solutions for the defense and aerospace markets.
UK Companies Win Queen’s Award Three photonics companies havereceived the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, the UK’s most coveted awardfor business success. Edinburgh Instruments of Livingston, a photonics andelectro-optical scientific instrumentation manufacturer, was honored for itssustained international growth. The solid-state laser manufacturer LaserQuantum of Cheshire was recognized for providing equipment and serv-ices to the aerospace, medicine, research and biomedical sectors. Fianiumof Southampton received the award in the innovation category for its de-velopment of the WhiteLase supercontinuum fiber laser. The awards aremade each year by the queen on the advice of the prime minister and anadvisory committee.
Korean Unit Begins Operations Lithography light source manufacturerGigaphoton Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary Gigaphoton Korea Inc. beganbusiness operations May 1. The subsidiary will promote new business op-portunities with Korean device manufacturers and will reinforce its techni-cal support system for existing customers of Gigaphoton DUV lasers forsemiconductor lithography systems. Based in Oyama, Japan, Gigaphotonpreviously operated its excimer laser business through Ushio Korea Inc., awholly owned subsidiary of Ushio Inc. Gigaphoton is now a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Komatsu.
MicroVision Secures $5M Investment Projection display maker Micro-Vision Inc. of Redmond, Wash., has received a $5 million equity invest-ment from private investors. The deal was expected to close by May 29.The investors had agreed to purchase 3.4 million shares of MicroVision’scommon stock at $1.49 a share and warrants to purchase a total of 1 mil-lion shares of the company’s common stock at a price of $2.12 a share,exercisable until three years from issuance. Shmuel Farhi, the lead in-vestor and sole owner of Farhi Holdings Inc., said that MicroVision is wellpositioned to take advantage of the emerging pico projection market.
Next Lighting Names Katona VP of Products Dr. Thomas Katona isthe new vice president of products for solid-state lighting provider NextLighting Corp. of San Francisco. He will be responsible for all aspects ofproduct marketing and engineering. He has more than 13 years of expe-rience in the LED industry. He previously served in management roles inengineering, marketing and business development at Soraa Inc.
Northrop Grumman Fires Up Laser Northrop Grumman Corp. of FallsChurch, Va., test-fired the first product in its next-generation Firestrikefamily of high-energy solid-state lasers. Conducted at the company’s Redondo Beach, Calif., laboratory, the tests demonstrated that the lasercould burn through the skin and critical components of a target droneused to simulate anti-ship cruise missile threats to US Navy ships. Thelaser, dubbed Gamma, uses “slab” architecture similar to that of the com-pany’s previous high-power lasers. The company said that the Gamma’sreal advancement is in the laser’s packaging and ruggedization for oper-ations in real-world military platforms.
Sensors Selected for Airborne Apps Headwall Photonics’ Hyperspecshort-wavelength infrared (SWIR) sensors have been selected for airborneapplications after the successful completion of rigorous performance test-ing at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington. The sensorsare designed for high spectral and spatial imaging in harsh operating environments such as those required for airborne missions. They are
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optimized for high signal-to-noise performanceand light-weighted for airborne deployment.The Fitchburg, Mass., company said that its hyperspectral sensor platform has played a keyrole at NRL in various applications.
Synopsys Acquires RSoft Electronic design automation company Synopsys Inc. of MountainView, Calif., has acquired the privately heldRSoft Design Group Inc. of Ossining, N.Y., aphotonics design and simulation software pro-vider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will combine Synopsys’ imagingand illumination design products with RSoft’sphotonics design products to provide a morecomplete set of optical solutions to the compa-nies’ current customers and to support newtechnologies, applications and markets as theyemerge. RSoft’s software is used to design andoptimize optical telecommunications compo-nents and to simulate complete telecommunica-tions systems and networks.
Boston Micromachines Awarded ContractBoston Micromachines Corp. of Cambridge,Mass., has received a $750,000 Phase II NASASmall Business Innovation Research contract tosupport NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration program.The company produces deformable mirrorsbased on microelectromechanical systems(MEMS). The contract will expand upon the re-sults – increased device reliability – achieved inthe company’s first phase project. Under the
new grant, the company will construct a 2048actuator, a continuous face sheet MEMS mirrorwith enhanced reliability to handle the harshenvironments in which space-based imaging instruments operate. Deformable mirrors correctresidual aberrations that space telescope opticscannot address.
Emcore Secures Contract Emcore Corp. of Albuquerque, N.M., has been awarded a solarpanel manufacturing contract from NASA’s JetPropulsion Laboratory for its Soil Moisture ActivePassive (SMAP) mission, which is targeted forlaunch in 2014. Solar panels populated withEmcore’s ZTJ triple-injection solar cells willpower the SMAP spacecraft and instrument suitein near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit for the duration of the mission. The SMAP mission willprovide global measurements of soil moistureand its freeze/thaw state. Emcore provides compound semiconductor-based componentsand subsystems for the fiber optic and solarpower markets.
Rusnano Invests in NeoPhotonics Photonicintegrated circuit manufacturer NeoPhotonicsCorp. of San Jose, Calif., has received a $39.8million investment from sovereign investmentfirm Rusnano of Moscow in a private placementtransaction. Rusnano acquired 4.97 millionshares of NeoPhotonics at $8 each. NeoPhoton-ics is planning to build R&D facilities in Russiaand will use a portion of the net proceeds from
the common stock share sales for general cor-porate purposes and to establish design andproduction capabilities there. Targeted comple-tion date for the expansion is July 31, 2014.
Lasertel Buys MBE System To increase itslaser diode manufacturing capacity, Lasertel Inc.of Tucson, Ariz., has purchased a second high-throughput, multiwafer GEN200 Edge molecularbeam epitaxy (MBE) production system fromVeeco Instruments Inc. of Plainview, N.Y. Thesystem offers advanced automation, preciseprocess control and in situ process monitoring.Lasertel is enhancing the manufacturing capa-bilities of its high-volume semiconductor laserfabrication and packaging facility in Tucson tosupport the increased demand for its currentclass-defining product portfolio. The expansionis expected to be completed by the fourth quar-ter of this year. Lasertel is a subsidiary of SelexGalileo Inc., a Finmeccanica company.
Desai Joins Kotura Team Silicon photonicscompany Kotura Inc. of Monterey Park, Calif.,has named Samir Desai as vice president ofbusiness development. He will oversee expan-sion of business activities in the growing opticalinterconnects market and will be instrumental in expanding the company’s partnerships andstrategic relationships in the data center andcomputing markets. Desai previously was re-sponsible for optics global business develop-ment at TE Connectivity.
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GreenLight
37Photonics Spectra August 2012
Sometimes green saves green – by accidentEnvironmentally friendly solutions can have a positive financial impact. In this case study, recycling polishing slurry is shown to be good for the environment and the bottom line.
BY MICHAEL NASELARIS AND ZACHARY HOBBSSYDOR OPTICS
Just because a project is green doesn’tmean it started out that way. Our storybegins with the price explosion of rare
earths, namely cerium oxide, which startedin September 2010 as a result of the newlyimposed Chinese export quota restrictingavailability. Cerium oxide is used by opti-cal component manufacturers around theworld in very fine abrasive slurry to polishoptics.
This export quota resulted in frequentprice increases over a six-month period –with constant uncertainties about the de-livery of product. Companies were giventwo days’ notice before arrival of the ma-terial in the US. China supplies more than95 percent of the world’s rare earths, sothe quota meant that prices increasedabout 600 percent over a short period.
Optics cannot be manufactured withoutcerium oxide. Many optics companies inthe US and around the globe started wor-rying about the availability of the materialand started to purchase as much as possi-ble in advance for inventory. Some suppli-ers were putting their customers on alloca-tion based on annual purchases. Our com-pany was lucky; as a large consumer ofthis material, we had options to makelarger purchases when it was available,thereby avoiding any downtime. We wentso far as to purchase material by the ton.
Still, we use approximately 750 kg permonth, and with restricted availability, westarted looking at alternate suppliers, hoping to purchase even more, butachieved minimal success. By accident,we met Mark Mayton of Flint Creek Resources, a local chemical engineer who was consulting with a local company
making a cerium additive for diesel fuel.The necessity for continuous product warranted investigating the option of recycling or reusing the spent ceriumoxide. Our thoughts were on reducingcosts and ensuring constant supply, butwe welcomed the byproducts of recyclingsuch as reduced waste stream.
Particles do not break down signifi-cantly during the polishing process, mak-ing them a strong candidate for recycling.Over time, polishing slurry becomes filledwith glass swarf, along with trace amountsof polishing pad material and tooling ma-terial. Removing these contaminants al-lows for easy reuse of the cerium oxideparticles.
We started the process by collectingwhat we easily could off the machines.
The spent slurry was allowed to settle forabout a week, and then the concentratedsolids were removed for separation ofcerium from glass swarf and other con-taminants. Once separated, the cerium wasremixed with dispersion and suspensionadditives, and the recycled slurry was re-turned in reusable containers at a concen-tration of 50 percent solids.
Although our savings initially wereminimal, we needed to overcome some ofthe challenges of collecting more of ourspent cerium oxide. We originally cap-tured about 15 percent for recycling, butnow we are above 40 percent – with ef-forts in place to increase this to 80 per-cent. We examined other methods of col-lecting even more used slurry, such asscraping the slurry trough in the polishing
Cerium oxide is a vital ingredient in the optics polishing process. As availability declines, recycling this rare earth can help optical component manufacturers save money. Photos taken by Managing Editor Laura S. Marshall at Sydor Optics.
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machines, where polishing slurry tends tosettle. We evaluated the amount lost indrag-out, when parts and tooling are re-moved from the machine after processing.We also discovered better solutions forcollecting more slurry from the machinecleaning process at end-of-day shutdown.
Now that we are more conscientiousabout what enters the waste stream, the re-cycling process has resulted in consider-ably less waste, lower cost and no notice-able difference in performance with regardto stock removal, surface roughness orpolishing times. With the reduced wastecame a reduction in charges for added
municipal water treatment of our wastestream. Our goals now are to reduce dis-charge to drain to as close to zero as pos-sible while improving recycling efficiencyto greater than 80 percent.
So far, thanks to this recycling process,we have seen a 10 percent cost savingsper month; recycled slurry currentlymakes up 20 percent of the slurry used inour polishing operations, and 50 percentof our polishing operations now use recy-cled slurry.
Since we started this process, back inearly 2011, we have been contacted byabout a half-dozen other companies in the
US and Europe that either wanted to recy-cle our slurry for us or buy it outright.
Our initial results were published andpresented in March at the Center for Ad-vanced Materials Processing (ClarksonUniversity)/Center for Advanced CeramicTechnology (Alfred University) First JointSpring Symposium in Rochester, N.Y. l
Meet the authorsMichael Naselaris is general manager at SydorOptics; email: [email protected]. ZacharyHobbs is a process engineer at Sydor; email:[email protected]. For more information aboutFlint Creek Resources, contact Mark Mayton [email protected].
GreenLight
Artificial leaf could charge up developing world
The first practical artificial leaf – com-posed of silicon, nickel and cobalt –can convert sunlight into chemical
fuel, a milestone in the drive for sustain-able energy that mimics the process ofphotosynthesis.
Unlike earlier devices, which used
costly ingredients, the MIT-developed artificial leaf is made from inexpensivematerials and uses low-cost engineeringand manufacturing processes.
A sunlight collector sandwiched be-tween two films generates oxygen and hydrogen gas. When dropped into a jar
of water in the sunlight, the device bub-bles away, releasing hydrogen that can be used in fuel cells to make electricity.
The self-contained units are an attrac-tive solution for making fuel for electricityin remote places and the developingworld, but current designs have relied on
812_Greenlight_Layout 1 7/19/12 12:52 PM Page 38
rare-earth metals such as platinum, andmanufacturing processes are costly.
To make these devices more widelyavailable, Daniel G. Nocera of MIT re-placed the hydrogen-producing platinumcatalyst with a less-expensive nickel-molybdenum-zinc compound. A cobaltfilm that generates oxygen gas was placedon the other side of the leaf.
“Considering that it is the 6 billion non-legacy users [who] are driving the enor-mous increase in energy demand by mid-
century, a research target of deliveringsolar energy to the poor with discoveriessuch as the artificial leaf provides globalsociety its most direct path to a sustainableenergy future,” Nocera said.
The research, which received supportfrom the National Science Foundation andthe Chesonis Family Foundation, appearsin the American Chemical Society journalAccounts of Chemical Research (doi: 10.1021/ar2003013). l
39
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
New dyes seek to replace silicon for solar
S ilicon solar cells could be replacedby flexible, lightweight and inexpen-sive dyes, if scientists in Finland
achieve their goal.Jongyun Moon and colleagues at the
University of Turku have developed dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) that theybelieve could become a practical replace-ment for silicon-based cells because theyare cheaper and easier to manufacture.
This would provide effective solar-energy-harvesting technologies to developingcountries that cannot rely on governmentsubsidies for funding.
When sunlight shines on a layer ofwhite pigment titanium oxide on a DSC,the solar energy displaces electrons from a layer beneath the coating, causing a flowof charge within the DSC and creating anelectric current.
DSCs are less fragile than silicon solarcells and do not have to be manufacturedin a cleanroom; however, they also are notas efficient, so much development workremains to be done before they dethronesilicon.
The research was published in the International Journal of Technology,Policy and Management (doi: 10.1504/IJTPM. 2012.046925). l
MIT researchers have created the first practical arti-ficial leaf. Courtesy of American Chemical Society.
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41Photonics Spectra August 2012
Mergers &Acquisitions
the list issue
Wherethe
JobsAre Recruitment
Strategies
HOTPhotonics
SPOTS
EssentialReading
FUTUREGame-
Changers
In Your Own WordsReader Poll Results
PositionYourself forSUCCESS
x
Page 49
Page 53Page 42
Page 52
Page 46 Page 48
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August 2012
Schooland Major
Page 44
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42 Photonics Spectra August 2012
The first South African to earn a doc-torate in biophotonics was recognizedby her nation’s leader, an honor that
took her by surprise. A physics professorfrom the University of Sydney in Australiaworks with light to speed up the Internet.Two US high school students used photon-ics to demonstrate their understanding ofbiotechnology.
These and more comprise our secondannual “Ones to Watch” list, a roundup of young researchers, education up-and-comers, and respected movers and shakersin the world of photonics. Although itwould be impossible to capture in this listevery winner of every relevant award, we believe these individuals embody thefuture of photonics.
Biophotonics ResearchDr. Patience MthunziAs the lone biophotonics researcher inSouth Africa, Mthunzi has been awardedthe Order of Mapungubwe for herachievement in the field as well as hercontribution to scientific research in SouthAfrica and internationally. She will pushherself even further, she says, just for thelove of science. She holds a master’s degree in biochemistry from the Univer-sity of Johannesburg and a doctoral degreein physics, in the area of biophotonics andoptical tweezers, from the University ofSt. Andrews in Scotland.
Mthunzi, a senior scientist researcher at the Council for Scientific and IndustrialResearch’s National Laser Centre in Preto-ria, set up a fully functional cell-culture fa-cility there before pursuing her doctorate.
She is now in charge of single-cell and/or molecule biophotonics projects at thecenter. Her work includes conducting ex-periments in optical cell sorting in fluid-flow and fluid-flow-free microsamplechambers via the use of novel optical land-scapes. Her expertise encompasses photo-transfection studies using femtosecondlaser pulses for gene delivery into mam-malian cells and pluripotent stem cells.
Congressional FellowDr. Chris B. SchafferThe Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE together have selected Schaffer as theArthur H. Guenther Congressional Fellowfor 2012-13. In this role, Schaffer, an associate professor in the biomedical engineering department at Cornell Univer-sity in Ithaca, N.Y., will learn about theprocess of policymaking while providingthe perspective of a professional scientistand educator to congressional leaders.
Schaffer’s current laboratory work in-volves the investigation of cellular dynam-ics in neurological disease through optics-based studies in animal models. He alsoworks to develop optical methods forquantitative imaging and targeted manipu-lation of cells and other biological struc-tures applied in live animal studies.
He is particularly interested in helpingreform science education at grade-school-through-college levels, both to increasethe numbers of women and underrepre-sented minorities in the field and to helpstudents better understand science as acreative process for discovery.
High-Speed InternetDr. Benjamin J. EggletonA professor of physics at the University of Sydney, Eggleton won the AustralianMuseum’s 2011 Eureka Prize for Leader-ship in Science. The optical physicist isthe founding director of the Australian Re-search Council’s Centre of Excellence forUltrahigh-Bandwidth Devices for OpticalSystems (CUDOS). He and the CUDOSteam created the country’s first photonicchip, which, by slowing the speed of light,can operate 1000 times faster than the tra-ditional electronic technology. It has bro-ken the world record for optical switching,
Ones to Watch
Dr. Patience Mthunzi, a biophotonics researcher, was honored at South Africa’s National Orders ceremony.Courtesy of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
Dr. Chris B. Schaffer is an Arthur H. Guenther Congressional Fellow for 2012-2013.
