The European magazine for photonics professionals
November 2005 Issue 133 PRODUCT GUIDE COMPANY PROFILE SENSORS Avalanche detectors JDSU invests in Mobile LIDAR help speed up low-light operations outside clean up pollution measurements optical telecoms problems in Canada
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ISO 9001:2000 Certified 800.882.5085 USA|Canada 1.520.721.0500 Worldwide EDITORIAL Editor Oliver Graydon Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1015 [email protected] Technology editor Jacqueline Hewett Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1194 [email protected] Issue 133 November 2005 Contents Reporter James Tyrrell Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1256 NEWS [email protected] 5 Business Thales sells its high-tech optics unit • Samsung Production editor Alison Gardiner Technical illustrator Alison Tovey dominates OLED market • Alight buys VCSEL ideas EUROPE/ROW SALES 9 Editorial Life after telecoms International advertising sales manager Adrian Chance Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1193 10 Analysis SEDs face up to flat-panel giants [email protected] Senior sales executive Cadi Jones TECHNOLOGY Tel: +44 (0) 117 930 1090 [email protected] Thales waves goodbye to its 11 Applications Start-up offers desktop 3D display • Nuna wins photonics business p5 Sales executive Ami Wilson solar race in record time • NIR sensor is a boost to car makers Tel: +44 (0) 117 930 1284 [email protected] 14 R&D Polymer photovoltaics reach efficiency highs • Chips give US SALES OFFICE hope to optical buffers North American advertising sales manager Rob Fisher Carl Zeiss licenses femtosecond microscopy know-how IOP Publishing Inc, Suite 929, 150 South 15 Patents Independence Mall West, Philadelphia PA 19106, USA Tel: +1 215 627 0880 Fax: +1 215 627 0879 FEATURES [email protected] 19 Eye sensor offers instant blood glucose readings ADVERTISING PRODUCTION A pain-free optical technique for measuring blood glucose levels Advertising production coordinator Teresa Honey Are SEDs the answer to the could prove to be a big hit with diabetics when it comes to the TV of the future? p10 Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1040 market. Oliver Graydon reports from Photonex 2005. [email protected] CIRCULATION AND MARKETING Product manager Angela Peck 20 LIDAR road trip uncovers pollution secrets Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1025 Mobile LIDAR came under the spotlight at SPIE Europe’s recent [email protected] Remote Sensing event held in Bruges, Belgium. James Tyrrell ART DIRECTOR caught up with Environment Canada’s Kevin Strawbridge to Andrew Giaquinto discover the benefits of taking a high-power laser on the road. PUBLISHER Geraldine Pounsford Tel: +44 (0)117 930 1022 23 JDSU pins profitability on diversified business [email protected] In fiscal 2005, nearly half of JDSU’s revenue came from Electroluminescent lining activities other than optical telecommunications. Jacqueline PUBLISHING DIRECTOR lights up handbag p13 Richard Roe Hewett finds out about the firm’s diversification plans. OPTO & LASER EUROPE Dirac House,Temple Back, 25 Avalanche design boosts detection of light signal Bristol BS1 6BE, UK. Measuring low light levels can be a challenge, especially at high Tel: +44 (0)117 929 7481 Editorial fax: +44 (0)117 925 1942 speeds. Tim Stokes explains why avalanche photodiodes are Advertising fax: +44 (0)117 930 1178 often an attractive solution to the problem. Internet: optics.org/ole ISSN 0966-9809 CODEN OL EEEV PRODUCTS SUBSCRIPTIONS Complimentary copies are sent to qualifying 29 Monochrome camera • Supercontinnum generator • LED panel individuals (for more details see optics.org/ole/ JDSU turns to DPSS lasers subscribe). For readers outside registration to drive its business p23 requirements: £111/7160 ($199 US and Canada) REGULARS per year. Single issue £10/714 ($18 US, Canada and Mexico). CONTACT: IOPP Magazines, WDIS Ltd, 37 People Units 12 & 13, Cranleigh Gardens Industrial Estate, The European magazine for photonics professionals
Southall, Middlesex UB1 2DB, UK. November 2005 Issue 133 38 Calendar PRODUCT GUIDE COMPANY PROFILE SENSORS Avalanche detectors JDSU invests in Mobile LIDAR help speed up low-light operations outside clean up pollution Tel: +44 (0)208 606 7518. Fax: +44 (0)208 606 7303. measurements optical telecoms problems in Canada E-mail: [email protected] © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd. The contents of OLE do not represent the views or policies of the Institute of Physics, its council or its officers unless so identified. This magazine incorporates Opto & Laser Products. Printed by Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, UK.
MEDICINE OPTICAL GLUCOSE SENSOR TARGETS THE HUMAN EYE Cover (OLE) Eye sensor promises easy glucose tests for diabetics. p19
For the latest news on optics and photonics don’t forget to visit optics.org
NEWS BUSINESS 5 EDITORIAL 9 ANALYSIS 10
ACQUISITIONS Thales sells its high-tech optics unit
The French defence giant Thales has sold its High Tech Optics Member firms of (HTO) division to the private Thales HTO unit investment firm Candover for FRANCE 8220 m in cash. HTO consists of Thales Angenieux SA 13 firms spread around the globe Thales Cryogenie SA that each specialize in a different Thales Laser Diodes SA aspect of photonics such as optical Thales Laser SA coatings, polymer optics, infrared vision systems and laser diodes THE NETHERLANDS (see box). Thales Cryogenics BV Thales HTO employs around 1400 staff and reported an annual SINGAPORE revenue of 8124 m last year – Thales Electro Optics PTE Ltd making it just a small part of the Thales group which has 60 000 JAPAN
employees and generated a rev- Thales Optical Coatings Thales Laser Co Ltd enue of 810.3 bn in 2004. Optical expertise: Thales HTO specializes in making thin-film coatings, high-power “With this sale, Thales has laser diodes, a wide range of optical components and IR vision systems. US divested non-core businesses,” Thales Optem Inc said Jean-Loup Picard of Thales. European buyouts. “HTO fits Can- (Springer), entertainment (Gala Thales Polymer Optics Inc “It has been our strategic intent to dover’s investment criteria per- Bingo) and packaging materials refocus the business on our core fectly: it is a global leader in its field, (Innovia Films). The firm typically UK activities to strengthen our posi- it has a niche position in industry invests in firms to unlock their Thales Optics Ltd tion as a large systems integrator with significant growth potential growth potential and then 3–5 Thales Optical Coatings Ltd and equipment and services and enjoys long and established years later either sells them on or provider in defence and security. relationships with its large cus- floats them on the stock exchange. GERMANY This divestment will provide fur- tomer base,” explained Cyril Zivré, A spokesman for Candover told Thales Optische Systeme GmbH ther considerable financial director of Candover. OLE that it would be “business as resources for both organic and Since its formation in 1980 Can- normal” for Thales HTO cus- HUNGARY external expansion in such areas.” dover has invested in 125 buyouts tomers, but that the unit will be Thales Hungaria Optikai Rendszered Candover is a private equity worth a total of over 825 bn in changing its name in the future to KFT organization that specializes in sectors as diverse as publishing reflect its new ownership.
AWARDS Optical scientists land Nobel prize The 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics Glauber is credited with estab- quency combs. has been awarded to three scientists lishing the basis of quantum optics Frequency combs are generated working in the field of optics. One by showing how quantum theory by sending femtosecond laser half of the SEK10 m (81.07 m) has to be formulated to describe pulses down an optical fibre result- prize goes to Roy Glauber of Har- the detection of photons. ing in a series of regularly spaced, vard University in the US “for his Glauber’s work clarified the fun- discrete emission lines extending contribution to the quantum the- damental differences between the optical frequencies into the ory of optical coherence”. thermal light sources such as light near-infrared. The remaining SEK5 m will be bulbs, which have a mixture of fre- These frequency combs have split by John Hall from the Univer- quencies and phases, and coherent been used to probe the fine struc- sity of Colorado in the US and sources of light such as lasers and ture of atoms and the properties of
Theodor Hänsch of the Ludwig- quantum amplifiers. atomic nuclei, as well as to develop Larry Harwood, University of Colorado Maximillians University in Ger- Hall and Hänsch, meanwhile, a number of applications including John Hall from the University of Colorado. many for their “contributions to the have been recognized for their extremely accurate atomic clocks development of laser-based preci- work on using lasers to carry out and improved GPS technology. in 1934 in Denver, US while sion spectroscopy, including the extremely precise spectroscopic Glauber was born in 1925 in Theodor Hänsch was born in optical frequency comb technique”. measurements using optical fre- New York, US. John Hall was born 1941 in Heidelberg, Germany.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 5 NEWS SUBSECTION
OLEDS Samsung dominates OLED market
The Korean electronics giant Sam- using small molecule material,” sung SDI is leading the emerging 40 said DisplaySearch in its report. market for organic light-emitting “PLED [polymer light-emitting 35 diode (OLED) displays, according to diode] material panel producers 30 the latest figures from the US-based now represent less than 3% of the analyst DisplaySearch. 25 total shipments.” In its most recent report Quarterly 20 This is good news for Kodak, OLED Shipment and Forecast Report, 15 which pioneered small molecule
DisplaySearch revealed that ship- revenue (US$ m) 10 OLED technology and has now ments of OLEDs in the second quar- licensed it to more than 12 firms, 5 ter (Q2) of 2005 grew 82% over the but it must be worrying for com- 0 same period in 2004 to reach Samsung SDI RiTdisplay Pioneer Univision LGE panies such as CDT of the UK,
14.2 m units worth $124.8 m DisplaySearch which are developing rival polymer (t103.8m). Samsung led the mar- A breakdown of the sales of OLED displays by manufacturer for Q2 2005. organic light-emitting material. ket with 30% ($37.2 m) of sales, Last month, Philips decided to followed by RiTdisplay, Pioneer, music (mp3) players. The company due to the fact that OLEDs con- exit the PLED market after saying Univision and LGE (see figure). believes that OLEDs have now cap- sume less power, which extends that its PolyLED business had not DisplaySearch says that the rise tured about 40% of the market, battery life. Other important appli- become financially viable within in shipments was largely due to an and around 6m units were shipped cations responsible for driving an acceptable period of time. OTB explosion in the demand (1300% during Q2 2005. The reason for sales of OLED displays were mobile Displays of the Netherlands pur- growth) for passive matrix OLED the dramatic transition from LCDs phones and car audio systems. chased the business for an undis- (PMOLED) displays for portable to OLEDs in portable equipment is “All of the growth is in PMOLEDs closed sum of cash.
LEDS Solar bus-stops to illuminate London
Thousands of solar-powered bus- area during the night. even the worst weather. stops that light up automatically at “We’ve got a unit that can sit on Carmanah has been involved dusk are set to transform the experi- top of an ordinary British bus-stop with the London project from the ence of waiting for a bus at night and provide light all year round,” beginning, delivering its first pro- in England’s capital. The £7.9 m said Ivan Bennett, research and totypes in the fall of 2001. The (t11.5 m) Transport for London development manager, Transport company’s technology has been project, which is set to run over five for London. “It’s an environmen- rolled-out in several cities includ- years, combines the latest white tally friendly improvement that is ing Seattle in the US; Vancouver, LED technology with photovoltaics. relatively cheap to build, costs no Canada; and Edinburgh, Scotland. Each bus-stop features a canopy extra to run, and will make a big Solar-powered bus-stops appear covered with photovoltaic cells difference to passengers.” to be big business, with Carmanah
that collect energy from the sun. The bus-stop features solar tech- announcing record revenues for Carmanah, Canada Power gathered during the day- nology supplied by Canadian firm the second quarter of 2005 of Thousands of these solar-powered white time is stored in batteries and used Carmanah Technologies, and is $6.5 m (t5.4 m) – an increase of LED bus-stops will be deployed in to illuminate the timetable display, assembled in the UK by Trueform 87% on the same period last year. London, following similar installations signage and passenger waiting Engineering. It is said to work in Each solar stop retails for t3000. in Seattle, Vancouver and Edinburgh.
6 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org Mai Tai® HP – take a closer look.
The new “High Performance” Mai Tai® HP delivers the most advanced capabilities of any one-box ultrafast laser. Mai Tai HP produces more than 2.5 W of average power with greater tuning flexibility than ever before. With wavelength accessibility ranging from 700–1020 nm, it allows for excitation of the most popular fluorophores. Mai Tai HP is fully computer controlled and requires little or no training, making it the perfect choice for multi-user facilities.
Ideal for a variety of applications, Mai Tai HP can be used to drive multiple experiments simultaneously. For general spectroscopy, it offers unmatched experimental flexibility and for multiphoton microscopy, it provides enough average power to drive up to 3 microscope setups. It’s also supported by a complete line of wavelength conversion accessories capable of producing wavelengths ranging from the UV into the infrared.
