Laser Focus World articles from March 2009

Laser Focus World archives from March 2009

Lasers break new ground.(editor's desk)
March 1, 2009... There have been some remarkable developments in a number of laser technologies recently--something for everyone, in fact! At the "awesomely high" end of the power spectrum, the Texas Petawatt laser at the University of Texas at Austin--based on...

Laser-trapped microsphere becomes surface-measuring probe.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... A surface probe tipped with a microsphere can be scanned across the surface of a microlens or other microscale component to measure its 3-D coordinates, determining heights to nanometer-scale accuracies. However, the radius of the microsphere...

ZEMAX simulates intraocular lens clinical trial.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... If clinical trials could be simulated using software and physical design parameters, companies could speed product development and would have more confidence in initiating such trials on actual products toward U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Double helix-PSF enables superresolution 3-D imaging.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... Researchers at Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA) and the University of Colorado at Boulder have demonstrated for the first time a method for 3-D optical imaging of objects smaller than 20 nm over a wide spatial range--overcoming the optical...

Putting solar cells in reverse highlights their defects.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... Researchers at the University of Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany) and Q-Cells (Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) have come up with a new way to test multicrystalline solar cells to optoelectronically find their defective areas with unprecedented...

Phase-encoded photons enable secret Sagnac communications.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... Though significant progress has been made in quantum communications using polarization-entangled photons (see www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/332954 and www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/330741), practical implementation is difficult,...

LCoS WaveShaper does more than filtering.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... Introduced at SPIE's Photonics West 2009, the WaveShaper liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS)-based family of optical processors from Finisar (Sunnyvale, CA) offer more than just filtering control for dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM)...

Subwavelength all-dielectric disk laser is mass-manufacturable.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... A subwavelength all-dielectric microdisk laser developed at Yale University (New Haven, CT), Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (Gaithersburg, MD) can be fabricated using standard...

Continuous C[O.sub.2] emissions tester uses QC laser.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... Scientists from the Swiss materials science and technology institution EMPA (www. empa.ch) have integrated a 4.3-[micro]m-wavelength, pulsed, few-milliwatt power, distributed-feedback quantum-cascade laser from Alpes Lasers (Neuchatel,...

Low-loss LSRPP waveguides could lead to inexpensive integrated optical devices.(newsbreaks)
March 1, 2009... For a sufficiently thin metal stripe embedded in a dielectric material, light coupled into the stripe becomes a long-range surface-plasmon polariton (LRSPP); the simplicity and ease of fabrication of such a LRSPP waveguide has potential for...

Petawatt now, exawatt on the horizon.(CHIRPED-PULSE AMPLIFICATION)
March 1, 2009... Completed in early 2008 at the University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Petawatt is a 200 J, 150 fs, mixed-glass, optical-parametric chirped-pulse-amplifier (OPCPA) laser that has reached a peak power output of 1.1 petawatts (1.1 x [10.sup.15]...

Image de-hazing technique uses skyless calibration.(IMAGE PROCESSING)
March 1, 2009... Researchers from the Technion-lsrael Institute of Technology (Haifa, Israel) have developed an image de-hazing technique that estimates atmospheric polarization and haze-subtraction factors based on the imaged scene, even without having a...

Random laser uses doped fiber and FBGs.(RANDOM LASERS)
March 1, 2009... Random lasers, which combine optical gain and light scattering within an active medium, have been demonstrated using a variety of materials and cavity configurations (see www.laserfocusworld.com/ articles/325433); however, many of these devices...

Persistent phosphors are seen in a new light.(PHOTOMETRY)
March 1, 2009... So-called persistent phosphors can glow for up to several hours after optical excitation. Combinations of persistent phosphors such as red, green, and blue that produce white light are being considered for safety illumination that works during...

Photonic crystal aids quest for visible plasmon laser.(NANOTECHNOLOGY)
March 1, 2009... Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT; Newark, NJ) have reported the first demonstration of laser threshold, gain, spectral line-narrowing, and feedback in the visible spectrum from a surface-plasmon polariton (SPP)...

Mid-IR QC laser exhibits dual-wavelength emission.(QUANTUM-CASCADE LASERS)
March 1, 2009... A team of researchers has developed a mid-IR quantum-cascade (QC) laser that exhibits dual-wavelength emission. One of the wavelengths arises from a novel mechanism for QC laser emission and is emitted at a temperature quite atypical for QC...

Light-powered elevators race to the sky.(OPTICAL POWER TRANSMISSION)
March 1, 2009... If ever implemented, the proposed Space Elevator--a vehicle able to travel up and down a super-strong cable extending from Earth to geosynchronous orbit and beyond--would drastically cut the amount of energy and trouble needed to get payloads...

More power to you.(PHOTONICS WEST 2009 PRODUCTS)
March 1, 2009... This year's show floor at SPIE's Photonics West (February 24 to 29; San Jose, CA) offered high-power lasers galore. Here is a brief sampling of the type of laser often in evidence--many of which trended toward being more reliable, higher in...

High-energy spectroscopy sees first light.(NONLINEAR LIGHT SOURCES)
March 1, 2009... A new approach to nonlinear spectroscopy has shed some light on the electron coupling in a photosynthetic protein. The technique, dubbed angle-resolved-coherent (ARC) wave mixing, produces direct maps that elucidate the coupling of electrons to...

External-cavity semiconductor ring-laser gyro achieves single-mode operation.(OPTICAL GYROSCOPES)
March 1, 2009... A team of scientists is the first to develop an external-cavity semiconductor ring-laser gyroscope that achieves single-mode operation. (1) Previous designs based on coupling a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) to an external laser cavity...