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43Photonics Spectra August 2012
Dr. Benjamin J. Eggleton is the founding director ofthe Australian Research Council’s Centre of Excel-lence for Ultrahigh-Bandwidth Devices for OpticalSystems (CUDOS). Courtesy of CUDOS.
according to the museum. The terabyte-per-second processing technology couldhave a transformative effect in manyareas, including medicine, defense, educa-tion and international business. It alreadyhas applications in energy-efficient com-munications, quantum information pro-cessing, environmental monitoring and astronomy.
“Professor Eggleton’s research has con-sistently pushed the limits of optical tech-nologies in his experimental and theoreti-cal contributions,” said Frank Howarth,director of the Australian Museum. “Atthe same time, his strong leadership of theCUDOS multidisciplinary research centerhas seen it become a leading force on theinternational scientific stage, and meanshis impact on Australian science will befelt for many years to come.”
Women in OpticsJennifer KruschwitzKruschwitz has been named 2012 Tech-nology Woman of the Year by DigitalRochester, a group of professionals andcompanies working to strengthen the technology business community in theRochester, N.Y., area. The award is de-signed to recognize and make visible theachievements of women in high-technol-ogy fields.
Kruschwitz, an independent consultantin optical interference coatings, earned herbachelor’s and master’s degrees in opticsat the University of Rochester and isstudying for her doctoral degree in colorscience at Rochester Institute of Technol-ogy. Currently an adjunct professor to theUniversity of Rochester and the Universityof Arizona, she is a senior member ofOSA and the International Society of Opti-cal Engineers. Among her accomplish-ments, she has published several journalarticles and holds two patents and twopatents pending in the areas of laser cin-ema display and color. As chairwoman ofthe Women of the OSA, she profiled sev-eral “up-and-coming” female graduate stu-dents for the group’s newsletter.
Versatile LaserDr. Roberto MorandottiA flexible, ultrasmall, ultrafast laser featured prominently in the April issue ofNature Communications represents thework of Morandotti and his internationalteam at INRS University’s Energy, Materi-als and Telecommunications ResearchCentre in Varennes, Quebec.
“We advanced a new approach to de-velop a laser that boasts as yet unparal-leled stability and precision, allowing usto conduct new experiments and open upnew realms of research,” Morandotti said,adding that applications may include biol-ogy, medicine, materials processing, infor-mation technology, high-speed communi-cations and metrology. The researchers’approach included integrating a resonatorand a microring in the laser component,facilitating control of the light source.
Morandotti, who received the 2011E.W.R. Steaci Memorial Fellowship – aprestigious award for young scientists inCanada – is a fellow of OSA and SPIE.
An author of numerous scientific papers,his research interests include linear andnonlinear properties of various structuresfor integrated optics.
Young University TeacherDr. Christian KoosA photonics professor at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Koos hasreceived the 2012 Alfried Krupp Prize forYoung University Teachers.
Koos’ work focuses on hybrid integra-tion methods to combine silicon wave-guides with organic materials to reducethe Internet’s energy consumption.
Jennifer Kruschwitz was honored as 2012 Technol-ogy Woman of the Year by Digital Rochester.
Dr. Roberto Morandotti and his team developed a flexible, ultrasmall, ultrafast laser that is expected to have applications in a variety of fields. Courtesy of Christian Fleury.
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44 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Ones to Watch
Before accepting the professorship forphotonic communication technology atKIT, he headed the nanotechnology andmetrology divisions within the CorporateResearch and Technology Department ofCarl Zeiss AG. He has more than 100
cited publications and has applied formore than 15 patents. In June 2011, hewas granted a €1.5 million (about $1.8million) European Research Council starting grant from the European Union.
Atom-Light InteractionsDr. Jean DalibardOSA has honored Dalibard with the 2012Max Born Award for his contributions tothe field of physical optics, particularly forhis theoretical work in atom-light interac-tions, including the investigation of newlaser cooling systems, and for experimen-tal work on the optical manipulation ofcold atoms and quantum gases. Dalibard isdirector of research at CNRS (NationalCenter for Scientific Research) and worksin the Kastler Brossel Laboratory at theÉcole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He isalso a professor at École Polytechnique.The award is in honor of Max Born, anearly and distinguished physicist who con-tributed significantly to the field of optics.
This year, Dalibard also received theAmerican Physical Society’s Davisson-
Dr. Christian Koos of Karlsruhe Institute of Technol-ogy received the 2012 Alfried Krupp Prize forYoung University Teachers.
Germer Prize in Atomic or SurfacePhysics. In 2009, the European Academyof Sciences awarded him the Blaise PascalMedal in Physics “for his outstanding andinfluential work in atomic physics andquantum optics.”
Research ExcellenceMatthew N. BarnumAnthony J. ViscontiThe OSA Foundation has recognized Bar-num, a 2012 graduate of the University ofArizona in Tucson, and Visconti, a gradu-ate student at the University of Rochester,as recipients of the 2012 Robert S. HilbertMemorial Travel Grant. The grant was established by Optical Research Associ-ates (ORA), now the Optical SolutionsGroup at Synopsys Inc., as a memorial to Hilbert, ORA’s former president andCEO. The grant recognizes the researchexcellence of graduate students in opticalengineering, lens design and/or illumina-tion design.
Barnum and Visconti presented papersduring topical meetings at OSA’s Imaging
University programs with “photonics” in their names are arather new development – a reflection of the growing impor-tance of photonics not only to science but to the world – so
we decided to poll our readers and find out what subjects they stud-ied at university that led them into the field of photonics.
School: Autonomous University of BarcelonaMajor: Computer Science (hopefully, MSc in photonics in 2012)Jordi Alonso @jordialonso (Twitter)
School: University of St. Andrews Major: Physics BScSchool: University of St. Andrews and Heriot-Watt University Major: Photonics MScSchool: University College London and Cambridge University Major: MRes in Photonic SystemsSchool: UCL Major: PhDLee Cairns @leecairnsy (Twitter)
School: University of UtahMajor: Physics (Experimental and Theoretical) and Electrical Engineering(mostly optical and microwave engineering)Patricia Comeford (Facebook)
School: Monroe Community CollegeMajor: Electro-Optics David DiPonzio @ddiponzio (Twitter)
School: Temple UniversityMajor: Laser & Photon Engineering, and Mass MediaMatthew Falcon (Facebook)
School: Imperial College LondonMajor: Everything from rods and cones to Q-switchedlasers and lens designAntony Hurden @GroundedInnov (Twitter)
School: Defence Institute of Advanced Technology in IndiaMajor: Laser and Electro-OpticsRudrakant M. Sollapur (Facebook)
School: NIT Warangal, IndiaMajor: Photonics in collegeRajeev Ranjan @rajee_vran (Twitter)
Reader Poll: School & Major
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45
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
Ones to Watch
For a list of photonics books you maynever get to read, see Peregrinationson p. XX.
Dr. Jean Dalibard received the 2012 Max Born Award for his work in physical optics.
and Applied Optics Congress, held June24-28 in Monterey, Calif. Barnum pre-sented “Experimental Comparison ofComputational Approaches to Focus In-variant Optical Systems” at the Computa-tional Optical Sensing and Imaging Meet-ing. Visconti presented “Large DiameterRadial Gradient-Index Lenses Fabricatedby Ion Exchange” at the Imaging Systemsand Applications Meeting.
Optics Under 35Dr. Hatice AltugThe Adolph Lomb Medal recognizes an honoree’s noteworthy contributions tooptics before reaching the age of 35. OSAhas recognized Boston University assistantprofessor Altug for her breakthrough con-tributions on integrated optical nano bio -sensor and nanospectroscopy technologiesbased on nanoplasmonics, nanofluidicsand novel nanofabrication. Altug was alsoon our “Ones to Watch” list in 2011 forbeing named the IEEE Photonics SocietyYoung Investigator. Among her other re-cent honors is a 2011 Presidential EarlyCareer Award for Scientists and Engineers.
OptogeneticsJohn Edward SolderThe National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA) component of the National Insti-tutes of Health has awarded first place inits Addiction Science Award this year toSolder, 18, a senior at Staples High Schoolin Westport, Conn. His project, “Optoge-netic Interrogation of Prefrontal CortexDopamine D1 Receptor-Containing Neu-rons as a Technique to Restore Timing: A Novel Approach to Treat Prefrontal Disorders,” specifically controlled behav-ioral timing in mice genetically modifiedto activate dopamine neurons in the pre-
frontal cortex, a region involved in higher-order functions such as impulsivity andself-control, in response to a light stimulus.
Solder’s research provides another example of the power of optogenetics tomodify neural activity in discrete brainareas at will and brings us a step closer to the development of novel therapies for a wide range of psychiatric disorders, according to the NIDA. He plans to attendYale University in the fall.
Young Minds in BiotechJulia Abelsky, Sandy Springs, Ga.Nathan Kondamuri, Dyer, Ind.Two winners of the recent US NationalBioGENEius Challenge were recognizedfor projects that included photonics. TheUS National and International BioGENE-ius Challenges are competitions for highschool students who demonstrate an exem-plary understanding of biotechnologythrough science research projects.
Abelsky’s research project was titled“Analysis of Cylindrically Confined Diblock Copolymers and Gold Nanocom-posites for Metamaterials.”
Kondamuri focused his research on “A Novel Porphyrin Based Solar CellCombining Coordinated Metal Ion Substi-tution and Self-Assembly to Broaden theAbsorption Spectrum to Efficiently CreateSustainable Electrical Energy.”
The US winners advanced to the inter-national competition. Kondamuri, a stu-dent at Munster High School in Indiana,won the International BioGENEius Chal-lenge, held in June in Boston.
Caren B. [email protected]
Karen A. [email protected]
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Photonics Spectra August 2012
Mergers and Acquisitions
Mergers and AcquisitionsBring New Opportunities
It has been another eventful year for thephotonics industry as companies con-tinue to seek new opportunities, fresh
markets and complementary technologiesto add to their portfolios. The weakeningof overall consumer and industry marketsin Europe and Asia is pushing smallercompanies to consider buyouts, and largerbusinesses to exploit cash-strapped buttechnology-rich firms. Merger and acquisi-tion activity likely will continue so long asthe Eurozone (slowly) processes its ongo-ing financial crises, and as US and Chinaconsumers wait and worry over Europe’scondition.
As with last year, there were so manyrelevant mergers and acquisitions this
year that we can’t print all the details inthe annual List Issue; instead, we arehappy to present the full details atwww.photonics.com/a51437.
Please note that the activities listed hereare presented in the order in which wefirst reported on them and may not reflectthe actual closing dates.
Lynn [email protected]
JUNE 2011GigOptix Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., agreedto acquire Endwave Corp. of San Jose.
Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solu-tions Inc. of Plano, Texas, was acquired
Fundamentals of Photonics by BahaaE.A. Saleh and Marvin C. Teich
National Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan(LinkedIn)
Light-Matter Interaction: Atoms andMolecules in External Fields and Nonlinear Optics by Wendell T. Hill IIIand Chi H. Lee
National Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)
Optical Waveguide Theory by AllanW. Snyder and John D. Love
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan (LinkedIn)
Introduction to Fourier Opticsby Joseph W. Goodman
@Photonique (Twitter)Brandon Rodenburg @punk_physicist (Twitter)Isaia “Shelly” Glaser (LinkedIn)
Nonlinear Optics by Robert W. BoydNational Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)Aakash Patel (LinkedIn)
Optics by Eugene HechtPaul Akin (LinkedIn)Erron Gleicher (LinkedIn)
Lasers by Anthony E. SiegmanLee Cairns @leecairnsy
Reader Poll: Essential Reading
W e reached out to Photonics Spectra readers on various social media platformsto see what they consider the must-read books for people who work with photonics and optics, and the resulting list should provide a good background
for those who want to enter the field – or for those who want to brush up a little.“I teach several optics/photonics courses,” said Isaia “Shelly” Glaser of Holon Institute
of Technology in Israel, “and my choice would include in my list two books by Joe Goodman, both highly recommended. Introduction to Fourier Optics: This is the best introduction I can think of to diffraction theory. The first edition was excellent, but thethird is even better. Absolute must! Statistical Optics: Not an easy book, but possibly thebest introduction to phenomena such as speckle and coherence theory, which every seriouspractitioner in the field must study and understand.
“Of course, no library on optics will be complete without the bible of optics, [Max]Born and [Emil] Wolf’s Principles of Optics (now in its eighth edition). Anyone who managed to read it all and digest it can be called a true expert in optics.”
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47Photonics Spectra August 2012
Mergers and Acquisitions
Advanced Laser Materials (ALM) LLCof Temple, Texas, became majority share-holder in Integra of Round Rock, Texas.
LMI Technologies of Delta, British Columbia, was bought by Augusta Technologie AG of Munich.
JDSU of Milpitas, Calif., acquired intel-lectual property and other assets fromQuantaSol Ltd. of Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK.
Newport Corp. acquired Jerusalem-basedOphir Optronics Ltd. and High Q Tech-nologies GmbH of Rankweil, Austria.
JML Optical Industries Inc. ofRochester, N.Y., was acquired and recapi-talized by BB&T Capital Partners, BobBicksler and existing management.
Halma plc of Amersham, UK, acquired
Horsham, Pa.-based Avo Photonics Inc.
Flir Systems Inc. of Portland, Ore., acquired Ventura, Calif.-based Aerius Photonics LLC.
GE Lighting of East Cleveland, Ohio, acquired Lightech of Tel Aviv, Israel.
AUGUST 2011DuPont of Wilmington, Del., acquired Innovalight Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif.
NDC Infrared Engineering of Irwindale,Calif., acquired the IRM Group of Alleur,Belgium.
Cree Inc. of Durham, N.C., purchasedRuud Lighting Inc. of Racine, Wis.
SEPTEMBER 2011In Massachusetts, Waltham-basedPerkinElmer Inc. announced it would
by austriamicrosystems AG of Unter-premstaetten, Austria, and renamed AMS-TAOS USA Inc.
Radiant Imaging Inc. and Zemax Devel-opment Corp. merged and combined theiroperations in Redmond, Wash.
OmniVision Technologies Inc. of SantaClara, Calif., purchased the wafer-levellens production operations of VisEra Technologies Co. Ltd. of Hsinchu City,Taiwan, its joint venture with TaiwanSemiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
JULY 2011GE Healthcare, a unit of General ElectricCo. based in Chalfont St. Giles, UK, acquired Applied Precision Inc. of Issaquah, Wash.
II-VI Inc. of Saxonburg, Pa., acquiredAegis Lightwave Inc. of Woburn, Mass.
The Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems Handbook, edited by DavidL. Shumaker and Joseph S. Accetta
Russell Lombardo (LinkedIn)
Principles of Optics: ElectromagneticTheory of Propagation, Interferenceand Diffraction of Light by Max Born,Emil Wolf, A.B. Bhatia and P.C. Clemmow
Isaia “Shelly” Glaser (LinkedIn)
Molecular Quantum Electrodynamicsby D.P. Craig and T. Thirunamachan-dran
National Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)
Photonic Crystals: Molding the Flow of Light by John D. Joannopoulos,Steven G. Johnson, Joshua N. Winnand Robert D. Meade
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan (LinkedIn)
Understanding Lasers by Jeff HechtPaul Akin (LinkedIn)
Introduction to Modern Optics byGrant R. Fowles
Jonathan Friedman (LinkedIn)
Math Methods for Optical Physics and Engineering by Gregory J. Gbur
(submitted, tongue-in-cheek, by the author, @drskyskull)
Optical Physics by Ariel Lipson,Stephen G. Lipson and Henry Lipson
National Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)
Photonics: Optical Electronics in Modern Communications by AmmonYariv
Lee Cairns @leecairnsyVasudevan Lakshminarayanan (LinkedIn)
Aberrations of Optical Systemsby W.T. Welford
Bruce O’Connor (LinkedIn)
RCA Electro-Optics Handbookfrom RCA Corp.
Russell Lombardo (LinkedIn)
Understanding Fiber Opticsby Jeff Hecht
Paul Akin (LinkedIn)
Statistical Optics by Joseph W. Goodman
Isaia “Shelly” Glaser (LinkedIn)
“[Optics by Eugene Hecht] is a wonderful undergraduate text that
will contain all the pertinent info from all the texts listed above.