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Belgium France Germany / AustriaGermany / Switzerland Netherlands United Kingdom / Ireland USA Spectra-Physics Lasers BV Spectra-Physics France Spectra-Physics GmbH Spectra-Physics Lasers BV Spectra-Physics Lasers Ltd. Spectra-Physics Inc. Phone: 0800-11 257 Phone: 0810-00 76 15 Phone: +49 (0) 6151-708-0 Phone: 0900-555 56 78 Phone: +44 (0)1442-258100 Phone: +1-650-961-2550 Fax: 0800-11 302 Fax: 0810-06 26 11 Fax: +49 (0) 6151-708-217 Fax: 0900-555 56 79 Fax: +44 (0)1442-268538 Fax: +1-650-964-3584
AD-100506-EN [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] NEWS BUSINESS
ACQUISITIONS IN BRIEF
FINANCIAL RESULTS Alight buys VCSEL ideas Quantel of France has posted a revenue of 815.9 m ($19.1 m) for Alight Technologies of Denmark long-term target is to develop the six months ended 30 June 2005. has acquired Infineon Technolo- devices emitting 2 mW of output This compares with a revenue of gies’ activities in 1300 nm VCSELs power at an operating temperature 816.7 m for the same period in for an undisclosed sum. The deal over 85 °C. 2004, although this result included includes manufacturing equip- He adds that Alight’s target an exceptional gain of 81.1 m ment, intellectual property rights applications have not changed thanks to a financial reimbursement. and wafers for making devices. now that it has acquired Infi- The company is optimistic about the Infineon’s VCSEL technology is neon’s technology. remainder of 2005 and says it is based on the GaInNAs material “Our target applications remain working on new products and system. “This platform fits very well telecoms and telecoms access expanding its US market presence.
with the work that we do,” Dirk Alight applications,” said Jessen. “We are Jessen, Alight’s vice-president of Alight Technologies etches tiny holes into also targeting high bit-rate data- DISPLAYS business development, told OLE. the top surface of the VCSEL. This com markets.” Plastic Logic of the UK, a developer “We are targeting high-power sin- photonic bandgap structure is said to As part of the deal, Alight will of plastic electronics, is to jointly gle-mode VCSELs at 1310 nm. The increase the VCSEL’s output power whilst acquire a molecular beam epitaxy develop flexible active-matrix combination of a qualified material maintaining singlemode operation. (MBE) machine that it plans to displays for mobile devices with platform and our add-on technol- place at a foundry to turn out its Japanese mobile telecoms giant ogy creates a unique opportunity ing to do is lift the material plat- devices in high volumes. NTT DoCoMo. for Alight.” form to another [output power] “Our business model is to do the Alight, a spin-out from the Tech- level by applying our PBG technol- prototyping here in Denmark,” ORDERS nical University of Denmark, is ogy,” said Jessen. “The final prod- explained Jessen. “We will work LINOS has received a 812 m pioneering the use of photonic uct that comes out will be based on together with a volume manufac- ($14.5 m) contract to supply bandgap (PBG) structures that are the Infineon platform and use our turer for volume supplies and will optical systems for use in security said to enable high-power, single- PBG technology.” place the MBE machine at a technology. Orders at the German mode VCSELs. “What we are hop- According to Jessen, Alight’s foundry at a later stage.” firm have now risen considerably over two successive quarters and FINANCIAL RESULTS are likely to amount to 867 m by Cree quarterly revenue tops $100 m up 42% on a year-on-year basis. the end of Q3 2005. “Our strategy to win share in Cree, US, has reported a record ter last year. white LED mobile phone backlight IMAGING quarterly revenue of $103.86 m The company says that sales of applications has been gaining Jenoptik Laser Optik Systeme of (886.29 m) for its first quarter of high-brightness LEDs made up momentum,” said Cree’s chair- Germany has acquired a 51% stake fiscal 2006. This figure represents 68% of the total revenue for the man Chuck Swoboda. “We have in Sinar to become majority a 5% increase sequentially and an quarter, followed by mid-bright- also made excellent progress on shareholder. The move strengthens 8% increase over the year-ago ness at 28% and standard bright- our conversion to 3-inch wafers Jenoptik’s successful co-operation period. Net income for the first ness at 4%. LED shipment volumes during the quarter.” with the Swiss camera systems quarter was $21.72 m compared have also risen 10% compared Cree hopes to post a revenue of manufacturer. with $24.43 m for the same quar- with the previous quarter and are up to $109 m for its next quarter.
L E N S T E S T I N G S Y S T E M S MTF - EFL - Distortion - Field Curvature www.image-science.co.uk
8 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org NEWS EDITORIAL
Life after telecoms
Those who feared that the photonics industry would be fatally wounded by the telecoms crash a few years back are being proved wrong. This Coated optical components from month’s issue is full of examples of how firms have successfully taken promising optical tech- Unaxis conduct, reflect, transmit, nology and applied it to other sectors. select and polarize light. They make A good example is Lein Applied a major contribution in today’s infor- Diagnostics, a UK start-up founded by two mation highways and to advanced former telecoms veterans to apply photonics to the world of medicine (see p19). Lein’s sensors that increasingly penetrate nifty idea is to create an optical sensor that our daily life. Whether in customer- “Investors measures the blood glucose level of diabetics specific solutions or mass produced via the eye. The result could be a quick and are now pain-free alternative to the blood sampling standard components, we will offer ASCINATING
techniques used today. F you tomorrow’s technology today. willing to PHOTONS Although the project is in its early stages back and Lein has many years of clinical trials ahead, its bench-based prototype has yielded photonics promising results. The firm now plans to firms once exploit the assembly techniques and component technology developed during the again .” telecoms boom to shrink the sensor to the size Oliver Graydon of a mobile phone and make it cost-effective for the consumer market. And it’s not just start-ups that have been successful in shifting their business plans away from telecoms. JDSU, the well-known supplier of optical components and sub- assemblies to network equipment vendors, has also been busy diversifying its product portfolio (see p23). The firm’s coating and pigment business is now flourishing and over the past 12 months JDSU has acquired several firms outside the telecoms arena (namely Lightwave Electronics and Photonic Power Systems) to help expand into new business areas. As a result, about 40% of its fiscal 2005 revenue was unrelated to telecoms. Lightwave has given JDSU a new strength www.optics.unaxis.com Headquarters in UV diode-pumped solid-state lasers for Unaxis Balzers Ltd. applications in semiconductor wafer FL-9496 Balzers [email protected] processing and biomedicine. Both these Phone+423 388 44 44 markets are forecast to grow at a compound Fax +423 388 54 05 annual growth rate of 20% over the next few years. USA On a final note, the recent flotation of the Unaxis Optics USA Inc. fibre laser specialist Southampton Photonics Golden, CO 80403 [email protected] (SPI; OLE October p6), which had its origins Phone+1 303 273 9700 in the telecoms field and is now focusing on Fax +1 303 273 2995 materials processing, is also welcome news. It demonstrates that investors are now willing China to back photonics firms once again, following Unaxis (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. the painful experience that many had with Pudong, Shanghai 200131, P.R.China [email protected] telecoms start-ups. Phone+86 21 5057 4646 Fax +86 21 5057 4643 Oliver Graydon, editor E-mail [email protected]
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org NEWS ANALYSIS
DISPLAYS SEDs face up to flat-panel giants 50-inch displays that combine the image quality of a CRT with the thickness of an LCD could be on the market as early as next year. Robert Thomas charts the rise of SED technology.
When it comes to flat-panel display SED production will reach 3 million technology, surface-conduction 40- and 50-inch panels by 2010, electron-emitter displays (SEDs) generating a revenue of $1.8 bn. probably aren’t the first to spring to This calculation assumes a price of mind. Today, this honour is more around $600, but even if this is likely to go to LCDs or plasma dis- increased by 250% to $1500 for plays (PDPs). But the pioneers of retail it still compares favourably to SEDs, consumer electronics giants the $2000 price tag market analyst Canon and Toshiba, are confident DisplaySearch has forecast for 40- that their technology has got what inch LCDs or PDPs in 2010. it takes to become the television screen of the future. Cautious optimism What’s more, both firms are However, there are many industry backing up their claims with observers who are are cautious significant investment. In October about the outlook for SED TV. Con- 2004, Canon and Toshiba formed a ventional wisdom says that driving joint venture called SED Inc and production yield and reducing cost
plan to have a range of commercial Canon through just a couple of suppliers products on the market next year. It Consumer electronics giants Canon and Toshiba are ploughing vast amounts of will be hard, and that Canon and looks as though the venture is on- money into their SED technology, with the aim of having 50-inch screens on the Toshiba might not be able to make track as prototype 50-inch SEDs market by the second half of 2006. Prototype devices, such as the one shown the manufacturing cost-effective have already been seen at trade above, have now been seen at several trade shows and exhibitions. before 2010. shows and are expected to hit the Another factor to consider is that market in the second half of 2006. that no significant technological SED technology as early as 1986. the LCD and PDP manufacturers hurdles exist for producing larger It joined forces with Toshiba in may well lower their prices faster Inherent advantages SEDs in the future. Manufacturers 1999 to develop the technology than the current forecasts. Chinese The principles behind SEDs are the simply need to make more electron further, a partnership that culmi- manufacturers’ entry into this mar- same as those for cathode-ray tube emitters to match the number of nated in SED Inc. ket only strengthen that likelihood. (CRT) displays. Both rely on a pixels of the screen, and use larger Despite this, Canon and Toshiba mechanism that accelerates elec- glass substrates. Production schedule are optimistic that they will be able trons towards a phosphor-coated Another bonus is that SED tech- Both firms have ploughed signifi- to keep prices down by optimizing electrofluorescent layer to light up nology converts electricity to light cant funding into R&D and manu- their in-house manufacturing tech- the pixels of the display. While more efficiently than other types of facturing facilities. Toshiba plans nology development and adopting a CRTs use an electron gun and a set displays. Canon says that SEDs con- to invest $1.7 bn (81.42 bn) to vertical business-deployment model of deflectors, an SED replaces this sume two-thirds as much power as retrofit its Himeji, Japan, plant for instead of the horizontal business- with a thin electron-emitting layer plasma displays of the same size SED volume production. The com- development model shared by LCD consisting of a glass substrate, an and surpass LCD and CRTs in terms pany expects the plant to come and PDP manufacturers. electrode, and a thin palladium of power efficiency. online in early 2007, with an out- If Canon and Toshiba can deliver oxide (PdO) particle film. An LCD also requires a back- put capacity of 15 000 units per on these promises by 2010, then This allows SED screens to have light, so the cost of manufacturing month rising to 75 000 per month the SED could become a household a thickness of between 1 and 2 the panel is high. Costs are also an by the end of 2007. name and a product that many of inches while preserving the image- issue when it comes to producing Meanwhile, Canon started pilot us have in our living rooms. quality of a CRT. At a trade show in PDPs, which require a high drive production of 50-inch SEDs in its April 2005, Toshiba displayed an voltage and periphery circuits that Hiratsuka, Japan, plant in August Robert Thomas is principal at SRI SED with a contrast of up to need large-capacity capacitors. In 2005 and is currently turning out Consulting Business Intelligence, a 100 000:1. Even if future com- contrast, SEDs require only 10 V 3000 units per month. It also business and technology research mercial products cannot offer this drive voltage and do not require a plans to invest $180 m to estab- consultancy spin-off level of contrast, the eventual con- backlight, so their production lish an R&D centre housing 150 from the former trast is still likely to be much better costs are better than both compet- staff near its Hiratsuka facility to Stanford Research than what LCD and PDP, or even ing technologies. develop SED technology and Institute. See www. CRT screens, are able to achieve. Lured by these inherent advan- manufacturing techniques. sric-bi.com or e-mail In addition, this set-up means tages, Canon started researching Canon and Toshiba forecast that [email protected].
10 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS 11 R&D 14 PATENTS 15
DISPLAYS Start-up offers desktop 3D display
By Jacqueline Hewett viewing position. McKay says his Iris-3d, a spin-out from the Univer- product has about ±100 mm of in- sity of Strathclyde, UK, has devel- and-out movement and ±30 mm oped a glasses-free 3D visualization of lateral movement. The exit pupil system that it hopes will take the oil is 130 mm in diameter. and gas exploration, medical imag- “We have designed the system to ing and life science modelling mar- be ergonomic so you can adjust kets by storm. where the exit pupil is positioned,” Based around a projection said McKay. “You get in our system scheme, the company’s system and tune it to your settings. There offers an impressive list of features is a motorized system to position including a stereoscopic resolution the exit pupil on your face which of 1600 × 1200 pixels (UXGA). allows you to get into a comfort- Having already sold one of its able position.” products to Shell, Iris-3d is moving The oil and gas industries from strength to strength and is already use 3D visualization tech- currently completing its first nology, but in the form of immer-
round of private-equity funding. Iris-3d sive virtual-reality rooms. McKay The company was founded in Iris-3d says its 3D visualization technology can be used in the oil and gas industry for believes his company’s technology December 2003 by Stuart McKay, reservoir monitoring and planning the route an oil well takes through the sea-bed. offers a convenient, desktop alter- who is now its CEO. “Our technol- native and the product is now being ogy is a personal workstation that ever, these products rely on a par- projector that feeds images exclu- trialled at several oil and gas firms. users can work on for up to eight allax barrier or a lenticular screen sively into your right eye and a sec- The company is also hoping its hours a day,” he told OLE. “To do to generate the 3D image, whereas ond that feeds images exclusively technology will find uses in the this requires a high-resolution, Iris-3d uses dual image projector into your left eye,” explained medical imaging and drug discov- high-fidelity image and no cross- technology. According to McKay, McKay. “We use a set of combining ery markets. “Slices taken by an talk [between images destined for Iris’s solution benefits from at least optics to ensure that there is no MRI scanner can be processed and the right and left eyes].” twice the resolution of other prod- cross-talk. The other novelty is that viewed in 3D for both diagnosis Companies such as Sharp and ucts and eliminates cross-talk. we are using a concave mirror as and surgical planning,” concluded Philips have already released Iris-3d’s projection design is the final viewing screen.” McKay. “3D visualization can also autostereoscopic systems that do based around two conventional However, as with all autostereo- show you how a drug molecule not require special glasses. How- LCD panels. “Our system has one scopic systems, there is an optimal interacts with a protein.”