Books on nonlinear optics, waveguides, solid-state detectors or
crystals are going to be advanced with narrow focus on those
topics. I have not personally seen a solid-state textbook that
contained any information on optics whatsoever.”– Erron Gleicher (LinkedIn)
For a list of photonics books youmay never get to read, see Peregrinations on p. 82.
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48 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Mergers and Acquisitions
acquire Caliper Life Sciences Inc. of Hopkinton.
Bruker Corp. of Billerica, Mass., acquired Center for Tribology Inc. ofCampbell, Calif.
Navitar Life Sciences Inc. of Rochester,N.Y., agreed to acquire Modulation Optics of Glen Cove, N.Y.
In Waltham, Mass., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced the acquisitionof Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc. of Tempe,Ariz.
United Technologies Corp. of Hartford,Conn., purchased Goodrich Corp. of Charlotte, N.C.
PI (Physik Instrumente) of Karlsruhe, Germany, acquired a majority share inmiCos GmbH of Eschbach.
San Jose-based NeoPhotonics Corp.acquired Santur Corp. of Fremont, Calif.
OCTOBER 2011Eurazeo Croissance acquired 3S Photon-ics of Nozay, France, later renaming it3SP Group.
Materion Corp. of Mayfield Heights,Ohio, announced the acquisition of Shanghai-based EIS Optics Ltd.
NOVEMBER 2011Optim LLC of Sturbridge, Mass., acquired Precision Endoscopic Technolo-gies, formerly MAX Endoscopy of Mentor, Ohio.
Oxford Instruments plc of Abingdon,UK, acquired Platinum Medical ImagingLLC of Deerfield Beach, Fla., and Vaca-ville, Calif.
In Hillsboro, Ore., FEI Inc. bought TillPhotonics GmbH of Munich from a German consortium led by Toptica Photonics AG.
DECEMBER 2011New York-based L-3 Communicationsannounced the acquisition of theNorthampton, Mass.-based KollmorgenElectro-Optical unit of Danaher Corp.,which it renamed L-3 KEO.
Affymetrix Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.,signed an agreement to acquire eBio-science Inc. of San Diego.
Datalogic SpA of Bologna, Italy, acquired Minneapolis-based PPT Vision Inc.
JANUARY 2012Leica Microsystems of Wetzlar, Germany,purchased the microscopy and histopath -ology business of Labindia InstrumentsPvt. Ltd. of Delhi, India.
Lumen Dynamics Group Inc. of Missis-sauga, Ontario, has sold its Burleigh lineto Thorlabs Inc. of Newton, N.J.
JDSU acquired Dyaptive Systems of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Incom Inc. of Charlton, Mass., announcedthe acquisition of Vancouver, Wash.-basedParadigm Optics.
AMS Technologies AG, Munich acquiredSweden-based Azpect Photonics AB.
FEI Co. announced the acquisition ofAspex Corp. of Delmont, Pa.
FEBRUARY 20123S Photonics Group announced the acquisition of Manlight SAS of Lannion,France, with the help of new majorityowner Eurazeo Croissance of Paris.
Ametek Inc. of Berwyn, Pa., acquiredTechnical Manufacturing Corp. ofPeabody, Mass.
Radiant Zemax LLC of Redmond,Wash., acquired its UK-based distributor,Optima Research Ltd.
MARCH 2012Excelitas Technologies of Waltham,Mass., acquired Carsan Engineering ofGolden, Colo.
Reader Poll: Recruitment Strategies
Job fairs and other technical events can be good venues at which to recruit future photonics specialists. Photo taken at SPIE Defense, Security & Sensing 2010 by Managing Editor Laura S. Marshall.
Because the field is so vast, it can be difficult to explain to outsiders just what photon-ics is – and why it’s so important. So we polled readers to find out what they wouldsay to convince a friend, family member or stranger to study optics or photonics.
Big lasers.Jason McDonald @Physicsman (Twitter)
In optics and photonics, the opportunitiesto serve humanity are unlimited.
National Society of Black Physicists @BlackPhysicists (Twitter)
In Spain, with deep crisis, photonics in-dustries are growing with double digits. I’ve been back to school 20 years later foran MSc.
Jordi Alonso @jordialonso (Twitter)
It’s going to rule the technology in theworld.
Rajeev Ranjan @rajee_vran (Twitter)
I [have worked] for more than 20 years fora photonics company, and every day you’ll receive something new, especially in thecurrent transition state from traditional to LED business.
Roland Hüttinger (Facebook)
Well, someone told me I didn’t knowenough about optics for a project – thatconvinced me to study it!http://ow.ly/bqQL1
Optical Research Associates @OpticalResearch (Twitter)
In what other profession would puttinglasers on sharks be considered work?!
Lee Cairns @leecairnsy (Twitter)
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49Photonics Spectra August 2012
Photonics Hot Spots
Optics Valley FranceHeadquarters: PalaiseauServes: FranceFounded: 1999Members include: Renaud Lasers,Acces Vision, Thales Optronique.www.opticsvalley.org
KAPID – Korea Association forPhotonics Industry DevelopmentHeadquarters: GwangjuServes: South KoreaFounded: 2000Members include: 3i, Coset Inc.,Symphony Energy Co.www.kapid.org
Arizona Optics Industry AssociationHeadquarters: TucsonServes: Arizona’s “Optics Valley”Founded: 1992Members include: Lowell Observa-tory, Zygo Corp., Kyocera Solar, NPPhotonics Inc.www.aoia.org
POPsud – OPTITECHeadquarters: MarseilleServes: Southern FranceFounded: 2000Members include: Cilas, Horiba,Centre de Physique Théorique del’Ecole Polytechniquewww.popsud.org
Optoelectronics Industry andTechnology Development Association (OITDA)Headquarters: TokyoServes: JapanFounded: 1980Members include: Sumitomo ElectricIndustries Ltd., Toshiba Corp., NECCorp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp.www.oitda.or.jp
Ontario Photonics Industry Network (inactive)Headquarters: OttawaServed: Ontario province in CanadaMembers included: University of Ottawa Centre for Research in
The Largest Photonics Regions in the World
Fans of the science and industry of photonics are joiners, not loners. Usually becauseof the influence of one or two giants of industry or renowned academic institutions,clusters of like-minded enterprises sprout like mushrooms over particular geographi-
cal regions. Here we present the largest, best-represented areas of photonics expertise –judged mainly by the sheer number of contributing companies and institutions within a definable region.
Masimo Corp. of Irvine, Calif., acquiredall the assets of Spire SemiconductorLLC of Hudson, N.H., and will operate itas Masimo Semiconductor Inc.
In California, Oclaro Inc. of San Jose purchased Opnext Inc. of Fremont.
APRIL 2012Bruker Corp. acquired Belgium-basedSkyScan NV and renamed it Bruker microCT NV.
Idex Corp. of Lake Forest, Ill., acquiredPrecision Photonics Corp. of Boulder,Colo.
Newport Corp. purchased ILX Light-wave Corp. of Bozeman, Mont.
JAI Inc. acquired TVI Vision Oy ofHelsinki.
MAY 2012Digital Optics Corp. of San Jose, Calif.,agreed to acquire the camera module manufacturing brand and assets of Flex-tronics International Ltd. of Singapore.
Thorlabs Inc. acquired Idesta QuantumElectronics’ Octavius line of ultrafastlasers and pulse-characterization products.
PI (Physik Instrumente) LP furthered itstakeover of miCos GmbH by assuming the latter’s US sales, distribution and servicing operations and renaming the segment Micronix USA.
Synopsys Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.,completed the acquisition of RSoft DesignGroup Inc. of Ossining, N.Y.
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50 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Photonics Institutions
Every corner of the world, it seems, isinvolved with photonics-related re-search. Organizing all of the expertise
is a daunting task, and no single academicor commercial entity even tries to be thebearer of all knowledge in the field.
Still, some institutions stand out for thebreadth and depth of their offerings: dis-seminating hundreds of research papers,holding multiple patents and spinning offa multitude of new companies with signif-icant new photonics technologies andtechniques to share. This list presentssome of the best examples of photonics institutions in the world, all of which haveexhibited a steady stream of activity overthe past decade.
Max-Born-Institut für NichtlineareOptik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie(MBI)/Institute for Nonlinear Opticsand Short-Time SpectroscopyBerlinwww.mbi-berlin.deAreas of expertise include: nonlinear optics; spectroscopy; ultrafast processes
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – QuantumElectronics and Photonics DivisionBoulder, Coloradowww.nist.govAreas of expertise include: advanced materials; optical properties of materials;semiconductors; sensors
University of Rochester Institute of OpticsRochester, New Yorkwww.optics.rochester.eduAreas of expertise include: biomedicaloptics; fibers and optical communication;image science and systems
CREOL | The College of Optics & Photonics at the University of Central FloridaOrlando, Floridawww.creol.ucf.eduAreas of expertise include: lasers; fiberoptics; semiconductor and integrated photonics; nonlinear and quantum optics;imaging; sensing; display
Fraunhofer-Institut für LasertechnikILT/Fraunhofer Institute for LaserTechnologyAachen, Germanywww.ilt.fraunhofer.deAreas of expertise include: laser optics;materials processing; medical technology/biophotonics; metrology; extreme-ultraviolet technology
Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL)/Lyon Institute of NanotechnologyLyon, Franceinl.cnrs.frAreas of expertise include: nanotechnol-ogy, including photonics and photovoltaics
Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica/Center for Optics ResearchLeón, Mexicowww.cio.mxAreas of expertise include: metrology;optical design; IR sensors; colorimetry
Institut de Ciències Fotòniques(ICFO)/Institute of Photonic SciencesCastelldefels, Spainwww.icfo.esAreas of expertise include: biophotonics;quantum optics; nonlinear optics; nano-optics
University of Arizona College of Optical SciencesTucson, Arizonawww.optics.arizona.eduAreas of expertise include: fiber optics;remote sensing; optoelectronics; quantumoptics; optical design; optical engineeringand testing
Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna Instytut Optoelektroniki/Military University of Technology – Institute of OptoelectronicsWarsaw, Polandwww.ioe.wat.edu.plAreas of expertise include: laser physics;spectroscopy; laser-matter interactions
Lynn [email protected]
Photonics Institutions Flourish Around the World
Photonics, Optiwave Systems Inc.,Group IV Semiconductor.NB: Although the OPIN suspendedoperations recently, its 110+ member companies and institutionsremain vital to the region.
Optical Valley of ChinaHeadquarters: WuhanServes: ChinaFounded: 2000Members include: Yangtze OpticalFibre and Cable Co. Ltd., HuagongLaser Engineering Co. Ltd.,HuaZhong University of Science andTechnology.www.ovcexpo.com.cn
South of England Photonics Network (SEPNET)Headquarters: Southampton, England
Serves: Southern UKFounded: 1999; shuttered in 2001;restarted in 2007Members include: Fianium Ltd., Bentham Instruments Ltd.www.sepnet.net
New York Photonics IndustryAssociationHeadquarters: RochesterServes: New York – includesRochester Regional Photonics GroupMembers include: Bristol InstrumentsInc., Cornell University Center forMaterials Research, G-S Plastic Optics, Universal Photonics Inc.www.newyorkphotonics.org
OpTec-Berlin-BrandenburgHeadquarters: BerlinServes: Berlin-Brandenburg region of Germany
Founded: 2000Members include: Bruker NanoGmbH, Holoeye Photonics AG, Optronik Berlin GmbH, TEC Microsystems AG.www.optecbb.de
Honorable mentions:Taipei, Taiwan; Singapore; Thuringia,Germany; Scotland; Switzerland; the Aquitaine region of France; andthe Bavaria region in Germany.
Lynn [email protected]
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Where the Jobs Are
BY HOWARD RUDZINSKYLOUIS RUDZINSKY ASSOCIATES
In the recent recession’s early days, pho-tonics was affected in all segments: sci-entific, industrial, medical, defense, tele-
com, OEM. And the problem compoundeditself when an employee of a commercialphotonics company was laid off. That em-ployee and family – because of a lack ofincome and the high costs of Cobra healthinsurance – often had to postpone electiveprocedures including lasik and cosmeticlaser surgery, or minimally invasive proce-dures using some form of an optical scope(endoscope, arthroscope). This also af-fected the companies that manufacturedthose lasers and instruments as well astheir engineers and suppliers.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan likelysoftened the impact, as it seemed thatcommercial nondefense companies in photonics and optics were hit harder.Some photonics people employed by non-defense companies migrated to the defensesector. As the wars continue to wind downand defense spending is being frozen inmany areas, defense contractors have beenlaying off more people than nondefensecompanies.
As the economy has grown over thepast three years, so has demand for com-mercial products, which means that thedemand for employees is rising, too –commercial companies are hiring. So themigration now will go in the other direc-tion, back toward commercial nondefenseorganizations. This is particularly true inoptics and photonics. With orders for opti-cal components and lasers from majoraerospace companies diminishing – orcontracts canceled – companies that relyheavily on those markets will suffer.
One of my good clients, a precision op-tics and coatings manufacturer, was almostat $50 million in sales two years ago. Thisyear, it could be a $25 million to $30 mil-lion company. Who among us doesn’thave friends applying their photonics expertise to the defense community? The answer is none. We all do.
But major aerospace companies havehad significant reductions over the past 12 to 18 months, with some accelerationin the past six. The US Department of
Defense has committed to $350 billion in cuts over the next 10 years, and thisnumber could and probably will grow. My view is that, with a few exceptions,defense will not be a growth area in opticsand photonics until at least after the nextpresidential election.
However, even within defense there are a few bright spots, and these have photonics connections. For example, un-manned vehicles, including airborne andunderwater, are used for sensing andsometimes weapons delivery. They areequipped with photonics-based imaging,laser, fiber optic sensing, control, guid-ance, targeting and reconnaissance sys-tems. Military technology trends are moving toward less expensive unmannedplatforms, and companies doing this workhave jobs. Homeland security continues tobe a strong area, and these same kinds ofsensor systems – for border control or materials detection and analysis – willcontinue to be in demand. The US mightnot be as active in waging a war, but we
Photonics Spectra August 201252
In today’s recovering economic climate, the outlook for jobs in photonics, optics and related disciplines is generally more favorable than it has been and is showing signs of continuing improvement, according to one longtime recruiter for the industry.
Figure 1. Private payroll employment has grown for 27 months. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
HOTTEST EMPLOYMENT SECTORSIn Photonics
Manufacturing
Energy
Medicine
Entertainment
4444
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will be ever vigilant looking for threatsdomestically and worldwide.
So this is recoveryAs with many industries or disciplines,
photonics and optics don’t feel completelyrecovered, do they? Ten-plus years afterthe dramatic expansion in photonics, fueled by the telecom bubble, those of uswho enjoyed those heady times wonderwhen the recovery will really kick in.
The answer is that it probably willnever feel like the previous photonics ex-pansion. When will unemployment dropbelow 8, then 7 and 6 percent as the econ-omy picks up steam and moves towardfull employment again? For many, notsoon enough. However, if you have beenpersonally affected by this recession, asmany of us have and continue to be, knowthat the economy is growing again.
“The United States went through itslongest and, by most measures, worst eco-nomic recession since the Great Depres-sion between December 2007 and June2009,” according to the Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities (see Figure 1). Bymost accounts, the “recovery” began inJune 2009. Since that time the economyhas grown private payroll employment for27 straight months.
This is good news for everyone, includ-ing those of us who work in photonics-related areas. Not so fast, however – theeconomy must add 100,000 to 150,000jobs per month just to keep up with the
53Photonics Spectra August 2012
Position Yourself for Success
Whether you are a new gradu-ate or an experienced pro-fessional displaced for reasons
beyond your control, if you are out ofthe workforce, there are things youcan do, strategies you can employ, toenter or re-enter the labor pool. Howdo you position yourself? How do youthink of yourself? What are your core,secondary or peripheral skills? What ac-complishments make you proudest?Hold those thoughts for a minute.
If you feel that your skills haven’t keptpace, take a course to improve them.In any downturn, those who last longerbefore a layoff and find a chair whenthe music stops are often able to wearmore hats because they are more mul-tidisciplined with a wide array of toolsto draw on. If you are an optical engi-neer who understands mechanics,take an optomechanical engineeringcourse, or learn Solidworks or an-other CAD program. In the past year,I have seen more openings for opto-mechanical engineers than I can re-member. These skills were and are inshort supply.
Being a company resource in the lean
manufacturing area helps you surviveand prosper. Take a Six Sigma courseand start the process to being a certi-fied Green or Black Belt. Take an elec-tronics course or pick up a software lan-guage such as C or C++, .Net, C sharp,Labview or Matlab for test or instrumentinterfacing. Increasingly, optical in-struments are software-driven, so soft-ware skills help. Think about it thisway: During down times, companiesoften cut deeply, creating a braindrain, and they run shorthanded untilthey are confident that business will pickup. If you survive reductions becauseof your versatility, you are better posi-tioned for future career growth.
First and foremost, your résumé is atool, a promotional piece, a salesbrochure. It doesn’t work for all posi-tions and is best thought of as a toolin the tool chest or an arrow in yourquiver. It is a living, breathing, dy-namic – not static – document. I havehelped hundreds of professionals im-prove this most important door-open-ing document. Engineers and scien-tists often don’t like to talk aboutthemselves in a boastful, self-promot-
ing way. But although being modest isfine for your face-to-face interview, itwill not work for your résumé.
For many, the traditional reverse-chronological résumé doesn’t work aswell as it once did. If a prospectiveemployer has a preconceived notionof people who work at company “X,”you can get labeled by the companieswhere you work (or worked), even if youdon’t fit that profile. In the candidate-empowered dynamic, we want to drivethe prospective employer’s perceptionof you, not let the employer take thewheel. A functional résumé that high-lights your “basket” of skills and yoursignificant accomplishments often ismore appropriate than a recitation ofyour experience in a time line.
How do you go about finding thatjob that has eluded you to date? Youhave a profile on LinkedIn and you’veposted your résumé on Monster orCareerbuilder or a photonics-relatedjob board – and not enough seems tobe happening. Maybe the only peoplecalling you are recruiters like me.
Continued on page 56
Figure 2. The unemployment rate is dropping again in all sectors. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and National Bureau of Economic Research.
812Jobs_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:11 PM Page 53
growth in population. So when you see the monthly jobs report, greater than150,000 jobs is OK, but, really, more than200,000 jobs should be added in a monthto help cut into the jobs we lost. The economy lost between 6 and 8 millionjobs (or more) in the recession, and recentaccounts say that more than 4 million jobshave been created during the recovery. So, accounting for both population growthand replacing lost jobs, we might need 4
million to 6 million new jobs.And that is going to take some time.
“The economy would have to create anaverage of 207,000 jobs each month forthe next two years just to return to the De-cember 2007 level of employment – andeven more to restore full employment,since the population and potential laborforce are now larger,” according to theCenter on Budget and Policy Priorities(see Figure 2).
For those of us working in optics andphotonics, this is our fifth recession since1980. And this recession has felt the worstto many of us.
That is our landscape, but it isn’t thewhole picture by any means. Take a lookat Figures 3 and 4, courtesy of FergusCalderwood at Indeed.com. What is im-
54 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Jobs Outlook
Figure 3. Optics-related jobs appear to be trending toward overall growth. Courtesy of Indeed.com.
Laser-related jobs are on a general upswing. Here,Rina Mouen works in the collimator area at IPGPhotonics in Oxford, Mass. Photo by PhotonicsSpectra Managing Editor Laura S. Marshall.
812Jobs_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:11 PM Page 54
portant to notice about these two charts,which simply look at the number of jobscaptured by Indeed.com that have eitherthe word “optics” or “laser” in them, is the trend line from post-2009 to the pres-ent. The slope of the curve is positive for a sustained period of more than two years.
This is encouraging to me and shouldbe encouraging to everyone working inphotonics.
Job growth has lagged somewhat be-hind the recovery, but remember that em-ployment is a lagging, not leading, indica-tor. It is getting better. People are hiring.Keep this in mind.
Where the jobs areSo where are the jobs, and where do we
go from here?We’ll see continuing growth in commer-
cial photonics and optics companies as theeconomy continues to recover, but let’sdig into this a little more deeply. As allsegments of the industry recover, some
areas merit further analysis, especially theuses of optics and photonics as enablingtechnologies in manufacturing.
One bright spot in the economy hasbeen in manufacturing, believe it or not.The use of advanced manufacturing, in-
cluding “lean” techniques, has become agrowth area in all companies. Companiesthat implement lean manufacturing prac-tices strive to expend resources only in thepursuit of adding value for customers,working to remove waste in all processes.
56 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Jobs Outlook
What can you do to empower yourselfonline?
The first thing you should considerdoing is making your public profileprivate. Why, you ask? Won’t that limitmy exposure? The answer, in a word,is no. Corporate and recruitment firmssuch as mine use keyword searches tofind attributes in your résumé or on-line profile that are of interest to them.Less scrupulous recruiters won’t botherto tell you that they have pulled your ré-sumé off the web and have sent it toa company. You’ll never know unlesstheir client is interested in you.
You, on the other hand, might alreadyhave sent in your résumé to that com-pany directly, and now it is in the sameplace multiple times. This is not agood reflection on you the candidate.The employer asks, “Doesn’t this can-didate know who has his/her résuméand what they are doing with it?”
If you make your profile anonymous and your résumé “blind,” without yourname and contact information, some-one actually has to contact you beforedoing anything with your résumé. If someone is unwilling to send youan email prior to doing somethingwith your résumé, do you really want to work with that person or his/herfirm?
Next, if you make it past the gate-keeper and someone in a companywants to talk to you about an oppor-tunity and asks what else you have going on, always reply that you have options. Never act desperate, even if you are. I don’t care if you havegone a year without an interview andyou are truly desperate – you do haveoptions. You might have sent a ré-sumé to a company (or a few) andare waiting to hear back: That is anoption. You might be networking withformer colleagues at their new com-panies: That is an option. Remember,there is psychology at play in this process.Often, as in life, employers don’t wantsomeone whom no one else wants.
As far as networking goes, sure,you should be on LinkedIn. You shouldfind one or two recruiters who under-stand what you do, what your skillsare, have placed people with your back-ground, and then work with them. I don’twant to work with candidates whohave sent their résumés to 10 otherrecruiters; it never works out. If some-one gives you his or her time on thephone – offers you advice – that is some-one with whom you want to stay in touchand with whom you want to try towork, either now or in the future. Findsomeone who has a longer-term per-
spective on you and your career.If you are a new graduate, many of
these techniques apply to you as well.Those who are flexible about workingin manufacturing, test, quality, sales andfield service – not just engineeringand R&D – will find this flexibility re-warded. Present your skills, not just alist of your courses. Summer, co-op orinternship experiences that are relevantshould appear on your résumé.
Whether you are a new or experi-enced prospective employee, remem-ber to think of yourself as an appliedproblem solver, and remember that you are a potential guest (employee)who might be invited to a party (hiredby a company): You bring a present,a basket of goodies to the party (yourexperience, skills, accomplishments);you put that basket on the table andtake out a relevant goody (presentyour background) for the party giver.For different employers, you present dif-ferent goodies.
Tailor your delivery to your audi-ence. Have a positive mental attitudeand a firm handshake. Do your home-work about the prospective employer,and when the interview is over, lookthe hiring manager in the eye andask, “When can I start?”
Continued from page 53
Figure 4. Jobs in laser-related areas also show overall growth trends. Courtesy of Indeed.com.
812Jobs_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:11 PM Page 56
More and more companies engaged in optics and photonics manufacturing areapplying lean processes to engineering and to service-driven divisions. Compa-nies engaged in developing automatedtest, positioning and advanced manufactur-ing – for example, multiaxis laser-basedmachining equipment – are all part of thegrowth in advanced lean manufacturing.Can you build it, test it, make it faster?Often, optical and photonics technologiescan enable these things to happen better,quicker and more accurately. This is agrowth area.
Energy development, exploration andproduction are major growth areas. Pho-tonics plays a role in exploration and sens-ing as well as in development and manu-facturing. This is another growth area.
Baby boomers and everyone else willneed more and more medical care, and specialized technologies that include ad-vanced imaging such as optical coherencetomography and minimally invasive surgi-cal or diagnostic hardware/instrumentationwill be in greater demand. We are a vainsociety, so cosmetic surgery applications,including many laser-based treatments forophthalmology or dermatological care, are
on the rise and will continue to increase.All of these need engineers to research,develop, test, manufacture, service andsell systems.
We also are an entertainment-driven society; new display and imaging compo-nents – both hardware and software – areall increasingly in demand. Think of the
game systems that use optics to recognizeyour movements, or displays with higherresolution than high-definition coming out on tablets, phones and laptops – eventhe backup camera on your car. Opticaland optoelectronic components and assem-blies enable all of these. These are growthareas too.
Photonic and/or optoelectronic devices,including those with fiber optic compo-nents, are increasing in all aspects of ourlives, from telecom to all the areas previ-ously mentioned. Optoelectronics are vitaland enable some photovoltaics, and ofcourse alternative energy. Although solaruse has increased, the solar, wind, waverevolution hasn’t overtaken fossil fuelsyet, but they will find increasing applica-tion. And there are jobs here as well.
Meet the authorHoward Rudzinsky is president of LouisRudzinsky Associates. He has provided contin-gency and retained search, recruitment andplacement services to the photonics communitynationwide since 1984. His company also provides talent acquisition and organizationalconsulting, and career counseling, contract recruitment and research services; email:[email protected]; web: www.lra.com.
57Photonics Spectra August 2012
Jobs Outlook
Jobs in optics are trending toward growth. Here,Joseph Picardo works with a polishing machine at Sydor Optics in Rochester, N.Y. Photo by Photon-ics Spectra Managing Editor Laura S. Marshall.
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True Invisibility Remains Elusive
BY GARY BOAS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Invisibility cloaks have long captured ourimaginations, whether actual cloaks imbued with magical powers – see the
Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter se-ries – or the conceptually related “cloak-ing technology” found everywhere in sci-ence fiction and high-tech action movies.
The latter often come with a perfectlyplausible, if not yet perfectly realized, ex-planation of how they might work. To wit:Large arrays of tiny cameras on one sideof an object (or person, or Aston MartinVanquish with a British secret agent at thewheel) project images of what is behindthe object onto large arrays of tiny dis-plays on the other side. Thus, an observerwill effectively see through the thing inquestion.
As is so often the case, though, fact isstranger – and far more interesting – thanfiction. In recent years, researchers haveoutlined and even demonstrated invisibil-ity schemes using metamaterials: artificialmaterials whose electromagnetic andstructural characteristics enable the engi-neering of optical properties. Thus, theyhave shown that they can cancel light di-rected at an object or guide it around theobject, literally making it “dis-appear” toan observer.
Now investigators are reporting otherapproaches to invisibility. Using a commonmaterial called calcite, for example, andtaking advantage of anisotropy and direc-tional differences in optical properties, re-searchers at MIT in Cambridge and theSingapore-MIT Alliance for Research andTechnology (SMART) Centre have shownthat, under certain conditions, they can ren-der objects as tall as 2 mm invisible (see:“Putting More Than Glass in the Toolbox,”Photonics Spectra, January 2012, p. 78).
At about the same time, researchersfrom the University of Birmingham, with
colleagues at Imperial College Londonand Technical University of Denmark, reported a calcite-based invisibility cloakthat could hide an object centimeters in dimension.
Here’s the thing, though. There is a dif-ference between making a rolled-up stickynote disappear – as in the SMART Centrestudy – and, say, rendering a personwholly invisible. To begin with, GeorgeBarbastathis, Singapore research professorof optics and MIT mechanical engineeringprofessor, said recently in an email, all ofthe experimentally developed cloaks thusfar are two-dimensional. In demonstra-tions of the cloak described here, thesticky note is invisible when viewing it head-on but not from the side.
Also, the scaling of the geometry indi-cates that cloaking a larger object such asa person would require “a rather impracti-cally large piece of calcite.”
“We still have some way to go beforethese things become commonplace forchildren to play hide-and-seek or the mili-tary to hide tanks and airplanes,” Barbas-tathis said.
He believes that the value of cloaking isthat, in attempting to create cloaks, welearn much about “new and clever ways”to manipulate light. For example, BaileZhang, another researcher involved in thestudy, has since moved to Nanyang Tech-nological University in Singapore, wherehe is pursuing a kind of waveguide-bend-ing adapter, based on the same idea, thathas demonstrably lower scattering lossthan previous designs.
“To a layperson, this sounds rather eso-teric or dull,” Barbastathis said, “but it canhave tremendous potential impact in inte-grated optical devices in practice.”
This is a refrain one hears often in talk-ing about cloaking technology. As much aswe – and, it should be said, the military –would like to see true invisibility cloaks, itis not clear whether such cloaks will everhave practical use in any widespread ap-plication. That said, the concepts are valu-able in and of themselves and can be ap-plied in a variety of other ways.
Last year, Paul Kinsler, Martin McCalland Alberto Favaro of Imperial CollegeLondon, along with Allan Boardman of
Photonics Spectra August 201258
But research moves toward practical applications of cloaking technology.
Researchers have demonstrated an approach to invisibility that uses calcite, a common material. As with other invisibility cloaks, the approach is two-dimensional: Here, the rolled-up sticky note is visible from the side but not head-on. “Therefore, it still does not make a full Harry Potter-like cloak,” said George Barbastathis,one of the authors of the study. A host of other applications could benefit, however. Courtesy of Baile Zhang and George Barbastathis.
812_Invisibility Feat_Layout 1 7/19/12 12:50 PM Page 58
the University of Salford, also in the UK,reported a new idea based on invisibility:the space-time “event” cloak, which addsthe dimension of time. While spatialcloaks divert light around an object, thusrendering the object invisible, the space-time cloak would slow down and speed upthe illuminating photons to create a darkinterval where events can take place unde-tected.
There are many scenarios in which sucha space-time cloak could be deployed –magic shows, bank heists – but again, themore likely applications do not involvehumans or large objects of any sort. Onepossibility: signal processing. Here, thecloak could be used to create a temporarygap in a continuous data stream, and thatinterval could be used to process higherpriority data while ensuring that no evi-dence of the tampering remains.
And the idea of the space-time cloak isa significant conceptual advance in itself.“So the most important ‘application’ mayjust be in new ways of thinking aboutprocesses, leading to new ideas for de-vices and applications,” Kinsler said.
Will we ever see the sort of cloakingdevice envisioned by the military and solong embedded in the public imagination?
“Perhaps, sadly,” he added, “the adventof invisible hover tanks remains unlikely.”
This is not to say that the military won’tbenefit from invisibility cloaks – or thematerials behind them. Sir John Pendry,the Imperial College London physicistwho demonstrated the first practical invisi-bility cloak in 2006, said that, although in-visibility was the application he and col-leagues chose to showcase their new twintechnologies – metamaterials and transfor-mation optics – the technologies offer
broad applicability beyond such cloaks.Military camouflage, in the form of
radar signature faking, is one of the likelyapplications. Other possibilities includesatellite communications uses such as In-tellectual Ventures’ metamaterials surfaceantenna technology – which can contributeto communications-on-the-move applica-tions in aeronautical, maritime and landtransport markets, for example – as wellas terahertz sources and efficient lensesfor terahertz radar.
“Oddly enough, I believe that the rela-tively unsophisticated applications such as
the satcom receiver will be the first com-mercially significant ones,” Pendry said.
A hot topic, cool at the centerResearchers are beginning to look at
ways in which cloaking might be appliedelsewhere. For example, Sebastien Guen-neau and colleagues at the University of Aix-Marseille and France’s Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique(CNRS) have described an approach to“thermal cloaking” that offers a novelmeans to control heat.
Just as other invisibility cloaks guide
59Photonics Spectra August 2012
L ast year, investigators with Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany, sug-gested that arrays of invisibility cloaks could contribute to a range of applica-tions: low-interference communication, noninvasive probing, and sensing and
communication networks, among others. Now, a group at Towson (Md.) Universityand the University of Maryland in College Park have reported experimental realiza-tion of such an array.
To achieve this, the researchers coated a commercially available microlens arraywith a thin film of gold and positioned it above a flat, gold-coated sheet of glass.Light directed from the side traveled around the lenses of the array, producing acloak in the center of each. The overall effect of this was to slow down the light.
Slowed light can be put to important use. “In our opinion, the most interestingpractical application of the developed technique is in large arrays of bio/chemicalsensors,” said Vera Smolyaninova, lead author of the study, which was published inNew Journal of Physics. She added that such arrays also might offer a more precisemeans to test invisibility cloaks.
A schematic drawing of light propagation through a cloak array. Researchers say arrays of invisibility cloaks could aid in low-interference communication, noninvasive probing, and sensing and commun- ication networks. Courtesy of Vera Smolyaninova.
Invisibility cloaks and the “trapped rainbow” effect
At Imperial College London, researchers Martin McCall (left), Paul Kinsler (center) and AlbertoFavaro have outlined an approach to a space-timecloak in which entire events can be hidden fromview by slowing down and speeding up illuminatingphotons. Courtesy of Paul Kinsler.
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light around an object, the thermal cloakguides heat around an object – thus help-ing to keep the object cool. It could findapplication in electronics and somedayeven in spacecraft and solar power tech-nologies.