MARKING Laser-etching promotes egg safety
Eggs that are laser-etched with an “The laser does not heat the egg so “This technology is bringing expiry date and a code that traces we are not cooking the inside in the added confidence to consumers the egg back to where it was pack- process,” he added. because they can now tell exactly aged are now available in the US. The etching kit is integrated into how fresh their egg is,” Tye told Developed by US firm EggFusion, the existing machinery at a pack- OLE. “We are trying to promote
the laser system etches a perma- ing facility. “Our equipment is freshness and etching the eggs Born Free Eggs nent, easy-to-read and tamper- placed right before the packing with a permanent mark has a lot of Born Free Eggs believes it is the first US proof mark on the eggshell which stage,” explained Tye. “The etch- value for the consumer.” firm to use lasers to etch permanent allows consumers to see when the ing happens as the egg is moving EggFusion’s technology has and tamper-free codes onto an eggshell. egg should be used by. so it doesn’t slow the packing now been adopted by fellow US EggFusion uses a pulsed sealed process down at all.” firm Born Free Eggs, which is Founded in 2001, EggFusion is carbon-dioxide laser to etch the In addition to the physical laser headed by David Radlo. “Every trying to promote its idea to other eggshells. According to Roger Tye, system, EggFusion also offers con- Born Free egg speaks for itself with egg producers. “We are actively the company’s VP of marketing sumers the opportunity to type the freshness dating, traceability cod- pursuing further placements,” and communications, the laser traceability code into a database on ing and identification, which guar- said Tye. “We really see this as a removes between 5 and 8% of the its website. The code lists informa- antees customers the finest egg win-win because consumers get eggshell and the structural tion such as where the egg was safety protocol on the market added benefits and the producer integrity of the shell is maintained. packed. today,” said Radlo. can feel better about their eggs.”
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 11 TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
SOLAR POWER Nuna wins solar race in record time
The Nuon Solar Team and its car, tember. Apart from compulsory Nuna 3, has won the 2005 World stops at seven checkpoints, each Solar Challenge in a record-break- team travelled as far as it could ing time. The team covered the each day but had to stop to make 3021 km course from Darwin, in camp by 5.00 p.m. each evening. the north of Australia, to Adelaide, Nuna 3 crossed the finishing line in the south, in a time of on Wednesday 28 September. 29 h 11 min and posted an average Next across the line was the Aus-
speed of 102.75 kph. David Hancock, SkyScans tralian car Aurora in a time of This is the third consecutive win After a hard day on the road, each team must make camp by 5.00 p.m. – a good 32 h 35 min with an average speed for the Dutch team, which posted a opportunity for them to recharge the car’s solar cells in the late evening sun. of 92 kph. The third placed car was record time of 30 h 54 min when it Momentum, from the University of won the last World Solar Challenge are said to have an efficiency of strategy and telemetry system, new Michigan, US, closely followed by in 2003. As well as posting its 26%. As well as using these high- suspension, nitrogen filled tyres – Japan’s Sky Ace Tiga and Taiwan record-breaking time this year, the efficiency solar cells, the Nuon actually everything about the Nuna University’s Formosun. Nuon team is the first to record an team says it has made a significant 3 has improved compared with the The Nuon Solar team consists of average speed of over 100 kph for number of improvements to the Nuna 2,” Jorrit Lousberg, Nuon 11 students from the Delft Univer- the event. current car compared with its pre- Solar team leader told OLE. “The sity of Technology in the Nether- Nuna 3 is covered with approxi- decessors. only thing that has lasted from the lands. This year’s event attracted mately 9 m2 of triple junction gal- “Changes include new aerody- previous two cars is the motor!” 23 cars from 10 countries includ- lium arsenide solar cells. namics, lower weight (189kg), bet- The 2005 challenge got under ing first-time entries from Belgium Purchased from Emcore, the cells ter batteries, better solar cells, better way in Darwin on Sunday 25 Sep- and Iran.
PROJECTORS immediate plans to market the Epson unveils miniature mini-projector, Epson believes that its prototype demonstrates just how LED-based projector compact mobile 3LCD projectors could become. “This projector Epson has unveiled a prototype ponents is then passed through an would be most suited for personal
miniature projector using an LED LCD panel, recombined by a prism Epson use in a relatively small space,” said light source with dimensions of and then projected onto a screen. Epson’s prototype LED-based projector. Bourne. “It would be most effective just 13.8 ×10.3 cm, and weighing “The prototype uses six LEDs: within a range of 50–150cm.” 500 g. The Japanese electronics two each for red, green and blue, so show which was held in Berlin, “Projectors using 3LCD technol- giant says this is the first time that it can project colour images,” Alas- Germany, at the start of Septem- ogy already have advantages in an LED has been used in tandem tair Bourne of Epson told OLE. ber. “The device can project real- terms of bright, natural images with its popular 3LCD projector As well as allowing a compact time images as well as still images,” that are easy on the eyes,” said technology. design, the LEDs offer several advan- said Bourne. “At the IFA show it Koichi Kubota, Epson’s general A projector based on 3LCD tech- tages over conventional projection was hooked up to a DVD player.” manager of projector marketing. nology typically uses dichroic mir- lamps including rapid turn-on and According to Bourne, the proto- “This development is yet another rors to split white light from a turn-off, and a longer lifetime. type runs off a standard power sup- example showing the potential of standard projector lamp into red, The prototype made its debut at ply and comes with a USB interface. Epson projectors and Epson projec- green and blue. Each of these com- the IFA consumer electronics trade Although the company has no tor technology.” TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
SENSING NIR sensor is a boost to car makers
A miniature optical temperature is 130 µs, with a temperature reso- sensor that can be installed in a lution and accuracy of around spark plug could help car makers 20 K, depending on the in-cylinder develop a new generation of low- pressure,” said Allen. “Extensions emission, highly fuel-efficient to the unit’s temperature measure- engines, say its inventors. The ment range are being studied now device is the result of a collaboration to cover higher post-combustion between Japanese automotive firm temperatures.” Nissan, US technology developer The sensor’s spark-plug com- Physical Sciences Incorporated patible design is said to make it (PSI) and Stanford University, US. much easier to implement com- Operating in real-time, the instru- pared with competing methods.
ment measures in-cylinder gas tem- Nissan These include attaching sensors peratures between 300 and 1050K A new breed of fuel efficient SUVs could appear on the horizon if a real-time optical inside the cylinder wall or estimat- and will be used by vehicle engi- temperature sensor developed by Nissan, PSI and Stanford University takes off. ing the temperature by analyzing neers to study engine combustion. camera images obtained in a spe- The sensor features 10 mW diode erned by the gas temperature,” temperature water vapour spec- cially modified engine. lasers emitting at two wavelengths PSI’s Mark Allen told OLE. “This troscopy know-how, with the opti- According to Allen, the automo- in the near-infrared and works by general two-wavelength absorp- cal probe’s design and engine tive engine testing market is worth monitoring the absorption strength tion measurement of temperature vibration isolation determined by around $60 m (850 m) per year of water vapour in the cylinder. has been published before, but Nissan. PSI’s role in the project was worldwide to instrumentation “The absorption strength never at the high pressures associ- to develop the unit’s ultra-high- suppliers. Nissan plans to release depends on the internal energy ated with the automotive engine.” speed signal processing that enables further project details early next distribution within the water Stanford University scientists real-time temperature monitoring. year at an upcoming Society of vapour molecule, which is gov- provided the high-pressure, high- “The response time of the device Automotive Engineering event.
SOLAR POWER Bags get solar makeover
Anyone who has wasted time rum- the handbag’s 6% efficient solar maging around the bottom of a panel charges an internal battery. bag for house keys on a dark night As well as powering the lining, the
would appreciate Rosanna Kilfed- battery can be used to run mobile Rosanna Kilfedder der’s electroluminescent handbag. phones or music players. The handbag’s electroluminescent lining material lights up automatically when the Powered by a thin film solar panel, “I thought this would be a good bag is unzipped. It deactivates after 15 s if the bag is accidentally left open. the bag’s electroluminescent lin- way of solving the problem of being ing lights up to reveal its contents stuck late at night with a dead Kilfedder’s Sun Trap design “I plan to work with manufac- when unzipped. mobile battery,” said Kilfedder, a fought off strong competition to turers to produce and sell a range The lining is deactivated as the design student at Brunel University, win commercial backing from of Sun Trap bags,” added Kilfedder. zip is closed, or after 15 s to con- UK. “I was thinking about safety Brunel Enterprise Centre, UK, “The bag currently exists at proto- serve power if the bag is acciden- and had the idea of including a which is now providing patenting type stage and I aim to have it on tally left open. Sewn into one side, portable charger.” and marketing expertise. the market within the year.”
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OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 13 TECHNOLOGY R&D
SOLAR CELLS JOURNAL WATCH
COMMUNICATION Polymer photovoltaics An efficient input/output coupler suitable for use in silicon photonic circuits has been developed by a reach efficiency highs team of researchers from the UK and Italy. The team claims that a coupling efficiency of 55% and an Researchers in the US have found a insertion loss of <= 0.05 dB are simple way of increasing the effi- possible (Optics Express 13 7374). ciency of polymer-based photo- Fabricated on a silicon substrate, voltaics (PVs) that could make the so-called dual-grating assisted harnessing solar energy more cost- directional coupler features several effective. Using a slow-growth layers that guide the light from an process, the team from University optical fibre into a thin silicon-on- of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) insulator (SOI) waveguide. has fabricated polymer PVs with a “A fibre could be butt-coupled to
US National Renewable Energy UCLA a thick SiON waveguide and the
Laboratory certified power-conver- UCLA’s polymer solar cell (bottom) and a conventional silicon solar cell (top). light coupled to a Si3N4 waveguide sion efficiency of 4.4%. The using the first grating and to a thin researchers claim that this figure is growth rate of the polymer layer, source, especially for large area SOI waveguide via the second the highest published so far for which measures 210–230 nm in applications. However, as Yang grating,” explained the authors. polymer-based solar cells (Nature thickness, by varying the time that points out, there are still some hur- “The silicon nitride waveguide is Materials Advanced Online Publi- it takes for the initially wet film to dles to overcome. crucial because it enables highly cation 9 October). solidify. “Two of the biggest challenges efficient coupling at both gratings.” “The most important step was to The researchers discovered that that remain are device lifetime and realize the effect of film growth slow grown films, which take efficiency,” he explained. “To enter SPECTROSCOPY rate on device performance,” around 20 min to form under large-scale commercialization the A team from the Universität UCLA’s Yang Yang told OLE. ambient conditions, provide super- device efficiency will have to reach Düsseldorf, Germany, has used “Ordering the polymer chains ior charge transport compared up to 15%, with a lifetime of cavity leak-out spectroscopy results in higher absorption [of with polymers processed more 15–20 years.” (CALOS) to detect carbonyl incident light] without increasing rapidly at higher temperatures. The team expects to double the sulphide (OCS) in ambient air. the parasitic series resistance of According to the team, slow efficiency of its devices within a Having achieved a detection limit of the device.” growth allows the polymer to self- year and is keen to commercialize 7 parts per trillion (ppt), the team Sandwiched between a trans- organize, a process that dramatic- the technology. Back in the labora- says that CALOS shows promise for parent indium tin oxide coated ally boosts device efficiency. tory, the group is now exploring a other trace-gas monitoring anode and a deposited aluminium Simple and cost-effective to pro- range of material systems to applications at the ppt level where cathode, the PV film consists of a duce, polymer-based solar cells are enhance carrier mobility and real-time data acquisition is spin-coated blended polymer. Yang an attractive solution for designers increase absorption in the red essential (Optics Letters 30 2314). and his colleagues control the looking for a renewable energy region of the solar spectrum.
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OPTICAL MEMORY Chips give hope to optical buffers
The development of all-optical networks, optical computing and incompatible with the short data buffers that can delay and tem- optical phased-array antennae. pulses found in today’s optical porarily store light pulses has been “The topic of slowing light down communications systems. given a boost with the demonstra- is very hot since it is both of funda- In contrast, the recent US and tion of three types of semiconduc- mental interest and there are some Danish experiments rely on small tor device that can perform the task. exciting possible applications,” Jes- semiconductor chips that offer an In two separate papers, scien- per Mørk, head of the nanophoton- electronically controllable delay tists at the COM Research Center, ics group at COM, told OLE. and are compatible with high data
Denmark, have shown that two L Oxenløwe COM “Semiconductors are interesting rates (gigahertz and terahertz). popular telecom components – a COM’s electro-absorption modulator because of the possibility of small In terms of performance, the quantum-dot semiconductor opti- consists of a semiconductor waveguide devices that can be fabricated using EAM and VCSEL both operated at cal amplifier (SOA) and an electro- that is 100 µm long . standard techniques and integrated the telecoms wavelength of absorption modulator (EAM) – can with other functional elements.” 1550nm and pulse modulation fre- both slow the propagation of light All three approaches work by Although there have been many quencies of 16.7 and 2.8 GHz pulses (Optics Express 13 8032 and carefully controlling the electrical demonstrations of slowing the respectively. The EAM slowed the Optics Express 13 8136). bias of the custom-built devices. speed of light pulses in gases, laser light pulses by a factor of three At the same time, a team from The reports are significant because crystals, photonic crystal wave- while the VCSEL slowed light by a University of California at Berkeley they suggest that a practical solu- guides and even ordinary optical factor of 1 ×106 to provide a time and Texas A&M University, US, has tion to controlling the timing of fibre, all previous schemes have delay of up to 100 ps. demonstrated that when config- light pulses without having to con- required relatively complex and In comparison, COM’s SOA suc- ured as an amplifier, a vertical-cav- vert them to the electrical domain is bulky optical control set-ups. cessfully processed 1260 nm ity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) on the horizon. Such optical buffer What’s more, they have all suffered pulses with a giant bandwidth of can also perform the feat (Optics chips could have important conse- from a limited bandwidth (mega- 2.6 THz (170 fs duration) but pro- Express 13 7899). quences for telecommunication hertz or less) which makes them vided an optical delay of only 68 fs.
PATENTS
LICENSING The LIBS instrument, described in international “In another embodiment, narrow linewidth UV light Carl Zeiss licenses femtosecond patent application number WO 2005/081981, is generated at 265 nm.” microscopy ideas to LaVision uses a high-power laser to generate a plasma in The microscopy group of Carl Zeiss has granted the exhaust. Light emitted from the plasma is then VCSELs have stable polarization fellow German firm LaVision BioTec licences to use collected and processed in real-time by a thanks to innovation at Finisar several of its patents covering multiphoton computer-controlled spectrometer. Adding strain and stress elements into a VCSEL microscopy. The patents relate to the use of Citing a specific example, the authors say a LIBS structure is an ideal way to stabilize the source’s femtosecond pulses for multiphoton fluorescence system for testing a gas turbine exhaust can detect polarization, according to Finisar in patent excitation in laser scanning microscopy. nickel to below 200 parts-per-billion, aluminium to application WO 2005/082010. “Stress-inducing Carl Zeiss acquired the exclusive global rights to below 20 parts-per-billion and other trace metals to features may be formed on the top or bottom this method from the US-based Cornell between 10 and 200 parts-per-billion. surface of a VCSEL, on the side of a VCSEL, or Foundation in 2004. within a VCSEL to produce a break in its Spectra-Physics tries to patent UV symmetry of stresses to effect a polarization APPLICATIONS laser with a narrow linewidth influence on the output of the VCSEL,” say the LIBS system studies the make-up Spectra-Physics, a division of Newport, has authors. A laser beam with stable polarization is of turbine engine exhaust applied to patent a narrow-linewidth ultraviolet desirable for applications such as optical Inventors in the US are trying to patent a laser- laser. The system comprises at least one diode- communication. induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) system pumped alkali metal vapour gain cell to generate which reveals the make-up of the exhaust emitted near-infrared laser light and at least two Mirrorball and lasers combine to by car and turbine engines. “As engine nonlinear crystals. scare birds away from landing components wear, the material composition of the “In one embodiment, the laser uses a rubidium Dim Arizot Ltd of Israel thinks it has found an easy engine is eroded and exits in the exhaust,” explain gas cell and generates radiation at a wavelength way to deter birds from landing. Featuring a series the authors from Systems Planning and Analysis. of about 199 nm and at least 200 mW of power of laser sources and a mirrorball, the unit projects “Knowing the composition determines if the with a linewidth of less than 10 GHz,” say the light towards the bird and causes the creature to engine requires maintenance.” authors in application number WO 2005/000484. change direction (WO 2005/067378).
To search for recently published applications, visit http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/ and http://ep.espacenet.com.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 17 Fit. Together.
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NORTH AMERICA • PRECISION OPTICS AND ELECTRONICS • EUROPE BIOPHOTONICS Eye sensor offers instant blood glucose readings A pain-free optical technique for measuring blood glucose levels could prove to be a big hit with diabetics when it comes to the market. Oliver Graydon reports from Photonex 2005. Taking blood glucose measurements could be as simple as holding a small sensor up to a person’s eye and pressing a button if a UK start-up is successful. Lein Applied Diagnos- tics is developing a hand-held optical sensor that determines the glucose level of a person with diabetes via the eye’s aqueous humour.
The attraction of the technique is that it Lein Applied Diagnostics involves no drawing of blood, takes just 0.1 s Left: Lein’s benchtop optical to perform, and potentially requires no con- glucose sensor prototype. sumables aside from a battery. In contrast, Ultimately, the firm would like glucose measurements are currently per- to shrink the device so that it formed by pricking the finger and placing a becomes a portable unit (see
finger stick with a blood sample into a small Lein Applied Diagnostics artist’s impression above). analyser four or five times a day. The problem with this approach is that is painful, incon- Origins of Lein Applied Diagnostics venient and can be unhygienic. “The goal is to have a non-invasive device Lein was formed in May 2003 by Dan Daly and portable optical glucose sensor for diabetics that is quick and easy to use,” Dan Daly, a Graeme Clark, two former telecoms because of the huge potential customer director of Lein Applied Diagnostics, told professionals previously working for market. According to the International Diabetes attendees during a Biophotonics seminar at PerkinElmer and Agilent Technologies. When Federation, it is currently estimated that nearly the Photonex trade show in Coventry, UK, in the telecoms bubble burst in 2002 Daly and 200 m people worldwide have diabetes and October. “Other people have explored optical Clark were searching for new opportunities this figure is expected to jump to 333 m by techniques but they nearly all go through the where they could apply their photonics 2025. This translates into a £2.6 bn market for skin. The problem is that the skin’s properties expertise and decided to explore the medical self-administered glucose meters that is are very variable due to changes in tempera- arena. The idea they finally settled on was a growing by 10% each year. ture and sweat for example, and this leads to inconsistent measurements.” Lein measures the glucose level by focus- type device. It is working closely with SIRA, ing the size and manufacturing cost of its ing light from a low-power 670 nm source the University of Manchester and the Institute sensor. The ultimate aim is a small battery- into the eye and analysing the reflected light. of Photonics at the University of Strathclyde. powered device that can be easily carried “The glucose concentration in the aqueous According to Daly, the technique is inher- around in a pocket or handbag. humour is about 80% of that of blood and ently safe as it requires an optical power in Daly is confident that by exploiting tech- tracks it with a time lag of no more than the microwatt level and the measurement nology and assembly techniques from the 5–10 min,” said Daly. time is only about 0.1 s. He also believes that mobile phone, data storage and telecoms To protect the firm’s IP, Daly wouldn’t go it should be compatible with contact lenses. industries that this should be possible. into details concerning the optical design of “We’ve tested a couple of dozen people “The optical side of our system is very his sensor but explained that it uses a confo- and now want to build more advanced pro- much like a CD read-head – we have a source, cal arrangement to localize the measure- totypes and extend the testing to a larger a receiver, the optics and a scanning system ment in the anterior chamber of the eye. sample of subjects. The first prototypes used to control the location of the measurement,” “In principle, looking into the eye using at the University of Manchester last year explained Daly. “So what we are looking at techniques like polarimetry, for example, used LEDs but the current model uses a laser making is something similar to a mobile works very well but the problem is that the diode which provides a much higher spatial phone with a CD read-head inside. It’s a very shape of the cornea and lens continually resolution,” said Daly. “However, for the next cost-driven market so we need to be able to change and that confuses the measurement,” generation of glucose sensor prototype we make these units very cheaply.” ■ said Daly. “Our innovation is to use a confocal will use an LED again. People feel more com- technique to localize the measurement inside fortable about shining light from an LED “Making Light Work In Healthcare” was a the eye and avoid these problems.” rather than a laser into their eye, even biophotonics technology seminar at Photonex The firm, based near Reading, has filed two though it’s entirely safe.” 2005. It was organized by the UK Photonics patents for its idea and built a lab-based proto- Lein is also thinking about ways of reduc- Cluster and the University of Strathclyde.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 19 REMOTE SENSING LIDAR road trip uncov
Mobile LIDAR came under the spotlight at SPIE Europe’s recent Remote Sensing event held in Bruges, Belgium. 1500 James Tyrrell caught up with Environment Canada’s Kevin 1000
Strawbridge to discover the benefits of taking a high-power altitude (m) 500 laser on the road. 0 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 450 distance from Lidar (m) Vehicle-mounted LIDAR units that can travel the altitude and range of an aerosol layer, the 0 cross-country to monitor air quality are system can distinguish between different 10 proving to be a real asset to environment sized particles, discriminating large dust par- agencies worldwide. One such resource is ticles from fine smoke haze. Environment Canada’s Rapid Acquisition “If you want to come up with a size distrib- 1500 Scanning Aerosol LIDAR. Dubbed RASCAL, ution then you would probably use six or the custom apparatus has been busy analys- seven wavelengths, but that becomes 1000 ing the country’s pollution hot-spots. impractical on a scanning system,” altitude (m) 500 Featuring an Nd:YAG laser supplied by US explained Strawbridge. “We are interested in firm Continuum, RASCAL fires 0.5 J pulses of being able to look at gross features and [here] 0 infrared (1064 nm) and green (532 nm) just two wavelengths can be very useful.” 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 45 distance from Lidar (m) light into the atmosphere at a rate of 20 Hz. Preserving RASCAL’s rapid scanning 0 Two 24-inch mirrors steer the beam capability is important as this is one of the 10 through the sky, targeting particles up to mobile unit’s key strengths. Based on a two 15 km away. A telescope equipped with a mirror design, with the first mirror fixed highly sensitive detection system, based on and the second free to rotate horizontally 1500 avalanche photodiodes and photomultiplier and vertically, the assembly provides 180° tubes, captures any backscattered light. azimuth operation and elevation scans up 1000
Time-of-flight algorithms convert the data to 100°. “You can more or less see half the altitude (m) 500 sequence of backscattered light into a parti- sky at any given time with this unit,” cle map with a resolution of 3 m along the explained Strawbridge. 0 beam axis. RASCAL is able to scan at speeds of up to 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 45 “Primarily RASCAL is different from other 24°/s, although typical operation is around distance from Lidar (m) 100
[mobile] scanning systems because we can 0.2–2°/s. Computer controlled and featuring Source: Environment Canada put more power out and because we have a 18-bit digital to analogue conversion, the Laboratory on wheels: Environment Canada’s mobile scanning LID large optical path coming back, which gives scanning units have a resolution of 1/1000°. took just 60 s to acquire and represent over 5 million data points, us our high resolution,” said Strawbridge. Highly reproducible and GPS equipped, “You begin to see a lot more information RASCAL can revisit a specific site and – a plywood processing plant, a national rail than you could ever see from other LIDAR repeat a series of measurements with ease. depot, winter wood burning and truck emis- systems that are either pointing straight up “We have GPS interaction to log where we sions. The contribution from heavy goods or averaging over 1, 5, or 10 mins.” are,” said Strawbridge. “Sometimes we’ll vehicle fumes is exacerbated in winter With a scan time of just 6 s, Strawbridge point the beam straight up and drive months due to bad weather. and his colleagues are able to make LIDAR around an area, for example from an urban “You can have anywhere from 500 to 800 “movies” that show in striking detail the [neighbourhood] into a rural zone, to look of these trucks sitting there percolating for up complex dynamics of particles circulating in at the dynamics on a different scale.” to four days at a time waiting for the roads to the air. Being highly sensitive, RASCAL can open up,” explained Strawbridge. “We were even measure the low aerosol concentra- Measurements there to look at source apportionment and [to tions in the free troposphere (pristine air). Recently, the RASCAL team took its meas- find out] how the meteorology fits in.” What’s more, extra detail is available urement expertise to Golden, British Supporting the town’s existing measure- thanks to the LIDAR’s dual wavelength con- Columbia. Surrounded by mountains, the ment stations and operating alongside a figuration. “Being able to measure both in the Canadian town is located in a geological mobile chemistry lab, RASCAL’s strong infrared and in the visible allows us to com- bowl and has the second highest concen- visual data took little time to make an pare [our data] with other instrumentation,” tration of airborne pollution in the impact. “We are already seeing new policies said Strawbridge. “[However] the real advan- province. “When we got there I was sur- being implemented as a result of the LIDAR tage from a LIDAR point of view is that you prised at the lack of wind,” said Straw- study,” said Strawbridge. “The town council can ratio the two wavelengths in a space-time bridge. “Particles are transported through has now banned solid-fuel-burning appli- graph to give information about particle size.” complex re-circulation effects.” ances, such as wood stoves, in new homes This means that along with pinpointing The town has four major pollution sources being built in the area.”
20 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org vers pollution secrets
More from the SPIE event Air pollution monitoring in the PBL over Paris, France, using eye-safe lidars L Sauvage, Leosphere SAS, France and P Chazette, CEA/LSCE, France French scientists have driven their car- 00 5000 5500 6000 mounted apparatus around Paris and Lyon
2 to investigate the dispersion of pollution. 10 Developed jointly by the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (CEA/CNRS, France) and LIDAR specialist Leosphere, the eyesafe unit, dubbed EasyLIDAR, was used to follow particles along streets subject to heavy traffic flow. Lidar Technologies, Techniques and Measurements for Atmospheric Remote Sensing 5984-20. 500 5000 5500 6000
2 Laser remote sensing of forest with use 10 of fluorescence lidar L A Shulgina, N L Fateyeva, Tomsk State University, Russia and G G Matvienko, Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Russia A Russian team has taken an Nd:YAG-based set-up into the forest to study the health of Siberian trees. The group monitored the fluorescence of Birch, Pine and Aspen species over a period of several months to 500 5000 5500 6000 determine the impact of exposure to volatile
2 organic compounds. 10 Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Ecosystems DAR facility is helping scientists map the dynamics of airborne pollution. High-resolution elevation scans (left), which and Hydrology VII 5976-43. , reveal the complex vertical structure of aerosol layers above the Canadian town of Golden, British Columbia.