Although the fundamental concepts arethe same, application of those concepts required some finessing in this study be-cause it involved diffusion and not wavepropagation. “The heat equation is muchdifferent from the wave equation,” Guen-neau said. “Mathematically, the former isparabolic, the latter is elliptic,” so the be-hind-the-scenes math needed to be revis-ited to get it right.
The researchers continue to develop thethermal cloaking technique. They are col-laborating with Natalie Rolland’s group at the Institute of Microelectronics at theUniversity of Lille in France and withMartin Wegener’s group at Karlsruhe In-stitute for Technology in Germany to man-ufacture and characterize working cloaksand hope to have some thermal metamate-rials characterized by the end of the year.
Invisibility Cloaks
One possible application of invisibility cloak technology: cloaking and concentrating heat flux. This figureshows that the object in the center of the cloak (letters OSA) stays cold, while the heat diffuses elsewhere. The source of the heat is on the left-hand side and at a constant temperature of 100 °C, and the material inside the invisibility region remains cold. Courtesy of Sebastien Guenneau, Institut Fresnel, CNRS/AMU.
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IR Imaging Optics Meet Varied Needs
BY DR. AUSTIN RICHARDS, FLIR COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS
In recent years, infrared imaging technol-ogy has become widely visible in dailyAmerican life. Almost every TV-watch-
ing adult in the US has seen thermal in-frared images and video, either in rerunsof the action movie Predator or in footageof the Iraq War from thermal imagingpods mounted on military aircraft.
Ask an engineer in the photonics in-dustry what an infrared camera is, and heor she will always give you an answer –but the answers will vary quite a bit be-cause “infrared” is a broad term that peo-ple use loosely, especially in conjunctionwith the word “camera.” For example, inthe security industry, an infrared cameracan be a near-infrared device (based on a CCD or CMOS sensor) or a thermal infrared instrument (usually based on amicrobolometer sensor). The goal may be the same – e.g., to observe a scene inlow-ambient-light conditions – but thetechnology and the resulting imagery arevery different.
For the purposes of infrared imagingdiscussions, the infrared region of theelectromagnetic spectrum can be dividedinto two main wavebands: near-infraredand thermal infrared. The most significantproperties of these bands are as follows:Near-infrared cameras primarily see re-flected radiation. There must always besome ambient light present to make a pic-ture unless the scene or object is very hot,such as a fire. The sensors and the opticsare very similar to those used for visible-light imaging. NIR radiation can passthrough optical glass, enabling observationthrough windows into houses and cars.
The human eye is insensitive to NIR radiation, but you can sometimes see abright source at the shorter wavelengths,which appear as deep shades of red. NIRimages generally look similar to mono-
chrome visible-light images, althoughmany black or dark-colored surfaces willappear as much lighter shades of gray. Thewavelength range for NIR radiation is typ-ically 0.75 μm (where the human eye cuts
Photonics Spectra August 201262
Infrared camera technology spans a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with results that vary with the waveband. Although there is some overlap of applications between the different infrared subbands and associated sensor technologies, it is critical to understand the trade-offs before making a selection for a given application.
Figure 1. The visible and infrared spectrum can be broken down into subbands. IR imaging technology coversa range of the spectrum, and images vary with the waveband. Images courtesy of Flir Commercial Systems.
Figure 2. An NIR image of two people. Note that the pigments in the tops are transparent and that the vegetation looks white because of the reflectivity of chlorophyll in the NIR band.
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off) to 3 μm (where terrestrial scenes emitsubstantial radiation and the thermal IRband begins).
Thermal IR cameras primarily see emit-ted radiation. They can image terrestrialscenes in the total absence of ambient illu-mination because every object emits ther-mal IR radiation. Window glass blocksthermal IR radiation, and the human eyecan image thermal IR radiation. Thermalimages look quite different from visible-light or NIR images. Areas that are typi-cally dark and shadowy in the visible bandare often quite bright in thermal IR im-ages. For terrestrial imaging, the thermalIR wavelength range is typically from 3 to 15 μm (where Earth’s atmosphere be-comes opaque).
These are the two “superbands” of IRradiation, but we are not finished with ourcategorization. The NIR and the thermalIR bands can be further divided into sub-bands. The NIR band often is brokendown into the NIR band and the short-wavelength-infrared (SWIR) band. If thenaming conventions seem confusing andinconsistent, that’s because they are! TheNIR band is considered to be 0.75 to 1.1 μm (1.1 μm is where silicon sensorscut off), and SWIR is 1 to 3 μm. The ther-mal IR waveband is divided into the mid-wavelength-IR band (MWIR) and thelong-wavelength-IR (LWIR) band. Figure1 is a graphical representation of all thesecategories.
NIR properties, applicationsImages look similar to visible-light im-
ages, although monochrome. Colors tend
to disappear because many color pigmentsare transparent to NIR radiation. Healthyvegetation and human skin appear lightgray. Silicon sensors are used to imageNIR, and active illumination is used inlow-ambient-light situations.
The most widespread application forNIR imaging is in low-light security cam-eras, which usually have short-focal-length lenses and a ring of NIR LEDs toprovide close-range illumination. TheLEDs are hard or impossible to see withthe naked eye, so they are unobtrusive(though you can see them with cell phonecameras. Try it!).
The military uses night-vision gogglesthat work in both the visible and NIRbands. Soldiers use a number of NIR illu-mination sources in conjunction with these
devices, including laser pointers, LED il-luminators on the goggles themselves andNIR beacons to mark helicopter landingpositions. NIR imaging also is used toevaluate the health of crops and forests, toinspect textiles for defects in the weave, toexamine altered documents that have hadtext erased or obliterated, and to sort outfruits and vegetables that are bruised.
SWIR properties, applicationsIn this band, vegetation and human skin
can look very white or very black becauseof water absorption – it all depends uponthe wavelength within the SWIR band.Conventional silicon imaging sensorswon’t work in the SWIR band – the pho-ton energy is too low to stimulate the de-tectors, just as NIR radiation fails to stim-ulate the light receptors in the human eye.SWIR sensor materials are more exoticand include indium gallium arsenide, in-dium antimonide and mercury cadmiumtelluride. SWIR cameras can see throughglass, but less well up near 3 μm. Speciallasers can be used for active illuminationout to long range.
What it’s used for: SWIR radiation canreadily pass through thin paint and otherthin solid materials, as well as haze and airpollution, with minimal scattering. It canact like “x-ray vision” in these situationsand can see through these materials betterthan NIR radiation in many cases.
Many lasers used for optical fiber com-munication and military applications suchas laser rangefinders work in the SWIRband, so SWIR cameras are used to char-acterize these laser beams and see re-
63Photonics Spectra August 2012
Figure 3. A SWIR image of a man (2 to 2.5 µm)with light skin color. Water just below the skin’s sur-face absorbs SWIR radiation in this band very well.
Figure 4. In this visible-light image (left) of an oil rig at a 47-km range, the oil rig can barely be seen, but it is visible in the SWIR image (right), which wastaken at the same distance.
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flected laser spots within scenes; they alsoare used for chemical imaging – manymolecules have strong resonances in thisband, and multispectral SWIR systems canidentify materials simply by looking atthem in a multitude of bands and compar-ing the spectral signature with a databaseof known materials.
Because of this strong interaction withmolecules, especially water, SWIR imagesof everyday scenes can look quite differ-ent, depending upon which part of theSWIR band you are in. Figure 3 shows aSWIR image of a person with light skincolor. The water right under the surface ofthe skin strongly absorbs SWIR radiationin this band. Liquid water absorptionmakes the eyes and teeth look very dark as well.
SWIR radiation passes readily throughhaze and smog, which tend to scatter visi-ble light. Figure 4 shows two views of anoil rig imaged through 47 km of air with asubstantial amount of marine haze in theair path. The rig can just barely be seen inthe visible image, while the SWIR imageshows strong contrast and the presence ofa flare at the end of a long boom.
The images in Figure 4 were takenthrough fairly light haze, but when the obscurants are much thicker, a different
SWIR approach, called range-gated imag-ing (RGI), is required. This technique usesvery short pulses of laser light to illumi-nate an object that may be hidden by rain,fog, smoke or a heavy snowstorm. Theshort pulses of light are only a few bil-lionths of a second long. They reflect offan object and come back to a special cam-era that is time-synchronized to the laserpulse.
The camera is designed to have an ex-tremely fast shutter speed, and only thelight that comes back within a very narrowwindow of time (the “gate”) is recordedby the sensor. The delay between the laserpulse going out and the shutter of the camera can be adjusted by the operator tomatch the time it takes for light to go outto the object and return (“range gating”).This makes the system insensitive to lightscattered back into the camera from parti-cles or aerosols close to the system’s aper-ture. Without this, the camera would beblinded by the backscatter – just like driving with the high beams on throughheavy fog at night. The range-gated imaging technique makes the fog or otheraerosols essentially disappear becauseonly nonscattered laser photons reflectedoff the object are recorded – the so-calledballistic photons.
The results are very impressive, withthe ability to see detail that is completelyhidden to other imaging methods. SWIRradiation often is used for RGI because thedanger to exposed eyes is much less thanfor NIR laser systems as a result of thelower photon energy and the optical prop-erties of the human eye.
MWIR properties, applicationsMid-wavelength-infrared imaging sees
heat radiated from scenes. The sensorsused for MWIR imaging are made of spe-cial semiconductor materials such as in-dium antimonide and mercury cadmiumtelluride. They must be cooled to cryo-genic temperatures to operate. MWIR im-agers also can detect the absence of heat,as shown in Figure 5, a 3- to 5-μm imageof the Oxnard (Calif.) Airport. The imagewas taken about 30 min after sunset after aclear, sunny day. The image is false-col-ored, with a special color palette. The topand bottom gray levels are false-colored toshow the hottest parts of the image(shades of orange, yellow and white) andthe coldest (shades of blue). The tarmachas retained a substantial amount of resid-ual heat, except in the locations of aircraft(mostly private jets) that have sincemoved. The undersides of aircraft thathave recently landed are hot and radiateheat down on the tarmac, which warms itup. There is also reflected MWIR radia-tion. The tops of buildings and cars aresmooth metal, which reflects the coldnight sky above.
MWIR cameras are the Rolls Royces ofthermal imaging, with unparalleled per-formance and a relatively high cost.MWIR imagers see better through highhumidity air at ranges of several kilome-
64 Photonics Spectra August 2012
IR Imaging
Figure 5. MWIR image of Oxnard (Calif.) Airport from the air, false-colored with a special color palette. The top and bottom gray levels show the hottest parts of the image in orange, yellow and white; the coldest parts appear in blue shades.
Figure 6. A false-colored MWIR image of a powered-up circuit board. The difference in temperature between the red center of the big chip and the blue corner is about 2 °C.
812_FLIR IR Imaging Feat_Layout 1 7/19/12 12:49 PM Page 64
ters or more compared with LWIR sys-tems. They can see people in total dark-ness out to 15 km when equipped withsuitable long-focal-length optics. Theyalso can measure minute temperature dif-ferences on surfaces, with values as low as0.02 °C fairly easy to achieve. Figure 6shows a false-colored MWIR image of apowered-up circuit board. The temperaturedifference between the red-colored centerof the big chip and the blue-colored corneris about 2 °C.
Special MWIR cameras with internaloptical filters can image gas plumes thatare completely invisible to the human eye. This is crucial for safety inspectionsat refineries and power plants. These gas-finder cameras are tuned to the exactwavelength of absorption of a particulargas species, such as methane. The absorp-tion lines can be very strong in the MWIRband; the gas plumes often look likeclouds of black smoke pouring out of a leak.
LWIR properties, applicationsAs with MWIR imaging, LWIR imag-
ing sees heat from scenes. The imageslook different from MWIR images; thereis less contrast between areas of differenttemperature. This is related to the physicsof IR emission from materials. In theLWIR band, there is quite a bit more radiation emitted from terrestrial objectsrelative to the MWIR band, but theamount of radiation varies less with tem-perature. The ratio of long-wavelength (7 to 14 μm) to mid-wavelength (3 to 5 μm) is 75 for a 30 °C scene. Because ofthis abundance of radiation, some types of LWIR sensors do not have to be cooledto operate.
These uncooled sensors are revolution-izing the IR camera industry, with coststhat have dropped by an order of magni-tude every 10 years, and miniaturizationthat has enabled the development of com-pact handheld cameras. Uncooled camerashave limitations on lens focal length thatmake very long range surveillance imprac-tical with uncooled cameras.
Uncooled LWIR cameras are the mostcommon thermal imaging cameras on theworld market. They are widely used in se-curity and surveillance applications infixed installations, on vehicles and on un-manned aerial vehicles. Firefighters usehandheld LWIR imagers to see throughsmoke and identify hot spots that can indicate a fire burning inside a wall or behind a door.
There are several applications where
LWIR cameras are the only way to meetthe imaging objective:
• imaging through thick smoke• thermal imaging in subzero
temperatures• imaging scenes that contain the
sun or a reflection of the sunThe last situation is particularly com-
monplace, especially for cameras monitor-ing traffic on a coastal road or highway.When a visible-light scene contains thesun, the radiation from it often will over-whelm the rest of the scene, especially forparts of the scene near the sun, as is thecase at sunrise or sunset. An example isshown in Figure 7, which is a LWIR imagetaken with a microbolometer camera. You
can see the people in the foreground, but the visible reference image shows a“blown out” scene. There is no simple wayto compensate for this effect because thevisible camera optics will tend to scatterand reflect the sunlight around inside and“paint” it all over the rest of the sensor’sarea, obscuring the regions of interest.LWIR imaging is much less affected by thepresence of the sun in the scene.
Meet the authorDr. Austin Richards is a senior research scien-tist at Flir Commercial Systems; email:[email protected].
65Photonics Spectra August 2012
IR Imaging
Figure 7. Visible (left) and LWIR (right) images of an airport near sunset. The LWIR image was captured with a microbolometer camera.
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66 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Lasers, Laser Accessories & Light Sources
Custom Precision OpticsDiMaxx Technologies specializes in custom precision optics such as windows,spherical lenses, prisms, flow tubes and polished metal surfaces. We fabricatelaser-quality optics for the medical, scientific, military and biotech markets.
Materials include fused silica, BK-7, filter glasses and metals. Typical specifi-cations for fused silica substrates are surface roughness of <3 Angstroms, surface quality of 5-2 or better. Optics from 3 to 300 mm. CNC experts forhigh-accuracy machined glass components.
(530) [email protected]
Auburn, CA
BlueTune Lasers – Tune up the Blue!TOPTICA Photonics introduces the new BlueTune family of tunable diodelasers with up to 50 mW output power in the “blue” spectral region. A specialresonator design allows for high single-frequency output power, a linewidthof 1 to 2 MHz and a mode-hop-free tuning range of 20 to 50 GHz (1 to 3 nmcoarse tuning). Wavelengths are available from 370 to 517 nm, well suited for applications like laser cooling, spectroscopy, ionization, and quantum manipulation of numerous atoms and ions, including indium, gallium and uranium. Fiber coupling and stabilization electronics are optionally available.
(585) 657-6663 [email protected]
www.toptica.com
Nanopositioning Stages, Motors and Sensors, and Hexapods PI’s precision positioners, piezo actuators, flexure guided stages and capacitive sensors combine subnanometer stability with submillisecond responsiveness.
• 1- to 6-axis stages with many digital control options • Ultrasonic motors for high-speed automation • Piezo stepping linear motors for high-force, high-precision applications • Hexapods for optics alignment • Hybrid linear translation stages for long travel and nanometer precision
(508) [email protected]
Recirculating CoolersJULABO’s F Series Chiller line expanded to include the new F500 and F1000 – joining the F250. The space-saving and eco-friendly recirculating coolers are for cooling applications from �10 to 40 °C with 250- to 1000-W cooling capacity. Contact JULABO for a consultation to provide the solution for your cooling needs. (800) 458-5226
Next-Generation Excimer Laser Annealing From CoherentThe new VYPER/LB750 line beam annealing system enables volume production of low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) on large generation 6 glass panels. LTPS is the key material for high-resolution liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays for smartphones, tablet PCs and TVs.
(800) [email protected]
www.coherent.com/excimer
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67Photonics Spectra August 2012
Lasers, Laser Accessories & Light Sources
Making Life Easier for Photomultiplier UsersUsing photomultipliers is now even easier with the new HV2520 series of compact, low noise, low power HV Bases. Incorporating socket, voltage divider and HV supply, this series of HV Bases operates from low-voltage DC and is compatible with a wide range of 25mm and 30mm diameter photomultiplier types in analog, pulse counting or photon counting applications. Being very efficient, the HV Bases can support high signal currents while avoiding the heat dissipation issues associated with resistivevoltage dividers. They can also be integrated into the QL30 series of photomultiplier housings.
(800) [email protected]
www.et-enterprises.com/about-us/news
Infrared Polarizers• 5-mm aperture• High-contrast output beam• High transmittance• High power rating• Request catalog
2 µm - 14 µm
In stock for immediate delivery.
(973) [email protected]
Phase-Locked Loop Optical Chopper The C-995 phase-locked loop optical chopper provides crystal-controlled chopping rates of 4 Hz to 5 KHz using only one blade. The use of direct digital synthesis permits the rate to be set to a precision of 0.001 Hz and provides quartz crystal stability. Frequency settings may be made via front panel controls or its bidirectional RS-232 port, additionally it may be phase-locked to a user-supplied external clock. Both enclosed and open style chopper heads are available.
315-736-3624sales@terahertz
technologies.comwww.terahertz
technologies.com
High-Resolution Laser Spectrum AnalyzerThe model 721 is a unique instrument that operates as both a high-accuracywavelength meter and a high-resolution spectrum analyzer. It is for scientistsand engineers who need to know the absolute wavelength (±0.0001 nm) andthe spectral properties (2 GHz) of their CW or high-repetition-rate pulsedlasers. Operation is available from 375 nm to 12 µm.
(585) [email protected]
Deep-UV DPSS LasersMarket Tech Inc. offers a wide variety of deep-UV DPSS lasers at 213 nm, 224 nm and 266 nm. Pulsed models offer pulse energies up to 0.6 mJ at 213 nm and average powers of 300 mW at 224 nm. CW models are offered at 266 nm with up to 100-mW power output in addition to single-longitudinal-mode operation.
(831) [email protected]
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68 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Lasers, Laser Accessories & Light Sources
Wavelength Meters Encompassing Wavelengths from UV to Mid-IR With the introduction of the WS6-200 IR3, TOPTICA’s wavelength meters now cover an extremely wide wavelength range, from 192 nm to 11 µm. The ultimate precision (within ±2 MHz) and highest speed (up to 500 Hz) make our wavelength meters quick and easy to use. The unique instrumentaldesign allows for no moving parts, ensuring greater stability with no downtime. With effective high-speed measurement (up to 500 Hz) and feedback control of up to eight lasers, our wavelength meters can measuresingle-pulse, pulse, quasi-CW and CW lasers. Greater stability, better accuracy, faster measurement speeds, terrific reliability and coverage from the hard-UV to the mid-IR – TOPTICA’s wavelength meters give you everything you need and more!
(585) 657-6663 [email protected]
www.toptica.com
NanoScan Laser Beam Profiler Adds Enhanced User InterfaceOphir Photonics, the global leader in precision laser measurement, introduces Photon’s NanoScan v2 software. NanoScan, a NIST-calibrated laser beam profiler, uses moving slits to measure beam sizes from microns to centimeters at beam powers from microwatts to kilowatts, with little to no attenuation. The latest version adds an enhanced GUI with support for the Microsoft ribbon toolbar and support for Windows 7 32-/64-bit.
(866) [email protected]
www.ophiropt.com/photonics
Laser Wavelength ChartExciton is dedicated to providing its customers with the highest-quality laser dyes on the market today. To assist its customers in choosing laserdyes, Exciton offers a free four-color laser wavelength chart, an essential reference for your laboratory or office wall. (973) 252-2989
New sCMOS CameraThe new Zyla 5.5 megapixel scientific CMOS (sCMOS) camera is ideal for research and OEM usage. Zyla sCMOS offers a 100 fps rate, rolling and snapshot (global) shutter modes and ultra-low noise performance in a light,compact and cost-effective design. Zyla achieves down to 1.2 electron rmsread noise and can read out the 5.5 megapixel sensor at a sustained 100 fpsthrough a “10-tap” Camera Link interface. A highly cost-effective “3-tap” version is also available, offering up to 30 fps.
(800) [email protected]/zyla
Your best products deserve the SpotlightOur Spotlight feature is a quick, easy, low-cost way to start advertising withPhotonics Spectra. Showcase your products in a modular, 1⁄6-page, four-colorad unit. Three themes rotate month to month – Optics & Optics Fabrication;Imaging Components & Systems; and Lasers, Laser Accessories & LightSources. Contact us at (413) 499-0514 or at [email protected].
(413) 499-0514photonics.com
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Photonics Spectra subscribers receive $200 off of the conference fee by using code PhotSpec and
registering online at www.ledsconference.com.Register now!
New this year! More end-user perspectives; technology showcase; exciting technical innovations; more networking opportunities; more value!
LEDs 2012 will provide an in-depth assessment of lighting and LEDs’ current position in the market and insights into the technical breakthroughs required for LEDs to reach their future potential. You’ll build relationships and learn from organizations like:
Reasons to attend Hear from the fore front of applications - at least 6 case studies presented by end users representing retail, general office, municipal lighting, hospitality, education and horticulture
New this year – find out what it would take for major distribution channel gatekeepers to carry your product instead of your competitors
Plan your innovation roadmap with the help of Heads of R&D and Innovation from Toshiba, Cooper Lighting, Philips Lumileds, Osram Sylvania, Cree and Acuity Brands
Find out how Chip Israel, President, Lighting Design Alliance and Brian Stacy, Lighting Leader Americas Region, Arup Lighting make their decisions on specification so that you can make sure your products make the grade
Benchmark your product development strategy against well established players and new kids on the block by attending the focus sessions on optics, controls, devices and packages
And much, much more!
Acuity Brands Lithonia LightingAcuity Brands Luminaire Concept Center Arup LightingAvnet Inc.Bardsley ConsultingCity of Raleigh, NCCooper LightingCree, Inc.Digital LumensGensler Groom EnergyIkea
Illumination MachinesLighting Design AllianceLutron Electronics Co., Inc.Lux ResearchMarriott International, IncNational Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)Nichia America CorporationOSRAM SylvaniaPacific Northwest National LaboratoryPhilips Lumileds Lighting Company Redwood SystemsSan Diego State UniversitySeoul Semiconductor, IncToshiba International Corporation’s LED Lighting Systems DivisionU.S. Department of EnergyWiedenbach-BrownAnd many others!
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Optical Modulation Analysis �Southern Photonics’ IQScope-30Gfor optical modulation analysishas 30 GHz of bandwidth andis suited for measuring 100-Gb/s signals. It enables accu-rate transmitter characterizationwith up to 2000 sample points perbaud. Because it is a separate unit that workswith widely used equivalent-time oscilloscopes, it can be upgraded eco-nomically. Supported modulation formats include binary, differential,quadrature and differential quadrature phase shift keying, and 16 and 64quadrature amplitude modulation. Applications include modulator andchirp testing, and R&D testing of transmitters. Visualizations include I&Q eye, vector and constellation diagrams; inten-sity versus time; phase versus time; and I&Q versus time. Error vectormagnitude, phase error, IQ phase error, IQ gain imbalance, IQ skew and signal-to-noise ratio can be measured.Southern [email protected]
Adjustable Laser Pointer �Ocean Optics has added an ad-justable laser pointer (ALP) to itsJaz modular sensing system, en-hancing performance in standofflight-measurement applications.The laser pointer makes spot meas-urements of large-area projectionscreens, flat panel displays and mediawalls. It focuses the collection optics to a pre-cise spot within the sample being measured. TheALP and Gershun Tube Kit control the field of view of thespectrometer from 1° to 28°. Four Torx adjustment screws allow verticaland horizontal control of the laser beam direction. The CCD-array minia-ture spectrometer can be optimized via grating and slit options. An on-board microprocessor with a built-in display eliminates the need for a PC.Accessories including additional spectrometer channels, battery packs,Ethernet connectivity, software packages, light sources and the ALP customize the Jaz for virtually any measurement application.Ocean [email protected]
� 514- and 552-nm Smart Lasers Coherent Inc. has added 514- and 552-nm wavelengths to its OBIS family of plug-and-play smart lasers. The OBIS 514 LS and 552 LS output 20 mW and feature a diffraction-limited TEM00 beam, divergence of <1.2 mrad, pointingstability of <30 µrad/±3 °C, power stability of <2% over 8 h ±3 °C, and noise of ≤0.25% rms from 20 Hz to 20 MHz.The lasers measure 70 � 40 � 38 mm. Operation is via USB, RS-232 and serial interface ports. The new wavelengthsare used in flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The 552 LS excites phycoerythrin (PE) while avoiding spillover intothe fluorescein and PE emission bandwidths. It is applicable for DsRed and for dTomato. The absorption coefficient ofallophycocyanin and its tandem dyes is low at 552 nm, simplifying the need for crossbeam compensation. Coherent [email protected]
Calibration System �For the LRS-9550 high-power laserdiode life-test and burn-in system forsingle emitters, ILX Lightwave, aNewport Corp. brand, has unveiledthe LRS-9580 calibration system. Aself-contained transportable unit, itcalibrates fixtures, shelves and mea-surement electronics for the test sys-tem, and it enables users to calibratetheir systems on-site. It calibrates andverifies fixture temperature sensormeasurement accuracy, laser diodevoltage measurement accuracy, fixture trace resistance, optical powermeasurement accuracy, current set point accuracy, control measurementmodules, temperature measurement accuracy and self-calibration of inter-nal current sense resistors. Included ReliaCal software provides a singlesource for all calibration functions. Multiple calibrations can be configuredand performed. ReliaCal supports concurrent calibrations, allowing up toeight fixtures and one control measurement module to be calibrated simul-taneously.ILX [email protected]
Sapphire Windows for Aircraft �Custom-fabricated sapphire windows forinstallation on the outboard of aircraft toprotect sensors from water, wind and high-speed particulates are being offered byMeller Optics Inc. The windows featuretransmission from the UV to the IR (270nm to 4.7 µm) and can be fabricated in vir-tually any mounting configuration, with theappropriate bevels and mounting surfaces.Clear as glass, they exhibit Moh 9 hard-ness. Produced in sizes up to 10 in. in di-ameter, depending upon the diameter-to-thickness aspect ratio, they provide flatnessto �/10 in the visible and <2-arc sec parallelism, with finishes from 60-40to 40-20 scratch-dig, depending upon size and construction. Sapphiredomes also are offered as front-surface protection in military applications.Meller [email protected]
IDEASBRIGHT
Photonics Spectra August 2012
Picomotor Mount �New Focus, a Newport Corp. brand, has introduced the Clear Edge Picomotor Mount 8821. The mirror mount,featuring a clear edge for greater beam access, has two picomotor actuators for precision and stability. It is sup-plied in a single compact and black anodized aluminum package. Sapphire seats and optimized springs deliversmooth, reliable operation while maintaining high thermal and mechanical stability. The kinematic 8821 mountaccommodates 25.4-mm optics ranging in thickness from 6 to 10 mm. The picomotor features integrated knobsfor quick manual adjustment of all axes. It is fully compatible with the company’s 8702 Picomotor drive moduleand the iPico series, as well as its GuideStar II laser beam steering correction system. A left-handed mirrormount, the 8821L, is also available. The mirror mounts are used in research, laboratory and industrial tasks.New [email protected]
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Industrial DPSS Lasers
Spectra-Physics, a Newport Corp. brand, has introduced two industrial Q-switched diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) lasers for 24/7 mi-croelectronics manufacturing applications. ThePulseo 355-Turbo features advanced ultravioletperformance at repetition rates of up to 500kHz, making it suitable for high-speed process-ing of semiconductors, touch screens, high-den-sity interconnects and other microelectronics.The Explorer 1064-3 delivers high infrared peakpower, good beam quality and high brightnessin a robust and compact package for memoryrepair and micromachining applications. ThePulseo 355-Turbo features >8-W 355-nm out-put power with <8% pulse-to-pulse stability at a 300-kHz repetition rate. The Explorer 1064-3offers <12-ns pulse widths and near-diffraction-limited beam quality in a robust package thatcan be used on moving gantries. [email protected]
Multizone FiltersIridian Spectral Technologies Ltd. is offeringmultizone filters on a single substrate. The com-pany’s newly enhanced capabilities enable it toprovide robust multifilter assemblies and multi-zone filters patterned using photolithography.The filters can be customized for size, spectralperformance and layout (number and size ofzones) to address customer needs for optical fil-ters for order sorting and multispectral imaging.Available are antireflection coatings, long- andshort-pass filters, and bandpass filters from theUV (300 nm) to the long-wavelength infrared(15 µm) integrated on the same substrate. Thefilters are fabricated using proprietary hard dielectric coating technology. Iridian Spectral Technologies [email protected]
InterferometerQED Technologies International Inc. has re-leased its QED Interferometer for Stitching (QIS)system. The company’s previous metrology sys-tems used a general-purpose interferometer,but customer requirements have led to one withimproved stitching algorithms. The proprietaryQIS coherent imaging system provides meas-urements with higher fringe densities andgreater contrast. The optical design reduces re-trace and magnification errors, and the greaterfocus travel enables measurement of parts withshorter radii than is possible with a general-purpose interferometer. QIS was designed using
the same software platform, QED.NET, as thecompany’s metrology and newest magnetorheo-logical finishing systems, enabling seamlesscommunications between systems. These fea-tures result in ease of use, efficient processing,increased accuracy and expanded capabilities.QIS is available on the new ASI(Q) platform oras a field upgrade to existing ASI and SSI-Aplatforms. QED Technologies International [email protected]
Weatherproof Hyperspectral Imager
Telops Inc. has introduced the improved Hyper-Cam Weatherproof, which provides the samehyperspectral imaging capabilities but benefitsfrom an upgraded weatherproof enclosure. Itoperates over an extended temperature rangefrom �20 to 40 °C and can be stored at tem-peratures between �40 and 70 °C. The systemis IP 52-rated and enables users to benefit fromhigh-quality hyperspectral imaging without wor-rying about changing environmental conditionsduring field measurements. The upgrade ex-tends applications to include standoff chemicaldetection and identification, military target sig-nature analysis, flare measurement and leakdetection, and it allows more flexibility for out-door operations. Telops [email protected]
Pulsed Laser Diodes
The CVN Series high-power monolithic pulsedlaser diodes launched by OSI Laser Diode Inc.feature reliable and efficient performance anddeliver stable operation in extreme environmen-tal conditions, from �40 to 85 °C. The fiber-coupled devices operate from 895 to 915 nmup to 188 W, with a typical peak wavelength at 905 nm. Their peak power (at 25 °C, typical)is 375 W, and they are available either singly
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or stacked. They are enclosed in TO18C, TO18T,TO5C, TO5F, TO5T or 9-mm housings. Applica-tions include rangefinding, ceilometers, weaponssimulation, surveying equipment, homeland se-curity, light detection and ranging, and adaptivecruise control.OSI Laser Diode Inc.www.laserdiode.com
X-Y-Z Nanopositioning Stage
For use with a 3-D laser lithography systemmade by Nanoscribe GmbH, PI (Physik Instru-mente) LP has released an X-Y-Z nanoposition-ing stage. The system produces complex 3-Dstructures with precision. Submicron structuresin sizes up to 1 mm and widths to 150 nm arepossible. The PImars P-563 flexure-guided,piezo-driven three-axis nanopositioning stageprovides ranges to 300 � 300 � 300 µm andnanometer-range repeatability. A parallel-metrology position feedback system based onlinear capacitive sensors allows the sample tobe moved precisely and repeatedly in relation tothe laser focus. A digital piezo motion controller
provides path control on a nanometric scale.The fast response of the piezoelectric stagemakes it possible to equip surfaces with particu-lar biometric characteristics or to create micro-structures for small pumps and needles. PI (Physik Instrumente) [email protected]
CMOS Sensor
Photonis USA’s Lynx digital CMOS image sensoroperates under daylight and low-light condi-tions, making it suitable for applications wherehigh-resolution detection across varying lightconditions is critical. It provides read noisebelow 4 e– at rates up to 100 fps, with goodsignal-to-noise performance resulting from its9.7-µm2 pixels and high fill factor. With power
consumption <200 mW and direct digital out-put, it can be used in portable systems and inunmanned remote posts that require 24/7CCTV image availability. It delivers full SXGAresolution and can be integrated into a varietyof camera platforms. The night-vision andhomeland security digital sensor is based onsolid-state technology and provides surveillanceday and night, supporting applications such asvehicle protection and the fusion of digital im-ages. The sensor’s large pixels collect the maxi-mum number of photons. Photonis [email protected]