The Golden campaign also threw up direction, for example if we are shooting over Squeezed into a Cessna light aircraft, the some unexpected results, such as the pres- an airport runway, or they might move traf- agency’s Small Aircraft LIDAR System for ence of Saharan sand. “For us it was a really fic around us through communications with Aerosols (SALSA) benefits from the ongoing significant measurement because we had the local air traffic control centre.” reduction in size and weight of lasers. Straw- never seen Saharan dust come all the way RASCAL’s array of on-board safety equip- bridge and his colleagues were keen to across and impact in British Columbia,” ment includes a TCAS transponder unit that develop a small footprint LIDAR that would said Strawbridge. is widely used by the aircraft industry to pre- fit into small planes. vent mid-air collisions. “The advantage of “This is a huge advantage for us from a Safety [TCAS] is that it gives you bearings as well as funding point of view, because we can reduce Predictably, the use of laser systems in the range, so you know where the aircraft is and the flight cost from CAN $6000 (84210) to open is becoming increasingly regulated. whether the aircraft is increasing or decreas- $300 per flight hour, including a pilot,” said However, Strawbridge and his colleagues ing in altitude,” said Strawbridge. “We also Strawbridge. “You can also deploy small air- have more than 15 years of experience in operate a modified marine radar that looks for craft so much faster than large aircraft – you maintaining a safe operating environment hard targets [without TCAS transponders].” can be airborne in 20 mins.” and the group has strong links with the rele- Reliability is another reason for the group vant governing authorities. Airborne LIDAR to adopt the latest laser technology. “Diode “Transport Canada evaluate the safety When it comes to studying particle dynamics pumped lasers are a huge improvement in concerns based on when we are going to on a larger scale, Environment Canada is terms of maintenance,” said Strawbridge. operate, how we are going to operate and also able to deploy an airborne unit flying at “They now have lifetimes of 3–4 years, what our safe distances are,” explained 12 000–18 000 ft that maps areas such as which [also] makes them ideal for a satellite Strawbridge. “They will sometimes limit our valleys and whole cities in a matter of hours. based platform.” ■
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Celebrating 20 years in lasers For Lasers and beam shaping! ■ Highest FOM material available ■ Absorption in the 0.4 to 7.0/cm StockerYale Inc. T: (514) 685-1005 Alpha 514 range 275 Kesmark F: (514) 685-3307 ■ Tunable from 0.66 to 1.2 µm Montreal, Quebec ■ Free of internal scatter For a list of our distributors, H9B 3J1 Canada ■ 100 mm diameter and larger please visit our website [email protected] NASDAQ: STKR www.stockeryale.com Copyright ©2005 StockerYale, Inc. All rights reserved. CRYSTAL 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970 TEL: 978-745-0088 FAX: 978-744-5059 SYSTEMS www.crystalsystems.com COMPANY PROFILE JDSU pins profitability on diversified business In fiscal 2005, nearly half of JDSU’s revenue came from activities other than optical telecommunications. Jacqueline Hewett finds out about the firm’s diversification plans.
Everyone in the telecoms arena from start- ups to multinationals found themselves in JDSU’s acquisitions the same boat when the bubble burst: adapt September 2005 Agility Communications, a to survive or go under. JDSU was no excep- provider of tunable lasers for optical networks, tion. Renowned for selling components and is acquired for an undisclosed sum. Agility has subsystems to optical network vendors, the 90 employees. firm is now equally at home supplying lasers June 2005 Photonic Power Systems, a US for biomedical applications, specialist coat- expert in delivering electronic power-over-fibre, ings for displays and anti-counterfeiting is acquired for an undisclosed sum. Photonic technology for currency. Power Systems has a staff of eight. It hasn’t been an easy road for JDSU. How- May 2005 Acterna, a specialist in test and ever, now, thanks to consolidating manufac- measurement products for optical networks, is
turing facilities, phasing out unprofitable JDSU acquired for $450 m in cash and $310 m in product lines and acquiring key industry JDSU common stock. Employing 1770 people players (see box), fiscal 2005 is the first year worldwide, Acterna becomes JDSU’s since 2001 that JDSU has reported a rise in Communications Test and Measurement annual revenue. product group. It’s clear that times have changed at JDSU. March 2005 DPSS laser expert Lightwave As well as diversifying into a range of new Electronics is snapped up for $65 m in cash. applications, much of the firm’s optical com- Lightwave employs 120 members of staff.
munications business has been shifted to a JDSU low-cost manufacturing base in China. Some New look: Standard products now offered by JDSU 60% of JDSU’s communication products are include its Q-series range of high-power DPSS Lightwave’s line of high-power Q-switched now produced outside North America. Of a lasers for materials processing and its FLEX colour- and modelocked DPSS lasers emitting at global workforce of around 5000, close to change pigments to protect pharmaceuticals and 1064, 532 and 355 nm. The acquisition also 2000 staff are employed in Shenzhen, China. bank notes against counterfeiting. gives JDSU a route into lucrative markets such Enzo Signore, JDSU’s vice-president of as biotechnology and semiconductor process- corporate marketing, says that these For example, one product line that failed to ing, each of which they believe has a com- changes mean that the company can make the grade was passive Q-switched pound annual growth rate of around 20%. become profitable once again. “The major microlasers. JDSU sold this product line along One application JDSU is keen to target is acquisitions and moves are made,” he said. with its Grenoble, France, facility to Teem ultraviolet (UV) fluorescence flow cytometry “We believe we have put the company in a Photonics in August this year allowing it to using its newly acquired quasi-continuous- strong position to grow organically in our concentrate on its solid-state laser portfolio. wave 355 nm source from Lightwave. It three business segments.” At the same time, JDSU is also looking at believes solid-state lasers like this source can The three business segments that Signore is new business areas, which has led to the displace incumbent technologies such as referring to are JDSU’s core optical communi- growth of its consumer and commercial seg- helium-cadmium and doubled argon-ion. cations segment, its newly formed communi- ment. Today, the company is focusing its Another application on JDSU’s hit-list is cations test and measurement segment (via efforts around three areas: commercial semiconductor processing and in particular the acquisition of Acterna) and finally what it lasers, FLEX products (optical variable pig- singulation (scribing silicon wafers), drilling calls its consumer and commercial business. ments that change colour depending on vias and memory repair. Again, Lightwave’s To put things in perspective, in fiscal viewing angle) and optics and displays. lasers will be crucial in these applications. 2002, 73% of JDSU’s revenue came from its As for commercial lasers, JDSU has for “Even though the semiconductor process- optical communications business. Today, at some time had a line of gas lasers, fibre ing market is cyclical, it is one where we see the end of fiscal 2005, this percentage has lasers, laser diodes and continuous-wave more opportunities on a long-term basis,” dropped to 59%. diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) sources. said Signore. “The initial yield of DRAM So what has changed? “We have analysed Then in March this year it expanded this by memory is very small, some 5–10% for exam- every single product that we have in the com- acquiring high-power DPSS laser specialist ple. By using a laser, you can correct defects pany and determined whether it is worth Lightwave Electronics. on the wafer and improve the yield to over ▲ investing in further,” explained Signore. For $65 m (854 m) in cash, JDSU gained 95% but this can only be done using UV.”
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 23 COMPANY PROFILE Another important area for the new look brands against anti-counterfeiting by apply- become more of a standard in pharmaceuti- JDSU is its colour-change FLEX pigments. ing the pigments to the labels on medication cals and consumables.” These pigments change colour with view- bottles. The same approach can also be The final part of JDSU’s commercial and ing angle, for example from pink to green, applied to consumables such as ink car- consumer segment is optics and displays, and act as a security feature. “We are now tridges to prove they are genuine. where the company supplies a range of supplying close to 100 countries with this “Many pharmaceutical companies are coated optics and filters to a variety of end technology for use on bank notes,” said Sig- now moving away from holograms [on bot- users. Applications range from solar cell nore. “It is on the euro and tells the con- tles of medication] and are turning to colour cover glass for use on spacecraft and satellites sumer that the currency is genuine. It’s a shifting technologies,” explained Signore. to electro-optic modulators for the National very secure feature.” “Today 26 brands, mostly in North Amer- Ignition Facility. JDSU believes another large market for this ica, are using this technology to fight anti- A recent addition to this part of JDSU’s technology is protecting pharmaceutical counterfeiting. You are going to see this business is Photonic Power, which it acquired in June 2005. “Photonic Power is unique in that there is only one vendor in the world,” said Signore. “Bringing electrical Optical power over optical fibre is a small revenue for JDSU right now, but the potential appli- cations are very broad.” Instrumentation Photonic Power’s technology generates electricity by illuminating a photovoltaic con- verter with light transmitted over an optical Laser Power& fibre. The company says that its converters Energy Meters can generate hundreds of milliwatts of elec- European Calibration & Service Centre trical power when illuminated with around 1W of laser light. This offers an attractive alternative to batteries, fuel cells and bulky copper cabling in harsh environments, such Laser Beam as locations that are vulnerable to fire or elec- Analysis tromagnetic interference. It’s not just JDSU’s product lines that have European Calibration & Service Centre been influenced by the reshaping and realigning. According to Signore the geogra- phy of its customers will also change. “Historically, we have been very much a Photometry & North American company with 60% plus of Colorimetry revenue coming from this region,” he said. European Calibration & Service Centre “We now have about 55% from North Amer- ica and 30% coming from Europe. You can expect to see a lot more of JDSU in Europe in areas like commercial lasers. We plan to Laser Diode Power expand our sales presence and open up dis- Supplies tribution channels in Europe.” For CW & QCW Lasers On the back of the acquisition of Light- wave, it is also clear that JDSU is in a better position to take on traditionally strong European markets such as materials pro- cessing. “It’s a typical European market Wavelength & and one that has opportunities so it is an Spectral Analysis area we are considering,” said Signore. “We were at the LASER 2005 show in Munich and that was one of our first activ- ities to reconnect with the European mar- ket. We also plan to be a lot more visible at Photonics West 2006.” Wavefront Analysis With all the major moves made, it www.bfioptilas.com remains to be seen whether JDSU can blend all the pieces together and turn a profit. It posted a net loss of $261.3 m for fiscal BFi OPTiLAS European Offices : Belgium: [email protected] 2005, but with a substantial number of [email protected] - [email protected] Denmark: France: new revenue streams gradually kicking in, Germany: [email protected] - Italy: [email protected] [email protected] - [email protected] JDSU’s quarterly financial results will cer- Spain: The Netherlands: tainly make interesting reading through- Sweden: [email protected] - UK: [email protected] out 2006. ■
24 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PRODUCT GUIDE Avalanche design boosts detection of light signals Measuring low light levels can be a challenge, especially at high speeds. Tim Stokes explains why avalanche photodiodes are often an attractive solution to the problem.
Avalanche Photodiodes (APDs) are semi- conductor detectors of light that exploit a built-in gain region to achieve an optical sen- sitivity beyond that of conventional PIN- photodiodes. The result is a very sensitive light sensor that is capable of high-speed operation and ideal for applications such as optical communications, scientific appar- atus and industrial inspection. Although a wide range of optical detectors such as conventional photodiodes, photo- multiplier tubes (PMTs) and pyroelectric
detectors are available on the market, APDs Hamamatsu are the preferred choice if light levels are lim- Fast and sensitive: APDs are able to retain their high sensitivity at high-speed operation which makes them ited (microwatts or nanowatts) and a fast ideal for demanding applications such as optical communications and range finding. response (up to gigahertz) is required. APD characteristics at a glance Internal amplification An APD’s internal gain is generated by an Advantages of APDs Drawbacks of APDs electron multiplication process which gives ● Compared to photodiodes, the ● Compared to photodiodes the excess noise factor the device its avalanche title. As in the case of internal gain mechanism means means that lower SNR is obtained in most low conventional photodiodes, incident photons a higher signal output is bandwidth systems and a much higher operating striking the detector create electron–hole obtained. voltage is required. In addition the internal gain is pairs (charge carriers) in the device’s deple- ● Compared to PMTs, APDs have dependant on bias voltage and temperature so a tion layer (see figure 1, p26). a higher quantum efficiency (QE) stable operating environment is required. However, with an APD a large external and operate at a much lower bias ● Compared to PMTs the internal gains are very voltage (typically from 100 to 300 V) is voltage. This means that they can much lower (typically ×100 compared to applied to create a strong electric field across be more compact. They are also ×1 million), and noise levels are generally higher. the device. This field causes these light-gen- and more robust to exposure to Most APDs tend to have a smaller active diameter erated carriers to move towards the N and P high light levels and immune to than PMTs which places greater demands on the sections of a semiconductor P–N junction at external magnetic fields. light gathering optics. a speed of up to 100 km/s. En route, these carriers collide with atoms in the crystal lattice and if the electric field is range). By designing devices where light is ular PIN photodiode, the wavelength of strong enough (around 105 V/cm) then the incident from the P-side, the sensitivity to UV peak response for silicon APDs tends to be carriers gain enough kinetic energy to ionize and blue light can be enhanced and oper- between 600 and 800 nm, somewhat the atoms creating more electron–hole pairs. ation can stretch down to wavelengths as shorter than the 900–1000 nm for a regu- The effect repeats itself like an avalanche, short as 200 nm. lar silicon photodiode. resulting in a gain in the number of carriers Deep depletion silicon APDs, which are generated for a single incident photon. Wavelength response highly sensitive in the 900 to 1100 nm wave- APD gain is typically in the range from As with regular photodiodes the longest band range, are available but these generally ×10 to ×300 for most commercial devices, wavelength that can be detected is deter- have the disadvantage of requiring a much but there are APDs available from specialist mined by the bandgap of the detector mater- higher bias voltage which leads to more noise manufacturers with gains of thousands. ial – the smaller the bandgap energy, the (larger dark current). Most commonly available APDs are fabri- longer the detectable wavelength. Silicon has To detect longer wavelengths an alterna- cated from silicon and employ a so-called a bandgap energy of 1.12 eV at room tem- tive semiconductor material with a smaller “reach through” structure where light is perature, which translates to a cut-off wave- bandgap is required and germanium (Ge), or incident from the N-side of the silicon. These length of around 1100 nm. indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), are two devices are sensitive to light in the visible and As the layer within the APD structure that popular options. APDs fabricated from these ▲ near-infrared (450–1000 nm wavelength gives rise to the “gain” is thinner than a reg- materials operate in the 900–1700 nm
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 25 PRODUCT GUIDE wavelength range and tend to have lower Noise gains (×10). All semiconductor detectors suffer from photon electric A wide selection of silicon APDs can be noise. This manifests itself as an unwanted field found on the market today. Sizes range from variation in the electrical current (electrons) N+ PN junction <100 µm to several centimetres in diameter that is measured. with a variety of packages, including TO Dark current One such source of noise is + _ _ + _ _ _ _ + _ _ + avalanche metal cans, ceramic chip carriers and, more “dark current” which is current that the _ + + + _ _ + + _ region recently, surface-mounted devices. In con- detector produces even in the absence of a _ trast, the range of commercial Ge and light signal due to thermal generation of + depletion layer InGaAs APDs is much smaller, since they are electron–hole pairs. In practice, this dark + used predominantly for specific applications current determines the minimum amount of P such as optical communications. light that can be detected.