IR Emitter
Opto Diode Corp. has introduced the third in itsline of superhigh-power infrared emitters. Basedon gallium aluminum arsenide technology, theOD-250 features a wide-angle, uniform opticalbeam with ultrahigh optical output. Typical totalpower output is 250 mW, with 160 mW mini-mum. Peak emission wavelength is 850 nm,
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making the emitter suitable for imaging in mili-tary and security applications. It has a spectralbandwidth of 40 nm at 50% with a half-inten-sity beam angle at 110°. It is durable, withgold-plated metal surfaces and four wire bondson die corners. The three-lead TO-39 packagecan be stored and operated in temperaturesfrom �40 to 100 °C, with maximum junctiontemperature at 100 °C. Rise and fall times are20 ns. The emitter is used in night-vision imag-ing technology, such as cameras and goggles,and integrated into illuminators and markers. Opto Diode [email protected]
Z-Scanning Add-OnPhaseView’s ZeeScan is an electro-optics mod-ule adding fast Z-stack and remote focus capa-bilities to any transmitted or reflected light mi-croscope. ZeeScan fits between the user cameraand the microscope video port and provides fast scanning in <5-ms response time, and a Z-range of up to 1 mm with nanopositioningfrom 5 nm. Because the device is independentof the objective, stage and focus wheel, thesample space is totally free, with no disturbanceor vibrations. ZeeScan is a suitable and afford-able accessory for applications such as 3-D microscopy, rapid screening in life sciences, and Z-depth measurement and 3-D surfaceanalysis in materials [email protected]
Opto-Digital Imaging Systems
Olympus America Inc. has unveiled a line of op-todigital microimaging and metrology systemsfor inspection, test and quality control applica-tions. The DSX Series imaging systems offer thetouch-screen ease of a smartphone or tabletcomputer. They capture clear and crisp images,acquire reliable measurements, and performhigh-level analysis for reproducible results. TheDSX500, DSX500i and DSX100 are designed forsimplicity, accuracy and reliability and requirevirtually no training. They accommodate sam-ples of all shapes and sizes to produce 2-D, 3-D and panorama results, and they use high-dynamic-range and color-enhancement tech-niques to improve image clarity, live or withcaptured images. They are compatible withStream image-processing software for measure-ment, analysis and reporting. They resist ambi-ent vibration with proprietary image stabiliza-
tion technology, making repeatable measure-ments and images possible in any environment.Olympus America [email protected]
Cooled CCD-Camera
The Bigeye G-283B low-noise CCD manufac-tured by Allied Vision Technologies GmbH deliv-ers high-quality 14-bit images with long expo-sure times in low-light conditions. The digitalcamera features a sensor, a GigE Vision-compli-ant interface and a Sony ICX674 monochromeCCD sensor chip with 2.8-megapixel resolution.It operates at 6 fps at full resolution in 14-bitmode, features Peltier cooling down to �10 °Cand achieves a good signal-to-noise ratio. It issuitable for industrial and scientific imaging,fluorescence microscopy and nondestructiveevaluation of photosensitive objects. The Giga-bit Ethernet interface module’s 20-pin serial
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modular receiver decoder provides four inputsand four outputs, and two RS-232 connectorsare available. The module supports the com-pany’s multiplatform PvAPI software develop-ment kits and can be integrated into machinevision systems. GigE Vision compliance enablesoperation with third-party image processing libraries. Allied Vision Technologies [email protected]
Industrial Imaging Computer
Matrox Imaging’s Matrox 4Sight GP is the fifthgeneration of its 4Sight industrial computers formachine vision and medical imaging applica-tions. Powered by a third-generation Intel Coreprocessor, the computer offers desktop-levelperformance, including real-time high-definitionH.264 encoding offload. The platform accom-modates full-height, half-length PCIe boards,enabling developers to insert standard add-incards, such as Matrox frame grabbers, for ana-
log, Camera Link, CoaXPress, DVI or SDI videocapture. It integrates Gigabit Ethernet and USB3.0 interfaces that provide native support forcapturing from GigE Vision and USB3 Visioncameras. The computer is preloaded with Mi-crosoft Windows Embedded Standard 7 soft-ware. Applications are created using standardMicrosoft development tools and the Matrox Imaging Library, which features programmingfunctions for image capture, processing, analy-sis, annotation, display and archiving.Matrox [email protected]
Yellow HeNe LaserREO Inc.’s 594-nm HeNe laser for bioinstru-mentation and fluorescence excitation featuresa circular beam profile with M2 <1.05 and pro-duces polarization purity of >500:1, with mini-mum output power of 2 mW. It provides noiseoutput of <1% from 30 Hz to 10 MHz and goodbeam stability. Long-term beam drift is <0.05µrad. It is packaged in a cylindrical head mea-suring 44.5 mm in diameter, and the front platesupports a variety of fiber-coupling options. The company offers a choice of OEM or Centerfor Devices and Radiological Health-compliantpower supplies, including time delay, key switchand interlock. REO produces its laser tubes, mirror substrates and coatings in-house, usingsuperpolishing and ion-beam-sputtering deposi-tion for high reflectance, low scatter, environ-mental stability and mechanical durability. The
laser provides yellow wavelength excitation influorescence-based bioinstrumentation applica-tions such as confocal microscopy, flow cytome-try, drug discovery, proteomics and genomics. REO [email protected]
Mobile Web-Based LED Selector
Osram Opto Semiconductors Inc. has built aweb-based smartphone app for designers of ex-terior automotive lighting. The Automotive Sig-nal LED Selector is available for the iPhone, An-
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droid and Blackberry OS, or for any device witha web browser. It provides lighting designersand engineers with a mobile, easy-to-use toolto select the correct LEDs for their applications.Applications include center high-mounted stoplamps, daytime running lights, front and rearfog/park/position/lights, turn signals, high andlow beams, backup lights and side marker indi-cators. To use the new automotive signal LEDselector, designers can click on the link below,which will automatically open the defaultbrowser on their smartphones, or they can cutand paste the link into the browser of theirchoice: http://apps.osram-os.com/ledselector/. Osram Opto Semiconductors [email protected]
6-Megapixel FireWire-b Cameras
Point Grey Research Inc. has added 6-mega-pixel models to its Grasshopper Express IEEE1394b (FireWire-b) digital camera series. Theyuse the Sony ICX694 to deliver high resolutionand sensitivity in a compact package. TheICX694 applies EXview HAD technology to high-
resolution multitap image sensors. Known forhigh quantum efficiency, reduced smear and increased near-infrared sensitivity, it is a 1-in.CCD that features 4.54-µm square pixels andproduces 2736 � 2192-pixel images at 11 fps.The camera has a tripod mounting bracket andonboard temperature and power sensors. TheFlyCapture software development kit libraryprovides a control interface under Windows andLinux. The 800 Mb/s of bandwidth deliver low-latency, deterministic image transfer withoutCPU loading. Applications include machine vision and bioscience. The Grasshopper ExpressGX-FW-60S6M-C (monochrome) and GX-FW-60S6C-C (color) models for imaging of fast-moving objects offer high sensitivity, short exposure times and postcapture gain. Point Grey Research [email protected]
Optical Spectrum Analyzer Thorlabs has released a Fourier transform opti-cal spectrum analyzer (OSA) with a scanningMichelson interferometer configuration. It oper-ates as both an OSA and a wavelength meter. It features a 1000- to 2500-nm wavelengthmeasurement range, spectral resolution of 7.5 GHz when used as an OSA, and wave-length meter resolution of 0.2 pm. The inputaperture accepts FC/PC-terminated fibers, suit-able for interfacing with the company’s tunablelaser kits, pigtailed laser diodes and fiber colli-mators. The instrument is supplied with a laptop
computer preloaded with software for acquiring,inspecting, manipulating and analyzing spectraand interferograms. A customizable graphicaluser interface makes it easy to identify spectralfeatures, to measure optical output power overa wavelength range, and to track other param-eters as a function of time. [email protected]
Vision Sensors
Baumer Ltd.’s VeriSens XC Series vision sensorsfeature an integrated flash controller. Theadaptable sensors reduce the cost and time involved in external light source installation. The C-mount design gives users freedom in se-lecting the appropriate lens configuration andimage resolution for the application. Integrating
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the flash controller into the sensor renders ex-ternal lighting easy to manage. The sensor con-trols flashing at up to 48 V and 4 A under themanagement of its intuitive software, eliminat-ing the need to program the external flash con-troller. The series is available with CCD sensorsin three resolutions ranging from VGA to 2megapixels. Software provides extended statisti-cal assessment, an integrated test environmentfor listed jobs, a File Transfer Protocol functionthat simplifies image storage on external media,and tools for distance determination.Baumer [email protected]
Infrared Objectives
Rochester Precision Optics’ FireEye line of in-frared standard objectives is designed for thenewest compact infrared focal planes. Becauseof developments in wafer-scale manufacturing,these lighter and more compact lenses enablemanufacturers to develop technologies that arelighter in weight and smaller in size. Made in13-, 17- and 22-mm focal lengths with f/1.3,
the FireEye objectives operate over a tempera-ture range from −40 to 85 °C. The 13-mmmodel offers a field of view of 57°; the 17-mmmodel’s is 45°, and the 22-mm model’s is 36°.All have a back working distance of 3.26 mm. Rochester Precision [email protected]
Analytical Field-Emission SEM
JEOL USA Inc.’s JSM-7800F field-emission scan-ning electron microscope (SEM) for nanotech-nology imaging and analysis enables observa-tion of fine structural morphology of nano-materials at 1 million times magnification with sub-1-nm resolution; low-kilovolt imaging andanalysis of magnetic samples; collection oflarge-area electron backscatter diffraction mapsat low magnifications without distortion; and
imaging of thin, electron-transparent sampleswith sub-0.8-nm resolution using an optionalretractable scanning transmission electron mi-croscope detector. The instrument combines anin-lens field-emission gun with an aperture-angle control lens. The superhybrid lens designand in-column detectors with filtering capabili-ties allow observation of any specimen. TheSEM performs x-ray spectroscopy and cathodo-luminescence. Applications include cryo-micros-copy and electron-beam lithography. JEOL USA [email protected]
Multispectral CameraJAI Inc. has released the AD-130GE two-CCDcamera with a dichroic prism that simultane-ously captures color and NIR digital video on asingle optical path for multispectral inspectionand analysis. The camera produces 1296 �966-pixel resolution and operates at 31 fps. Thecompany’s two-CCD technology provides a sin-gle-camera approach that enables multispectralanalysis for inspection of fruits and vegetables,blister packs or other plastic film containers,and medical supplies where the two channelscan check the integrity of inner and outer sealson plastic pouches and bags. Output is via twoGigE interfaces, and color output is available inraw Bayer form for host-based interpolation, oras 24- or 30-bit RGB. NIR output is user-selec-table 8-, 10- or 12-bit monochrome images.Features include multiple shutter modes, a con-
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figurable general-purpose input/output module,look-up tables for gamma customization, man-ual or automatic gain control, and analogvideo.JAI [email protected]
Q-Switched DPSS Laser
The Starlase AO40 UV is the newest addition to the Starlase series from Powerlase Photonicsand is available from RPMC Lasers. The high-power Q-switched diode-pumped solid-state(DPSS) laser was developed for industrial appli-cations and is used in materials processing andmicromachining. It emits at 355 nm and oper-ates from 10 to 50 kHz. At the low end of therepetition rate range, it produces 40 W of out-put power and, at the high end, 5 W. Becausean acousto-optic Q-switch is used, the pulsewidth changes with the repetition rate. At 10kHz, the laser will have pulse widths of 60 ns,and at 50 kHz, the pulse width grows to 200 ns.Other applications include the photovoltaic, microelectronic, medical, semiconductor, automotive and display industries.RPMC [email protected]
UV Imaging Lens The Model 228 lens from Resolve Optics Ltd.works in the UV and visible wavebands, en-abling forensic scientists and crime scene inves-tigators to identify and focus on a target in thevisible and then slide the UV filter across to takeimages in the UV without having to refocus. The interaction between materials and UV lightmakes reflected UV useful for imaging of latentfingerprints, bite marks and other injuries onskin, and of shoe prints on surfaces where visi-ble light contrast is low. Using a telescopic fo-cusing mount, the lens provides large move-ment in a compact form. It can image objectsfrom infinity to 1:1.25 magnification withoutadd-on adapters. Offering a field of view of8.3° at 1:1.25 magnification up to 16.6° at long object distances, it produces high-resolu-tion macro images. Its wide field of view andthe high transmission qualities of its coatingsrender it light-efficient.Resolve Optics [email protected]
Ultrahigh-Speed CameraAlacron Inc. and affiliate company FastVisionLLC’s new FC300 ultrahigh-speed camera isbuilt around Panavision Imaging LLC’s quiet,high-speed Dynamax CMOS sensor. It also incorporates a patented delta doping processdeveloped by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora-
tory’s Microdevices Laboratory. The camera’s3.2-megapixel CMOS sensor operates at 180fps. Panavision’s technology can be made into a back-side imager with delta doping and anti-reflection coating. The combination of deltadoping and the CMOS sensor produces a 100%fill factor and enables selection of the sensor’ssensitivity to a specific wavelength, rangingfrom the deep-UV to the near-infrared. With theproprietary and patented Active Column Sensortechnology, the Dynamax CMOS sensor offers a wide dynamic range in either global or rollingshutter mode.Alacron [email protected]
Linear Amplifier IC
Teledyne Dalsa Semiconductor has launchedthe DH9665A sample and hold precision lin-ear amplifier integrated circuit (IC). Using proprietary high-voltage CMOS/diffusionmetal oxide semiconductor technology, it isdesigned for next-generation, high-density,small-footprint, low-power systems using mi-croelectromechanical systems or micro-opto-electromechanical systems activation withelectrostatic forces. The RoHS-compliant deviceoffers voltage precision of ±20 mV with a linear output range up to 240 V on 96 inde-pendently operated sample and hold ampli-fiers. It is available in a 17 � 17-mm ball gridarray package or as bumped die with a foot-print of 0.8 mm2 per channel. Features includefour analog high-voltage outputs that can beprogrammed simultaneously; 24 selectablegroups of four high-voltage outputs (quads);internal closed-loop gain of 79 V/V; powerconsumption <500 mW; an integrated diodefor temperature monitoring; and single-polar-ity low-voltage power supplies.Teledyne Dalsa [email protected]
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SEPTEMBERPhoton12 (Sept. 3-6) Durham, UK. Contact Institute of Physics, +44 20 7470 4800; [email protected]; www.photon.org.uk.
MIOMD-XI Infrared Optoelectronics: Materials and Devices (Sept. 4-8)Chicago. Contact Manijeh Razeghi, Northwestern University, +1 (847) 491-7251;[email protected]; miomd-11.northwestern.edu.
Speckle 2012, International Conference on Speckle Metrology (Sept. 10-12)Vigo, Spain. Contact Speckle 2012, Universidade de Vigo, [email protected];speckle2012.uvigo.es.
SPIE Photomask Technology (Sept. 10-13)Monterey, Calif. Contact SPIE, +1 (360) 676-3290; [email protected]; spie.org.
Nanosystems in Engineering and Medicine (Sept. 10-13) Incheon, South Korea. Contact SPIE, +1 (360) 676-3290;[email protected]; spie.org.
XIX International Symposium on HighPower Laser Systems and Applications(Sept. 10-14) Istanbul. Ozgur Tataroglu,Tübitak Mam, +262 677 3133;[email protected];hplsa2012.mam.gov.tr.
32nd European Conference on Laser Interaction with Matter (ECLIM 2012) (Sept. 10-14) Warsaw, Poland. Contact Military University of Technology, Institute of Optoelectronics, +48 22 683 9430;[email protected]; eclim2012.wat.edu.pl.
International Manufacturing TechnologyShow 2012 (Sept. 10-15) Chicago. Contact AMT – The Association for Manufacturing Technology, +1 (800) 524-0475;[email protected]; www.amtonline.org.
Avionics, Fiber-Optics and Photonics Conference (AVFOP 2012) (Sept. 11-13)Cocoa Beach, Fla. Contact Megan Figueroa,IEEE Photonics Society, +1 (732) 562-3895;[email protected]; www.avfop-ieee.org.
Photonics in Switching 2012 (PS 2012)(Sept. 11-14) Ajaccio, France. Contact Michel Dupire, SEE, +33 1 5690 3709;www.ps2012.net.
JSAP-OSA Joint Symposia (73rd Japan Society of Applied Physics Annual Meeting2012) (Sept. 11-14) Matsuyama, Japan. Symposia held with Optical Society. ContactJSAP, +81 3 5802 0864; [email protected]; www.jsap.or.jp/english.
OSA Fall Vision Meeting 2012 (Sept. 14-16)Rochester, N.Y. Contact Michele Schultz, Centerfor Visual Science, University of Rochester, +1(585) 275-8659; [email protected];www.cvs.rochester.edu/fvm_2012.