Fig. 1: A schematic of the principle of operation of an APD. Incident photons generate charge carriers in the depletion region. These charges are then accelerated to high speeds by an applied electric field and ionize atoms within the avalanche region.
signal shot noise
maximium signal to noise ratio output thermal noise
1 10 100 1000 optimum operating gain
Fig. 2: A graph of the signal and noise output from the APD versus the device’s gain factor. An optimum operating point exists where the detector’s signal-to- noise ratio is maximized.
In an APD, dark current is generated both from leakage at the surface of the diode and from electron–holes which are thermally generated and then multiplied in the gain region. Consequently, increasing the gain of the APD by increasing the external bias also increases this dark current. Excess noise The APD multiplication process also produces additional noise, known as “excess noise”, which is due to the statistical nature of the ionization in the avalanche region. Each ionization event has a certain probability of occurring and the overall gain from the device is the statistical average of all of these individual events. The consequence of this is twofold. As the APD gain increases the output signal increases linearly, but the noise increases as shown in figure 2. This means that for any APD there is an optimum operating gain where the maximum signal to noise perfor- mance can be obtained. This point is usually well below the actual maximum gain for that APD. Manufacturers usually optimize the set-up of the APD at the factory prior to sup- plying the customer with a complete module that is ready to use.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PRODUCT GUIDE Even though an APD gives an amplified Such photon counting APDs are starting may be gained from the higher quantum effi- output, its signal-to-noise performance to challenge more established photomulti- ciency of the detector itself. For the majority (SNR) is not necessarily better than that of plier tube (PMT) technology, due to the of applications, the larger detection area, conventional photodiodes, as APDs suffer higher quantum efficiencies of the semicon- higher gain and superior SNR of the PMT from more shot noise (random fluctuations ductor device. However, we should add a will still make it the detector of choice for this in the current flow). This is a consequence note of caution here as such highly stable, kind of application. ■ of the excess noise factor, which does not highly sensitive APD systems are often more appear when regular photodiodes are used. expensive than a comparable PMT. Tim Stokes is general sales manager of In practical systems the SNR tends to be What’s more, such low noise APDs are Hamamatsu Photonics UK Ltd, a provider of improved in higher bandwidth applications generally only hundreds of micrometres (or optoelectronic equipment based in Welwyn Garden by use of an APD over a conventional smaller) in diameter and thus more light can City, Hertfordshire, UK. For more information photodiode, whereas in lower speed appli- be lost in the optical collection system than visit www.hamamatsu.com. cations use a low noise photodiode with a high performance op-amp, generally gives superior SNR. “An APD allows the gain to be increased while maintaining its speed of response”
Response speed In order for a regular photodiode to detect lower light levels, the gain in its operating cir- cuit is usually increased by using a larger feedback resistor. Unfortunately, this has the consequence of reducing the speed of response and increasing the thermal noise associated with the operating circuit. In contrast, an APD allows the gain to be increased while maintaining the speed of response. For example, a 0.5 mm diameter silicon APD will operate at close to 1 Ghz, while a 30 µm InGaAs APD can work up to 10 Gbit/s. This performance advantage is the main reason why APDs are popular in applications such as optical data transmis- sion, rangefinding, high-speed industrial inspection and medical and scientific instrumentation.
Single photon counting Provided that the noise of the APD is low enough, it is also possible to operate an APD in “Geiger mode” to perform single photon counting. In this case, the APD has to be operated at a few volts above its breakdown voltage, which is typically around 150 to 300 V. In order to operate in this regime extremely stable operating conditions are required, which necessitates a carefully con- trolled temperature and a special power sup- ply. If this is not the case, the noise of the detector will simply “run away”.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 27 Book before 25th November & receive up to £250 off Conference & Master Classes! Directed Energy Weapons 2006 Preparing the battlefield for speed-of-light weaponry
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Microscope adaptor Imaging spectrograph and switchable thermo-electric cooling. Melles Griot SPECIM The product comes with image-capture Melles Griot has Finnish firm SPECIM has software called ProgRes Capture Basic. The introduced a new added the ImSpector latest version includes a fluorescence mode microscope-body Fast10 to its line of which guides the user through a predetermined camera adaptor. imaging spectrographs. capture routine and allows fluorescence images According to Melles, the According to the firm, from up to five single shots to be combined. The 07 ACM 001 adaptor this product allows spectral imaging at up to camera is also available with a colour sensor. allows any CCD camera with a C-mount to be 1500 frames per second and is said to be ideal www.jenoptik-los.com mounted onto any Melles Griot microscope body for high-speed industrial applications. for remote or heads-up viewing. Operating over the 400–1000 nm range, the Volume phase grating The two-piece adaptor threads directly into the ImSpector Fast10 gives short camera Kaiser Optical Systems microscope body and allows the camera to rotate integration times while providing a spectral UltraSpec HT-940 high-dispersion volume phase for image alignment. This adaptor is the latest resolution of 10–15 nm. SPECIM adds that the gratings are now available from Kaiser Optical addition to the firm’s wide range of microscope spectrum covers a partial image frame, meaning Systems. Based on the firm’s proprietary high- components such as objective lenses, eyepieces, that it can be acquired at very high speeds even throughput process, the gratings are said to have positioning stages and reticles. with low-cost CCD and CMOS cameras. an insertion loss of 0.35 dB and a dispersion of www.mellesgriot.com www.specim.fi 940 lines per mm. Kaiser adds that the grating has a broad spectral bandwidth and a Imaging sphere Monochrome camera polarization dependent loss of less than 0.1 dB. Pro-Lite Technology Jenoptik According to Kaiser, the gratings are not UK-based Pro-Lite The cooled 14-bit ProgRes MFcool monochrome affected by mechanical shock or humidity and Technology has camera from Jenoptik has a resolution of can be wiped clean if they get dirty. UltraSpec released the ProMetric 1.4 Mpixel and is said to suit applications such as HT-940 gratings are available in custom-made Imaging Sphere from fluorescence imaging. The camera acquires form factors from a few millimetres to four Radiant Imaging. images at 45 frames per second in several inches in length. Originally developed by binning modes and also features analogue gain www.kosi.com Philips and licensed to Radiant, the sphere is said to offer a high-speed, inexpensive and low-cost means of measuring angular light intensity and CIE colour. The sphere also includes an imaging photometer with a diffuse hemispherical collector. An LED placed centrally in the hemisphere illuminates its interior surface, which is painted with a low-reflectance diffuse coating. A convex mirror placed to one side of the light source images the inside of the dome. The photometer then views the mirror and captures the full hemispherical illumination from the LED in one measurement. www.pro-lite.uk.com
Design software Optical Research Associates Optical Research Associates (ORA) says version 9.6 of its CODE V optical design software has improved modelling, tolerancing and optimization capabilities. For example, the latest version now calculates the scalar diffraction efficiency of a diffractive surface. According to ORA, CODE V 9.6 makes it easier to model complex optical systems as the software now includes a simplified way of defining offset, tilted surfaces, user-programmed surfaces and diffractive-phase profiles. www.opticalres.com
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 29 PRODUCTS Nanopositioning equipment Newport The NanoPZ line of nanopositioning tools from Newport includes Speed Freaks the PZA12 compact linear actuator, the PZC200 controller and the PZC-SB switchbox. Based on a piezo micro- stepping motor, Newport says the PZA12 The fastest scanners on the market…just got faster. actuator provides 12 mm of travel with 30 nm motion sensitivity at speeds up to 0.2 mm/s Some might say we’re obsessed with speed. Perhaps that explains and loads to 50 N. how we can consistently deliver the industry’s fastest and most The actuator has both manual and computer- accurate galvanometers and servo drivers. Like our new H line of control capabilities and, with a small footprint, 62xx galvos – pushing the technology envelope with better is said to be a direct replacement for existing performance and speeds that are 25% faster than what’s available actuators. The PZC switchbox provides control in today’s market. for up to eight PZA12 actuators using a single We’re also introducing two new servo-driver boards. A dual-axis controller via a hand-held interface or through a analog servo that provides a 50% board space reduction and RS232 port. higher speed at lower cost, and a self-tuning digital servo driver www.newport.com that delivers speeds faster than analog servo technology. Acousto-optic modulators Gooch & Housego Gooch & Housego of ■ New 6215H Galvanometer the UK has expanded Highest frequency galvo in the market its range of acousto- Ideal for high-speed raster scan applications optic modulators. One addition is the M110- ■ 62xxH Series Galvanometers 1x-GHx, which the company describes as an all-purpose and cost- 25% torque increase for higher speeds 11 Compatible with 62xx standard product line effective modulator for a range of low-power gas and diode lasers. The device is available in two versions: VIS for ■ DC900 State-Space the wavelength range 450–650 nm and NIR for Digital Servo Driver 650–850 nm. Both versions have a choice of 1 Self-tuning – no adjustment pots or 2 mm active apertures. Gooch & Housego Up to twice as fast as analog servos offers a range of modulators with frequencies ranging from 40 to 350 MHz, transmission in excess of 99% and rise times as fast as 5 ns. ■ MicroMax 673xx www.goochandhousego.com Dual-Axis Analog Servo Driver Half the size of 2 single-axis servos Red diode laser The most attractive combination of nLight size, speed and cost High-power diode laser arrays emitting at 665, 680 and 690 nm are Talk is cheap. Our prices are not bad, either. now available from While the rest of the industry talks about performance, we nLight of the US. deliver it. So go ahead, put us to the test. We’re making it Reliable and easy to even easier by increasing performance without increasing prices. integrate, the arrays are said to be ideal for applications ranging from solid-state laser pumping to materials processing and medical diagnostics. The arrays mount on the company’s conduction-cooled CS package or micro-channel water-cooled Cascades platform. Up to 10 W of continuous-wave (CW) light is offered with the CS package and up to 15 W CW with the Cascades package. The company quotes thermal resistances of 0.8 °C/W and 0.35 °C/W for the 109 Smith Place, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA CS and Cascades packages respectively. Tel: (617) 441-0600 • Fax: (617) 497-8800 www.nLight.net www.cambridgetechnology.com
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PRODUCTS Diode laser modules Supercontinuum generator operates on single-phase (100–240 VAC) Laserline Crystal Fibre electricity supply and uses a recirculating chiller. Laserline of Germany The FemtoWhite800 ELS believes the source will open up new says that its LDM diode from Crystal Fibre application fields in materials processing such laser modules are generates a as processing non-ferrous metals and displays. designed for laser supercontinuum when www.els.de welding of plastics. pumped with Modules are offered with femtosecond pulses Beam profiler powers up to 800 W and a choice of focal lengths from an 800 nm laser. Said by the Danish firm Coherent and geometries, along with additional options to remove the hassle of handling and cleaving The LaserCam HR from such as a safety shutter and a guide laser. optical fibres, the unit provides polarized output Coherent is a compact, The 19 inch system also includes tap-water spanning an octave. high-resolution beam connectors for external cooling and a The product uses a dispersion-engineered, profiler, which uses a 120–240 V power supply. It is available with polarization-maintaining nonlinear photonic USB 2.0 interface, LAN/Ethernet and RS232/485 interfaces and crystal fibre, which is contained in a 1 inch removing the need for a can be controlled by software programs such as diameter aluminium housing. Maintenance free, frame-grabber. The LabView. Laserline quotes lifetimes in the range the FemtoWhite800 offers zero dispersion at profiler contains a of 20 000–30 000 h and says its LDM diode 750 nm and also features sealed and cleanable 1280 × 1024 pixel system is a credible alternative to YAG lasers for end facets allowing for beam expansion. sensor that can plastic welding. www.crystal-fibre.com characterize both www.laserline.de continuous-wave and pulsed beams with 515 nm disk laser diameters between 0.26 and 6.00 mm and 650 nm laser diode Elektronik Laser System wavelengths in the range 300–1100 nm. Osram Opto Semiconductors The MonoDisk-515-MP diode-pumped solid- Coherent says that the data-acquisition rate is Osram Opto state laser from German firm Elektronik Laser up to 27 Hz, which enables real-time monitoring. Semiconductors has System (ELS) offers 50 W of continuous-wave The LaserCam HR also comes with Coherent’s added a red output at 515 nm and an M2 <1.1. The company BeamView software that gives users access to a semiconductor laser to says the beam can be focused to spot sizes a range of profile viewing options, analysis its product portfolio. few micrometres in diameter. functions and data import/export formats. The 650 nm laser, with Based on thin-disk technology, the laser www.coherent.com an output power of 500 mW and a stripe width of 100 µm, is targeted at medical applications such as photodynamic cancer therapy and ophthalmology. Based on indium gallium aluminium phosphide, Osram says the SPL CG65 has a lifetime of 4000 h at an ambient temperature of 20 °C. Cooling is provided by a small copper heat sink. www.osram-os.com
MOPA Sacher Lasertechnik Sacher Lasertechnik has introduced a low- linewidth master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser system. With specifications including a linewidth below 500 kHz and a mode-hop free tuning range up to 100 GHz, Sacher says applications of its MOPA include high-resolution spectroscopy, optical cooling and trapping and Bose-Einstein condensate research. Other features include a Littman/Metcalf master laser and a side-mode suppression ratio of >45 dB. Optical power is rated at up to 1500 mW and the MOPA is available in the wavelength range 730–1080 nm. The system can be controlled via GPIB, USB and RS232 interfaces. www.sacher-laser.com
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 31 ADVERTISEMENT PRODUCTS Polarization Tools IR microscope objective lens Enhancements in OptiSystem 4.1 include a Janos Technology dynamic model of a double-clad Er-Yb co-doped from Thorlabs Janos Technology has fibre and models of doped fibre nonlinearities Due to past acquisitions Thorlabs has become an released 1×, 2.5× and such as four-wave mixing, self-phase expert manufacturer for test and measurement 4× microscope modulation, cross-phase modulation and systems. The analysis and control of polarization objectives for use in the stimulated Raman scattering. A new stimulated related parame- mid-infrared (between 3 Brillouin scattering numerical engine is said to ters is a field and 5 µm). To allow easy camera integration, be a strong addition to bi-directional fibre where Thorlabs the ASIO series of lenses feature bayonet-type models including Yb and Er-Yb co-doped fibres. now offers a mounts. A dual field of view lens with motorized www.optiwave.com range of inno- control to switch between fields and adjust vative tools for focus is also available. All electronics are Optical inspection tool industry and lab housed with the lens’ optical assembly and a Moritex environments. base plate accessory provides a common mount The Borescope from The consistent between the lens and camera. Moritex Europe is said modular design www.janostech.com to suit the inspection of of these tools cavities and hollow contributes to the flexibility and easy adaptation into Optical design software spaces in structures customer applications. RSoft such as turbine blades and engines. Image Designers of photonic crystal fibres (PCFs), quality is maintained thanks to a combination of Flexible Polarization Analysis VSCEL cavities and silicon photonic devices may the firm’s proprietary rod lenses and colour Extremely fast or high dynamic power range – be interested in RSoft’s transverse and cavity aberration balancing technology. Supplied with Thorlabs’ provides two different polarimeters with an mode solver package. Dubbed FemSIM, the a long-life battery handle, the unit comes with a excellent accuracy for diverse applications of SOP software uses finite element methods to tackle side-view adapter and features adjustable light and more complex measurements like PMD, Jones-, high index contrast, lossy and highly hybrid intensity. A range of optional accessories, and Mueller matrix analysis. The fast fiber based structures, such as polarization rotators, air or including light guides, lighting systems and IPM5300 inline polarimeter (1500 to 1640nm) and solid core PCFs, laser and photonic bandgap C-mount adapters for CCD cameras is also the rotating waveplate PAX5700 series terminating cavities, silicon photonic devices and structures available from the firm. polarimeter (400 to 1700nm) with a higher dynamic with small feature sizes. The solver operates www.moritex.com range are both designed for a common mainframe. using either Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems and integrates into RSoft’s CAD High-density backlight Fast Polarization Controller environment. Once calculated, mode data can StockerYale Thorlabs’ Deterministic Polarisation Controller be used in the firm’s propagation analysis StockerYale has DPC5500 (1500 to 1640nm) controls the State packages, such as BeamPROP and FullWAVE. launched its COBRA of Polarization (SOP) truly input independent at www.rsoftdesign.com linescan backlight. sampling speeds up to 1MHz. Plugged into the Available in standard same mainframe with one of the polarimeters and Beam delivery system wavelengths from 395 a powerful tunable laser all kinds of polarization JPSA to 740 nm, the unit related analysis tasks can be performed. J P Sercel and incorporates the company’s patented chip-on- Associates (JPSA) has board reflective array (COBRA) technology. High New PMD Analysis System launched a beam packing density is said by the firm to result in Thorlabs new PMD5000 system is an example. delivery system for intense and uniform backlighting. Applications Besides the choice of the most appropriate ultraviolet excimer include the inspection of foil, paper, non- polarimeter the system can be split into separate lasers. The Microtech wovens, metal and currency. controller and analyser units to analyse buried MBD2 is an industrial-grade set-up designed for www.stockeryale.com fibers. A single controller communicates with many a continuous production environment and suits analyser units via TCP/IP over long distances and short-wavelength beams at 157, 193 and High-power SMA connector thus allows cost effective PMD measurements of 248 nm. It accommodates the company’s large- Fiberguide Industries more complex network structures. format turning mirror and beam splitter US-based Fiberguide www.thorlabs.com/pol modules, which feature a 50 × 50 mm clear Industries has released aperture, and is compatible with other beam an SMA connector that delivery components such as variable suits the delivery of attenuators and dual camera systems. All optics high-power laser light. and modules are integrated via a universal Dubbed HP-SMA, the dovetail mounting system. unit features a heat sink www.jpsalaser.com to conduct thermal energy away from the Optical design software fibre. To manage very high power levels, an Optiwave Systems optional high-conductivity copper ferrule is Optiwave Systems says that OptiSystem 4.1, the available to provide greater heat dissipation. The latest version of its optical design software, connector is supplied in standard core diameters simplifies simulation of the transient ranging from 200 to 1500 µm with numerical characteristics of optical amplifiers and lasers. apertures of 0.12, 0.22, 0.26 and 0.39. Smaller
32 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PRODUCTS Laser Solutions diameter fibres incorporate a pure fused silica High-speed camera sleeve at the tip to support the fibre without the Specialised Imaging addition of energy-absorbing materials. The Specialised Imaging from Cobolt connector can also be supplied with plastic clad has extended its range silica and hard optical polymer clad fibres. of high-speed imaging Need top-class wall–plug www.fiberguide.com products. Two versions of the SIR ballistic efficiency, low noise and Pulsed laser diode range camera are available, a high gain Laser Components 1536 × 1024 pixel system for low-light compact size? Nanostack pulsed laser applications and a high-resolution 2048 × 2048 diodes (PLDs) emitting pixel model for exceptional image quality. Cobolt Blues™ up to 220 W at 905 nm Exposure times of 20 ns allow the camera to are now available from capture fast projectiles as single or up to 16 473 nm, 50 mW Laser Components in a independently controlled superimposed images. Cobolt Samba™ variety of packages including TO-18 and 5.6 mm Both units feature keypad and LCD screen 532 nm, 150 mW cans. Emitters have a total laser aperture of control and include a 6.5 inch TFT monitor. 200 × 250 µm and a large optical cavity www.specialised-imaging.com Cobolt Jive™ NEW! structure ensures a narrow far-field beam. 561 nm, 25 mW According to the firm, the unit’s relatively narrow Long-range Z-axis nanopositioner aperture benefits fibre coupling as more power is Mad City Labs available from a smaller active area compared Mad City Labs has with conventional PLD stacks. The device’s metal released a Z-axis Single longitudinal mode DPSSL package is said by the company to allow a higher nanopositioner with a 2 µ Excellent beam quality M <1.2 thermal load so that the diode can be overdriven. 500 m range. Driven www.lasercomponents.com by a piezo actuator, the Low noise <3% pk-pk, <0.3% rms Nano-Z500 has true flexure guided motion and Dimensions 95x60x40 mm IR camera contains internal sensors that give a closed loop Cobolt PPKTP inside Cedip Infrared Systems positioning resolution of better than 3 nm. The OEM & stand-alone lab versions Cedip has introduced unit suits biomedical research and can be the SILVER 450M adjusted to help compensate for multiwell plate infrared (IR) camera for irregularities when performing confocal imaging Looking for the ideal thermal imaging across and high-throughput single-cell fluorescence Ar-ion laser the 3.6–5.0 µm microscopy. A 15 µs step response means that waveband. The unit features a 320 × 240 pixel researchers can acquire sample data rapidly with replacement? InSb-type focal plane array sensor that delivers minimal photo bleaching and multi-frame images images at a programmable 1–400 Hz frame of kinetic data can be recorded in fractions of a rate. Integration time is variable from 10 to second. Compatible with the firm’s Nano-Drive 5000 µs and smart triggering permits image controller, positioning commands may be synchronization. The unit’s CAMLINK and USB analogue (0–10 V) or digital. An optional USB 2.0 interfaces allow transmission of commands digital interface is offered in standard 16-bit or and 14-bit dynamic range digital video. A high-resolution 20-bit versions. Labview driver interface is available for www.madcitylabs.com Cobolt Dual Calypso™ controlling the camera’s features, acquiring and Dual line 491+532 nm, processing images. Low-light level camera 20+20 mW www.cedip-infrared.com Firstsight Vision UK distributor Firstsight Fibre design and simulation package Vision is offering high- Liekki resolution, low-light- Single line up to 50 mW 491 nm DPSSL Liekki, a Finnish level cameras from Excellent beam quality and low noise manufacturer of optical Danish manufacturer CST. The range includes Dimensions: 4.1" x 2.8" x 1.5" fibres, is offering a high-sensitivity CCD models and ultra-high- Multiwavelength Cobolt PPKTP inside laboratory package for sensitivity intensified-CCD designs suitable for building fibre lasers and day and night vision in the visible and near amplifiers at 1060 and 1550 nm as well as infrared spectrum up to 1000 nm. Cameras are Look no further! amplified spontaneous emission sources. The available in colour and monochrome versions package includes different types and lengths of with air-cooled sensors or image intensifiers. highly doped erbium and ytterbium fibres along According to the firm, the cameras are able to Call us today! with licenses to run the firm’s simulation maintain resolution and colour fidelity even software – Liekki Application Designer. under low-light conditions. Packaged in rugged +46 8 545 91 230 According to the company, the Leikki University housings, the units are said to withstand Program is a cost-effective product package for extreme environments, such as desert, airborne Cobolt AB university research and educational purposes. and off-shore installations. Kräftriket 8 See us at Photonics West San Jose, California www.liekki.com www.firstsightvision.co.uk SE-104 05 Stockholm Sweden 24-26 January 2006 Booth # 5114 Tel: +46 8 545 91 230 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org Fax: +46 8545 91 231 www.cobolt.se STANFORD PRODUCTS Thermal camera COMPUTER OPTICS BFi OPTiLAS I The Thermal-Eye X200xp Superior Imaging Intensified Cameras thermal imaging camera is now available from BFi OPTiLAS. Designed for use in military 4 Picos dig applications, BFi claims that the camera can detect human activity at distances of up to 450 m 0.2ns gate time and can cope with challenging conditions such as the optronics dust, smoke and complete darkness. The camera acquires images at 30 fps and solutions provider 4 Quik Edig also includes on-board processing capabilities to improve the image clarity and sharpness. 1.5ns gate time With a small footprint, BFi adds that the X200xp Davin Optronics is a world class can be carried in a pocket. Multiple exposures www.bfioptilas.co.uk Optronics solution provider. We design up to 3.3 MHz burst and manufacture high precision VUV spectrophotometer 10 or 14 Bit CCD optical, mechanical and electronic McPherson systems to meet demanding 1368 x 1024 pixel McPherson says that its requirements and critical timescales. Customized distortion free vacuum ultraviolet f/0.8 relay lens coupling spectrophotometer (VUVaS) system is the Our unique capability allows us to cover an entire first vacuum-compatible project from initial design concept through system to collect sample and reference spectra prototype development to production and full simultaneously. The VUVaS system is said to life cycle support. provide easy access to the deep and vacuum The intelligent ultraviolet region (120–380 nm) within a purged Our world class design engineers have all the or vacuum environment and is ideal for material digital ICCD or coating characterization. necessary skills in optics, mechanics, The product can measure and map electronics and software. camera system transmission and reflectance of samples as large as 350 mm across, although smaller Our modern 30,000 ft2 production plant has All delay and gate electronics sample chambers are available for non-mapping all the facilities needed to manufacture on in one head applications. According to McPherson, the unit’s time to strict ISO 9000 quality standards. superior all-reflective beam collimation helps deliver consistent spot size to the sample with a Whatever your requirements; Davin Optronics precision of 0.1% regardless of the has the solution. measurement mode. www.mcphersoninc.com