Laser World of Photonics India (Sept. 14-16) Mumbai, India. Contact Bhupinder Singh, MMI India Pvt. Ltd., +91 9811090 046; [email protected];world-of-photonics.net.
ECOC 2012 (European Conference on Optical Communications) (Sept. 16-20)Amsterdam. Collocated with ESTC 2012 (Electronics Systems Integration Technology
Conference). Contact ECOC 2012 Secretariat,+32 9 218 85 80; [email protected];www.ecoc2012.org.
Fifth International Conference on SingularOptics (Sept. 16-21) Sevastopol, Ukraine.Contact A. Volyar, Taurida National University,Tel./Fax, +380 652 230 248; [email protected]; singular-optics.org.
15th European Microscopy Congress (Sept. 16-21) Manchester, UK. Contact RoyalMicroscopical Society, +44 1865 254 760; [email protected]; www.emc2012.org.
SPRC 2012 Annual Symposium (Sept. 17-19)Stanford, Calif. Contact Stanford Photonics Research Center, +1 (650) 723-5627; [email protected]; photonics.stanford.edu.
Metamaterials 2012: Sixth InternationalCongress on Advanced ElectromagneticMaterials in Microwaves and Optics (Sept. 17-22) St. Petersburg, Russia. [email protected];congress2012.metamorphose-vi.org.
SPIE Laser Damage 2012 (Sept. 23-26)Boulder, Colo. Contact SPIE, +1 (360) 676-3290; [email protected]; spie.org.
ICALEO, 31st International Congress on Applications of Lasers and Electro-Optics(Sept. 23-27) Anaheim, Calif. Contact Laser Institute of America, +1 (407) 380-1553; [email protected]; www.icaleo.org.
IEEE Photonics Conference 2012 (Sept. 23-27) Burlingame, Calif. Contact MaryS. Hendrickx, IEEE Photonics Society, +1 (732)562-3897; [email protected]; www.ipc-ieee.org.
SPIE Remote Sensing and SPIE Security + Defence (Sept. 24-27) Edinburgh, UK. Contact SPIE, +1 (360) 676-3290; [email protected]; spie.org.
17th International School on Quantum Electronics: Laser Physics and Applications(Sept. 24-28) Nessebar, Bulgaria. Contact IrinaBliznakova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,tel./fax: +359 2 974 5742; [email protected]; www.isqe2012.dir.bg.
EOS Annual Meeting 2012 (EOSAM 2012)(Sept. 25-28) Aberdeen, UK. A European Optical Society event. Contact EOS – Events andServices GmbH, +49 511 2788 115; [email protected]; www.myeos.org.
OLEDs World Summit 2012 (Sept. 26-28)San Francisco. Contact Brian Santos, SmithersApex (formerly IntertechPira), +1 (207) 781-9618; [email protected]; www.smithersapex.com.
Seventh International Conference on Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy(LIBS 2012) (Sept. 29-Oct. 4) Luxor, Egypt.
HAPPENINGSPAPERSSPIE Smart Structures/NDE (March 10-14) San DiegoDeadline: abstracts, August 27Researchers are encouraged to submit their latest findings to SPIE Smart Structures/Non-DestructiveEvaluation. Among the 10 conferences to be offered are Nano-, Bio-, Info-Tech Sensors and Systems;Smart Sensor Phenomena, Technology, Networks and Systems Integration V; Health Monitoring ofStructural and Biological Systems VII; and Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Me-chanical and Aerospace Systems. Contact SPIE, +1 (360) 676-3290; [email protected];spie.org.
Nanometa 2013 (January 3-6) Tirol, AustriaDeadline: submissions, October 1The European Physical Society invites papers for its Fourth International Topical Meeting on Nano-photonics and Metamaterials (Nanometa 2013). The conference will be organized in two oral parallel sessions and will feature joint plenary and postdeadline sessions. Areas to be considered in-clude metamaterials and metadevices; nanophotonics and nanobiophotonics; plasmonics and plasmo-electronic devices; nanophotonic, hybrid and quantum materials; and localization of light and opticalsuperresolution. Contact European Physical Society, +33 3 89 32 94 42; [email protected];www.nanometa.org.
ILSC (March 18-21) Orlando, FloridaDeadline: abstracts, October 3The Laser Institute of America seeks submissions for oral and poster presentation at the 2013 Interna-tional Laser Safety Conference (ILSC). Scientific sessions will address topics such as bioeffects, eye pro-tection, outdoor lasers, control measures, practical laser safety, laser safety training, high-power laserissues, hazard and risk assessment, nonbeam hazards and fume extraction, and safety standards leg-islation from local to global. Contact Laser Institute of America, +1 (407) 380-1553; [email protected];www.lia.org/ilsc.
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Contact [email protected]; tel./fax: +2023567 5335; libs2012-niles.org.
22nd International Symposium on OpticalMemory (ISOM’12) (Sept. 30-Oct. 4)Tokyo. Contact ISOM’12 Secretariat, c/oAdthree Publishing Co. Ltd., +81 3 5925 2840;[email protected]; www.isom.jp.
OCTOBERFOAN 2012 (Fiber Optics in Access Networks) (Oct. 3-5) St. Petersburg, Russia.Contact Edvin Škaljo, BH Telecom d.d. Sarajevo, [email protected]; www.foan2012.com.ba.
23rd IEEE International SemiconductorLaser Conference (ISLC) (Oct. 7-10)San Diego. Contact Rose Ann Bankowski, IEEE Photonics Society, +1 (732) 562-3898;[email protected]; www.islc-ieee.org.
International Congress on Space Optics(ICSO) and International Conference onSpace Optical Systems and Applications(ICSOS) (Oct. 9-12) Ajaccio, France. Contact Carte Blanche, +33 5 63 72 30 68;[email protected]; www.icso2012.com.
LEDs 2012 (Oct. 10-12) San Diego. Contact Erin Morton, Smithers Apex, +1 (207)781-9633; [email protected]; www.ledsconference.com.
IONS-12 Naples Conference (Oct. 10-12) Naples, Italy. An event of IONS,the International OSA (Optical Society) Network of Students. Contact IONS Committee,[email protected]; www.ions-project.org.
electronicAsia 2012 (Oct. 13-16)Hong Kong. Contact MMI Asia Pte Ltd., +65 6236 0988; [email protected];electronicasia.com.
Neuroscience 2012 (Oct. 13-17)New Orleans. Contact Society for Neuroscience,+1 (202) 962-4000; [email protected];www.sfn.org.
2012 Student Leadership Conference (Oct. 14) Rochester, N.Y. Contact Optical Society of America, +1 (202) 223-8130;[email protected]; www.osa.org.
Frontiers in Optics 2012/Laser ScienceXXVIII (Oct. 14-18) Rochester, N.Y. Annual meetings of OSA and American Physical Society/Division of Laser Science, respectively. Contact Optical Society, +1 (202)416-1907; [email protected]; www.frontiersinoptics.com.
22nd International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors (OFS-22) (Oct. 15-19) Beijing. Contact [email protected]; www.ofs-22.org.
Photonex 2012 (Oct. 17-18) Coventry, UK.Contact Clare Roberts, XMark Media Ltd., +441372 750 555; [email protected];www.photonex.org.
LIA’s Lasers for Manufacturing Event (LME 2012) (Oct. 23-24) Schaumburg, Ill.Contact Laser Institute of America, +1 (407)380-1553; [email protected]; www.lia.org/lmesd.
OPTO (Oct. 23-25) Paris. Contact NadegeVenet, GL events Exhibitions, +33 1 44 31 8257; [email protected]; www.optoexpo.com.
2012 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference (2012 NSS/MIC) (Oct. 27-Nov. 3) Anaheim,Calif. Contact Tom Lewellen, Imaging Research Laboratory, University of Washington, +1 (206)543-2365; [email protected].
SPIE Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing (Oct. 29-Nov. 1) Kyoto, Japan. Contact SPIE,+1 (360) 676-3290; [email protected];spie.org.
80
h HAPPENINGS
Photonics Spectra August 2012
Contact your sales representative at (413) 499-0514 or [email protected]
No other industry publication delivers readers like Photonics Spectra does – none!
October Content Focus: ManufacturingSpotlight: Optics & Optics FabricationSneak Preview: Society for Neuroscience
Annual MeetingBonus Circulation: Frontiers in Optics, Photonex,
OPTO 2012Ad close: August 24, 2012
November Content Focus: SpaceSpotlight: Lasers, Laser Accessories and
Light SourcesPhotonics ShowcaseWebinar: SpaceAd close: September 26, 2012
Support your print advertising schedule with great digital opportunities.
Photonics Media webinars attract hundreds of well-qualified attendees – ask about sponsorships.
Advertise in Photonics Spectra
For complete listings, visitwww.photonics.com/calendar
812Happenings_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:11 PM Page 80
aaADVERTISER INDEX
81Photonics Spectra August 2012
Photonics Media Advertising Contacts
Please visit our websitePhotonics.com/mediakit for all our marketing opportunities.
Ken TyburskiDirector of SalesVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 101Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
New England, Southeastern US, FL, Midwest, Rocky Mountains, AZ & NMRebecca L. PontierAssociate DirectorVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 112Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
NY, NJ & PATimothy A. DupreeRegional ManagerVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 111Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Northern CA, AK, NV, Pacific Northwest,Yukon & British Columbia Joanne C. GagnonRegional ManagerVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 226Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Central CA, Southern CA & HI Tracy L. ReynoldsRegional ManagerVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 104Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Eastern CanadaMaureen Riley MoriartyRegional ManagerVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 229Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Europe, Israel & South Central USOwen BrochRegional ManagerVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514, Ext. 108Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Austria, Germany & LiechtensteinOlaf KortenhoffVoice: +49 2241 1684777Fax: +49 2241 [email protected]
Asia (except Japan)Hans ZhongVoice: +86 755 2872 6973Fax: +86 755 8474 [email protected]
JapanScott ShibasakiVoice: +81 3 5225 6614Fax: +81 3 5229 [email protected]
Reprint ServicesVoice: +1 (413) 499-0514Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
Mailing addresses:Send all contracts, insertion orders and advertising copy to:Laurin PublishingPO Box 4949Pittsfield, MA 01202-4949
Street address:Laurin PublishingBerkshire Common, 2 South St.Pittsfield, MA 01201Voice: +1 (413) 499-0514Fax: +1 (413) [email protected]
aAndor Technology plc. ...........68
www.andor.comApplied Scientific
Instrumentation Inc. .............36www.asiimaging.com
Argyle International Inc. .........78www.argyleoptics.com
bB&W Tek Inc. ........................13
www.bwtek.comBristol Instruments Inc. ......24, 67
www.bristol-inst.com
cCoherent Inc. .............15, 40, 66
www.coherent.comCVI Melles Griot ....................22
www.cvimellesgriot.com
dDeposition Sciences Inc. ...........9
www.depsci.comDiagnostic Instruments Inc. ......46
www.spotimaging.comDiMaxx Technologies .............66
www.dimaxxtech.comDiverse Optics Inc. .................72
www.diverseoptics.comDRS Technologies Inc. ............21
www.drs.com
eEdmund Optics .................28-29
www.edmundoptics.comEsco Products Inc. ..................20
www.escoproducts.comET Enterprises/ADIT/
Electron Tubes .....................67www.et-enterprises.com
Excelitas Technologies .........CV2www.excelitas.com
Exciton Inc. ............................68www.exciton.com
fFermionics
Opto-Technology ................14www.fermionics.com
First Sensor Inc. .....................12www.first-sensor.com
FLIR Systems Inc. ....................34www.flir.com
4D Technology Corporation ........................77www.4dtechnology.com
hHORIBA Scientific ..................49
www.picocomponents.com
ILX Lightwave Corp. ...............25www.ilxlightwave.com
Incom Inc. .............................61www.incomusa.com
Innovation Photonics ..............67www.innpho.com
jJulabo USA Inc. .....................66
www.julabo.com
lL-3 Communications
Tinsley ................................31www.asphere.com
Laser Institute of America .......76www.icaleo.org
LightMachinery Inc. ..........18, 26www.lightmachinery.com
mMad City Labs Inc. .................75
www.madcitylabs.comMarket Tech Inc. ....................67
www.markettechinc.netMaster Bond Inc. ...................78
www.masterbond.comMeller Optics Inc. ..................75
www.melleroptics.comMetrigraphics LLC ..................57
www.metrigraphicsllc.comMoxtek Inc. ...........................38
www.moxtek.com
nNewport
Corporation ...6, 8, 19, 33, 35www.newport.com
Nova Sensors, a Teledyne Majority Owned Company ................54www.novasensors.com
Novotech Inc. ........................65www.novotech.net
NuSil Technology LLC ...............7www.nusil.com
oOphir-Spiricon LLC ................68
www.ophiropt.compPCO-TECH Inc. ......................51
www.pco-tech.com
Photonics Media ........68, 71, 80www.photonics.com
PI (Physik Instrumente) L.P. ......66www.pi.ws
Polymicro Technologies, a Subsidiary of Molex .........39www.polymicro.com
Power Technology Inc. .........CV3www.powertechnology.com
Precision Glass & Optics ....................27www.pgo.com
Prior Scientific Inc. .................73www.prior.com
rResearch
Electro-Optics Inc. ...............55www.reoinc.com
Ross Optical Industries ...........60www.rossoptical.com
sSmithers Apex .......................69
www.ledsconference.comStanford Research
Systems Inc. ..........................3www.thinksrs.com
Stanford University .................74http://photonics.stanford.edu
Sutter Instrument ....................80www.sutter.com
Swift Glass Co. Inc. ................36www.swiftglass.com
Synopsys Inc. ........................11www.synopsys.com
tTerahertz
Technologies Inc. .................67www.terahertztechnologies.com
Tohkai Sangyo Co. Ltd. ..................73www.peak.co.jp
TOPTICA Photonics Inc. ................66, 68www.toptica.com
TRIOPTICS GmbH ..................23www.trioptics.com
vVeeco Instruments Inc. ............45
www.veeco.com
zZygo Corp. .........................CV4
www.zygo.com
812AdIndex_Layout 1 7/20/12 10:56 AM Page 81
p PEREGRINATIONS
Photonics Bestsellers That Never Were
The Girl with the Argon TattooThe Girl Who Played with FiberThe Girl Who Kicked the Honeycomb Table
The Fellowship of the Ring Laser
The Hubble Games
Charlie and the Optics Factory
The Da Vinci Coating
James and the Giant Pechan Prism
The Lovely Boules
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Vapor Deposition
Schrödinger’s Cat in the Hat
The Joy of Cloaking
Tuesdays with Maiman
Fifty Shades of Gray Scale
The Seven Habits of Highly Reflective Prisms
82 Photonics Spectra August 2012
Have your own “novel” ideas? Send them to me, and you could see them in an upcoming issue!
Melinda A. [email protected]
As we in the industry know, optics and photonics are vital to modernlife. But the reality is that many people are unaware of this fact. So, to celebrate our second annual “list” issue, I wondered what a
bestsellers list might look like if photonics and pop culture collided.
812_Peregrinations_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:57 PM Page 82
You Are Not a Box
Your application is unique. Your laser needs are specific.
Why adapt to a standard off the shelf product?
We believe our customers are special. You deserve more than the contents of a pre-determined box.
Over 90% of all our laser modules shipped are custom. Not just the high volume orders.
Our custom laser modules create more quality and value for your applications. We can help you build a custom laser module that is unique to your needs.
So. You want to be special instead of a box?We can help with that.
www.PowerTechnology.com/Custom
812_PowerTechnology_PgCVR3_Layout 1 7/19/12 4:27 PM Page CVR3
adaptive mirrors
coating ablation
MEMS sensor
machining marks
surface profi lers for applications that need precision
1-800-ZYGO-NOW www.zygo.com/swli [email protected]
Zygo is the leading manufacturer of precision metrology systems using interferometric techniques.Contact us today about your non-contact metrology requirements.
Optical fi lm character ization, surface defect review, MEMs
topography inspection, machined surface roughness. These, and a wide range of other applications that require precision metrology in advanced manufacturing, require interferometric precision.
Zygo, the leader in optical interferometric surface profi lometry, is the trusted source for 3D non-contact surface measurements.
Zygo’s NewView™ 7000 series profi lers and its other 3D optical profi lers off er the highest precision surface measurements combined with a comprehensive analysis software package, supporting hundreds of results.
Every measurement is completely non contact, with vertical resolution independent of the fi eld of view. Zygo’s large selection of objectives includes high magnifi cation, large fi eld of view, and long working distances.
When surface applications demand precision,
industry goes to Zygo for solutions.
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