DPSS laser Oxxius Oxxius of France has added a 532 nm source to its SLIM range of miniature diode- Standard of pumped solid-state lasers. About the size of Excellence a matchbox, the SLIM-532 delivers up to 150 mW in a single longitudinal mode. The firm says the low-noise, high-power If you only need Europe: Paul Höß KG stability source is ideal for use in portable components then the P. O. Box 950240, 81518 München, Germany instruments as well as applications such as Davin Catalogue is the Phone: +49 (0)89 652029 place to look. Fax: +49 (0)89 654817 spectroscopy, interferometry and biophotonics. E-mail: [email protected] The SLIM-532 is based on an alignment-free monolithic resonator that uses a monolithic U.S.A.: Stanford Computer Optics, Inc. crystal design. Already supplying a 473 nm Davin Optronics Limited 780 Cragmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94708, USA device, Oxxius plans to offer additional Greycaine Road Phone: +1 (510) 527-3516 wavelengths and increased power levels in the Watford · WD24 7GW · UK Fax: +1 (510) 558-9582 t: +44 (0) 1923 206800 E-mail: [email protected] near future. www.oxxius.com f: +44 (0) 1923 234220
http://www.stanfordcomputeroptics.com Buy from the technology leader www.davinoptronics.com [email protected] PRODUCTS Large format lenses Machine vision camera Edmund Optics COHU Large format lenses Cohu has launched a specifically designed for compact CMOS-based use with line-scan and camera designed and area-scan cameras are manufactured in the US now available from that is equipped with Edmund Optics. The FireWire output. firm can supply two lens options at nominal Measuring 29 × 44 × 73.3 mm and weighing values of 1.4× and 0.7×, with performance less than 110 g, the 7200 Series features a guaranteed over a specified range of 0.5 inch monochrome sensor that operates in a magnifications. non-interlaced VGA format (640 × 480). Edmund says that its imaging lenses are The camera can be operated in a “free run” compatible with leading-edge 12 k cameras and state or triggered via an external sync signal. have a spatial resolution of up to 100 line Delivering full resolution at 50 fps, the easy to pairs/mm. Able to accommodate 5 µm pixel integrate unit is said to suit machine vision sizes and sensors up to 90 mm, the low- assembly lines. The camera has an operating distortion lenses are said to be ideal for high- temperature range of –5 to 60 °C. resolution line scan applications such as www.cohu-cameras.com flat-panel display inspection. www.edmundoptics.com Diode-pumped laser module Northrop Grumman LED panel Northrop Grumman has Lumitex expanded its RB plus US firm Lumitex has family of diode-pumped come up with a range of laser modules to white LED fibre-optic include high-power 75 backlights that are and 100 W continuous-wave versions. Modules more than twice as incorporate an Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF laser rod that bright as previous generations of its RGB UniGlo is efficiently pumped by a radial array of long- panels. Offering brightness as high as 75 Foot- lifetime laser diode bars, and are said to give Lamberts, the latest versions require no inverter, excellent gain uniformity and lensing generate no heat or electromagnetic performance. interference and benefit from the long lifetimes According to the firm, the units are completely associated with LED technology. Power maintenance free. A simple recirculating water consumption is typically 3.6 V, 20–30 mA, with chiller uses filtered water to cool the module, an operating temperature range of –40 to eliminating the need for troublesome de-ionized 85 °C. Thanks to their thin profile (0.33 mm) water systems. and flexibility, UniGlo panels can be placed www.northropgrumman.com between an elastomeric keypad or overlay and a membrane switch. Pricing starts at CCD image sensor approximately $0.25–0.70 per sq. inch in OEM Dalsa quantities, depending on size, configuration and Dalsa has released its the quantity of LEDs used. latest TrueFrame CCD www.lumitex.com image sensor, the FT50M. According to DPSS laser Dalsa, the device Powerlase combines 1 Mpixel UK-based Powerlase resolution has released higher- (1024 × 1024 pixels), exceptional image quality 1 power versions of its and up to 100 fps in a small, cost-effective /2 diode-pumped solid- inch standard optical format that matches the 2 state (DPSS) platform imaging performance of a traditional /3 inch emitting at 1064 nm. sensor. Housed in a 7.0 × 14.0 mm chip, the Featuring pulse repetition ranges of 3–50 kHz sensor offers a high linear dynamic range (more and pulse durations of 30 ns upwards, the units than 11 bits at room temperature without deliver 600 or 800 W output. Systems can be cooling). upgraded beyond 1 kW upon request. According The package is designed to meet the to the firm, the high-power lasers suit requirements of medical and industrial applications such as ablative lithography for applications such as X-ray imaging, digital patterning flat panel displays, electronics microscopy and inspection. A second output packaging and PCB production. can be used for mirrored and split readout. www.powerlase.com www.dalsa.com
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PRODUCTS
BOOKS Light Vision Color by mechanics for optoelectronics and quantum Laser Processing Arne Valberg. 474pp. optics. It includes an analysis of quantized of Engineering Sbk. £35 (851). Wiley. electromagnetic fields and a description of Materials: ISBN 0470849037. quantum noise in terms of Poisson and sub- Principles, Beginning with a Poisson statistics. Time-dependent Procedure and description of the eye perturbation theory and Fermi’s golden rule are Industrial and the physiology of invoked to explain matter–light interaction. The Application by John C the retina, the book goes text concludes with a detailed discussion of Ion. 576pp. Hbk. on to explore semiconductor emitters and detectors. £39.99 (859). photometry, contrast sensitivity and the Butterworth Heinemann. ISBN 0750660791. relationship between light, colour and Principles of Written by an author with over 20 years’ colorimetry. The text is said to be an invaluable Lithography second experience in laser processing, the text is said to resource for students taking courses in optics, edition by Harry J provide a clear explanation of this revolutionary biophysics and cognitive science, along with Levinson. 448pp. Hbk. manufacturing technology. Featuring 18 researchers and engineers working in the field. $84 (870). SPIE. ISBN chapters and six useful appendices, topics 0819456608. include athermal processing, conduction joining Physics of Reflecting the swift pace and keyhole welding. The book is aimed at Optoelectronics by of advances in design, manufacturing and applications Michael A Parker. lithography, this second engineers along with final year undergraduate 798pp. Hbk. $129.95 edition has been and postgraduate students. (8108). CRC Press. updated to feature topics such as immersion ISBN 0824753852. lithography. The book covers subjects including Passive Micro- Examining the overlay, the stages of exposure, tools and light Optical Alignment fundamental nature of sources and would suit readers with a Methods edited by light emitted by devices background in chemistry and physics. The text is Robert A Boudreau and such as lasers and said to contain numerous references for students Sharon M Boudreau. LEDs, this book offers a self-contained and experienced lithographers alike who wish to 416pp. Hbk. $139.95 overview of linear algebra and quantum investigate particular topics in more detail. (8116). CRC Press. ISBN 0824707060. This book claims to be the first dedicated to passive alignment and photonics products is split into three sections. The first discusses mechanical passive alignment, highlighting silicon waferboard, solder, and “Jitney” technologies as well as the application of We supply a comprehensive range of leading edge photonics mechanical alignment to 3D free-space products. Latest additions include: interconnects. Various visual alignment ! 100W 808nm diode bars now shipping in volume techniques applied to planar lightwave circuits ! 15W visible diode bars available (PLCs) and low-cost plastic and surface-mount ! Ultra high power, high brightness diode lasers packaging are detailed in the following section. ! Unique dual wavelength 491/532nm DPSS lasers The text concludes with a chapter dedicated to ! Lowest noise 532nm DPSS laser available the analysis of manufacturing yields using Monte Carlo techniques and includes a We specialise in providing photonics based solutions for description of passive alignment aids, such as A broad range of markets lenses and device modifications. and applications. Laser Remote Sensing edited by Takashi Fujii and Tetsuo Fukuchi. 912pp. Hbk. $139.95 8 For more information: ( 116). CRC Press. ISBN 0824742567. This text aims to provide an up-to-date, Telephone 01295 672500 comprehensive review on LIDAR applications in Email [email protected] atmospheric science and remote sensing. The scope of the book includes measurement of aerosols, water vapour, clouds, winds, trace For other products constituents and temperature. Other applications please visit our website at: covered in this volume include vegetation www.laserlines.co.uk monitoring and altimetry. The text includes colour images of LIDAR data along with a description of various fixed and mobile systems.
36 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org PEOPLE To advertise your job vacancies, contact Cadi Jones (tel: +44 (0)117 930 1090; e-mail: [email protected]).
US appointments include vice-president finance, challenges, and we wish him well,” Asia and Africa division at PepsiCo, and commented newly elected chairman Nada O’Brien switches group head of corporate finance and strategy Gregory Turnbull. from JDSU to NanoOpto at Diageo, owner of the Smirnoff, Johnnie NanoOpto, a US Walker and Guinness brands. At Diageo, US maker of nano- Abrams was directly involved in more than structured optical 50 acquisitions. He is a law graduate and Sony executive takes components, has qualified chartered accountant. seat on Novalux board appointed Nada “We looked long and hard to find someone Novalux, a developer O’Brien as vice- of Daniel Abrams’ calibre to bring into our of extended-cavity president of product business,” said CDT’s chairman and CEO, surface-emitting O’Brien: critical role. development. David Fyfe. lasers, has welcomed Previously, O’Brien Hiro Uchida to its was product development manager at JDSU US board of directors. with responsibility for launching products in Planar appoints new CEO Uchida’s career has the global optics and display business. Uchida: well connected. included several key to succeed Krishnamurthy management UK Planar Systems, a US firm specializing in flat- positions within Sony Corporation. Most panel display technology, has hired former recently Uchida was general manager of CDT hires acquisition ace Xerox office printing president Gerry Perkel Sony’s strategic venture investment as chief financial officer as its new president and CEO. Perkel takes department, where he fostered the growth of Daniel Abrams has joined Cambridge Display over from Balaji Krishnamurthy who has early-stage companies. Technology (CDT), a UK-based developer of held the CEO role since joining Planar in “Hiro brings outstanding strategic light-emitting polymers, as chief financial September 1999. executive management experience along officer. Most recently, Abrams was finance “The board decided that some fresh with key relationships with the venture director of Xenova Group, a UK perspectives would be beneficial, so Balaji is investments community,” said Novalux biopharmaceutical company. His previous departing at this time to engage some new chairman and CEO, Jean-Michel Pelaprat.
OLE • November 2005 • optics.org 37 CALENDAR For a more comprehensive list of events, including links to websites, visit optics.org/events.
DATE EVENT LOCATION ORGANIZER CONTACT
November 17–18 International symposium on scientific Madrid, Spain Laboratorio de Optica, http://lo.um.es/symposium_ imaging: seeing the invisible Universidad de Murcia invisible/
November 21 Successful SMEs – funding and London, UK Institute of Physics, http://industry.iop.org finance UK
November 22 Fraunhofer workshop on fiber lasers Dresden, Germany Fraunhofer IWS www.iws.fraunhofer.de/ Dresden workshop/e_workshop.html
November 23–24 Workshop on laser applications Dresden, Germany EPIC/SPIE http://spie.org/conferences/ in Europe calls/05/ela/
December 5–6 New directions in liquid crystal London, UK The Royal Society www.royalsoc.ac.uk/events science
December 12–15 International Conference on Optics Dehradun, Uttaranchal, Optical Society of www.icol2005.com/ & Optoelectronics (ICOL 2005) India India, SPIE
December 15–16 Optical solutions for homeland and Washington DC, US OSA www.osa.org/meetings/ national security topicals/oshs/
January 13 LEDs in Displays Technical Costa Mesa, California, Society for Information www.sidchapters.org/la/ Symposium US Display (SID)
January 15–19 Electronic Imaging 2006 San Jose, California, SPIE http://electronicimaging. US org/call/06/
January 19–20 Southeast Ultrafast and High Tallahassee, Florida, US Scott Crane www.coherent.com/Company/ Resolution Spectroscopy Conference index.cfm?fuseaction=Forms. page&PageID=52 January 21–26 Photonics West 2006 San Jose, California, US SPIE http://spie.org/Conferences/ calls/06/pw/
February 19–24 Microlithography San Jose, California, US SPIE http://spie.org/Conferences/ calls/06/ml/
ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Advanced Photonix Inc FEMTO Messtechnik GmbH www.femto.de 29 Newport Corporation www.newport.com 7 www.advancedphotonix.com 27 GPD Optoelectronics Corp Ocean Optics BV www.oceanoptics.com 37 BFi OPTiLAS International www.gpd-ir.com 28 Ophir Optronics Ltd www.ophiropt.com IBC www.bfioptilas.com 24 Hamamatsu www.sales.hamamatsu.com 26 Optometrics LLC www.optometrics.com 28 Breault Research Organization HC Photonics Corporation Oxxius www.oxxius.com 12 Breault.com IFC www.hcphotonics.com 16 Paul Höß KG Cambridge Technology Image Science www.standfordcomputeroptics.com 34 www.cambridgetechnology.com 30 www.image-science.co.uk 8 Physik Instrumente (PI) www.pi.ws 14 Cobolt AB www.cobolt.se 33 IQPC www.defenceiq.com 28 Spiricon Laser Beam Diagnostics Inc Cristal Laser www.cristal-laser.fr 31 i-chips www.i-chipstech.com 6 www.spiricon.com 35 Crystal Systems Inc Kentek Corporation Stanford Research Systems www.crystalsystems.com 22 www.kentek-laser.com 16 www.thinkSRS.com 15 Crystran www.crystran.co.uk 28 Laser Components (UK) Ltd StockerYale Canada Inc CVI Technical Optics www.cvilaser.com 4 www.lasercomponents.co.uk 13 www.stockeryale.com 22 Davin Optronics Limited Laser Lines www.laserlines.co.uk 36 Thorlabs GmbH www.thorlabs.com/pol 32 www.davinoptronics.com 34 LIMO-Lissotschenko Mikrooptic GmbH Unaxis Balzers Ltd www.optics.unaxis.com 9 ELCAN Optical Technologies www.limo.de 22 Vialux Messetechnik & Bildverarbeitung www.ELCAN.com/create 18 Melles Griot www.mellesgriot.com OBC GmbH www.vialux.de 16
The index is provided as a service and, while every effort is made to ensure its accuracy, Opto & Laser Europe accepts no liability for error.
38 OLE • November 2005 • optics.org BeamStarBeamStar FXFX The shining light in digital laser beam profilers
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