The key to success is higher efficiency: thin-film solar cells are making a run at the crystalline-silicon solar cells that dominate today's photovoltaic market. Their allure is lower cost for large installations needed to generate electric power, but developers must overcome challenges.(PHOTONIC FRONTIERS: THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAICS)
March 1, 2009... The rapidly growing solar-cell market is dominated by crystalline-silicon devices, thanks to advantages including light-conversion efficiency up to 20% in production units. However, the silicon wafer substrates used in the solar cells account...

Rapid scanning applications drive mirror design.(OPTICS FOR SCANNING)
March 1, 2009... Successful scanning requires integration of the mirror, its mounting, and the motor into a system called "M Cubed"--an integration process that requires tradeoffs in terms of materials, mechanical fixturing, and scanning parameters. ...

The Mercury laser moves toward practical laser fusion.(HIGH-POWER SOLID-STATE LASERS)
March 1, 2009... The diode-pumped Mercury laser will deliver 100 J pulses at 10 Hz under automatic control, advancing the development of high-repetition-rate inertial laser fusion. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National...

Detector evolution results in 'infrared retina'.(NEXT-GENERATION DETECTORS)
March 1, 2009... With a single focal-plane array but multiple detector functionalities, an "infrared retina" can be combined with powerful signal-processing techniques to form a "poor man's" infrared color camera. As infrared focal-plane arrays (FPAs) have...

Novel 2DSI method measures sub-two-cycle laser pulses.(FEMTOSECOND-PULSE CHARACTERIZATION)
March 1, 2009... A new pulse-characterization technique is designed for few- and single-cycle laser pulses. Called two-dimensional spectral shearing interferometry (2DSI), it has been demonstrated on sub-two-cycle 4.9 fs pulses centered at 800 nm. In the...

Can optical integration solve the computational bottleneck?(PHOTONICS APPLIED: INTEGRATED PHOTONICS)
March 1, 2009... An ambitious DARPA award to Sun Microsystems and its partners to develop a chip-to-chip and intrachip communications platform offers a glimpse into the world of next-generation integrated photonics technology and how it aims to break the...

Digital light source.(New products)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Digital light source RS-5-93K characterizes the performance of image sensors and image-sensor systems. Suited for focal-plane-array testing, the light level setting to one part in 65,525 is provided in absolute,...

Molded-glass optical components.(New products)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Molded optical components with diameters greater than 1 in. are manufactured using proprietary molding techniques. The industrial-scale production allows the company to eliminate expensive components of ground and...

Camera for low-light conditions.(New products)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The VC4467 EXview camera for low-light conditions features an EXview HAD CCD sensor, which allows the camera to analyze long-wavelength light near the IR spectrum. The 2/3 in. CCD sensor has a 1280 x 1024-pixel...

Focal-spot analyzer.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The YAG focal-spot analyzer is a compact, laser-beam sampler/attenuator for camera-based laser-beam profiling systems. Designed for materials-processing applications, it attenuates 1064 nm YAG lasers with compact path lengths, from 50 to 200 mm...

Positioning system.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The Nano-SP30 positioning system is designed for nanoindentation and nanomanipulation applications. The single-axis integrated system provides 25 mm of travel with a step size of 95 nm. The piezo-driven stage achieves resolution of better than...

Laser warranty extended.(New products)
March 1, 2009... All fiber-array packages in the company's Series LEP laser systems now come with a two-year warranty, up from one year. Lee Laser, Orlando, FL salesdept@leelaser.com

'Z'-polarization device.(New products)
March 1, 2009... ZPol converts any linearly polarized laser beam into a radially polarized beam. With the addition of a high-NA lens, the radially polarized beam converts to "z" polarization or polarization in the direction of beam propagation at the...

Terahertz spectrometer.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The TScan-1500C-EX terahertz spectrometer can be configured for spectroscopic or imaging experiments in the 100 to 1500 GHz range. A Schottky diode-frequency doubler fills a previous gap from 500 to 600 GHz, and a Golay cell provides more than...

High-power laser platform.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The SparkLight turnkey laser platform is designed to support the company's high-power laser arrays for research and industrial uses. Arrays are available at 635, 940, and 1550 nm. Output is fiber-coupled, though alternate configurations are...

Noncontact profiler.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The noncontact Profiler series includes a system with measurement speeds more than 180 times faster than previous systems. It can acquire 180 measureable points simultaneously, decreasing the time required to make a 3-D map of a surface. It can...

Inverted materials microscope.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The Eclipse MA200 inverted materials microscope automatically combines captured images with data on their observation settings. A lx objective lens allows macro observation with actual field view of 25 mm. The device offers a wide range of...

Calibration design kit.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The OCB100 automatic-calibration design kit has a driver board with three different optoelectronic circuits to allow design engineers to calibrate optoelectronic devices, provide a consistent output signal, and shorter design cycles. It works...

Optical-design software.(New products)
March 1, 2009... Version 10.0 of Code V optical-design software uses parallel processing on multicore CPUs to speed up optimization of complex optical systems. It also includes a new Beam Synthesis Propagation algorithm that includes diffraction effects through...

Mid-IR interferometer.(New products)
March 1, 2009... An infrared-laser unequal-path interferometer operates at 3.29 [micro]m, based on an internal HeNe laser and an integral collinear visible alignment laser. It is designed for testing mid-wave infrared imaging systems of any size or complexity....

Preamplifier modules.(New products)
March 1, 2009... Ultra-low-noise avalanche photodiode preamplifier modules from PerkinElmer are made from silicon and InGaAs. The Low Level Analogue Module range offers high-QE spectral response from 400 to 1700 nm, noise-equivalent power levels of 25...

Optical multimeter.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The o-TOOL optical multimeter can locate an invisible beam or help optimize lasers, optics, and other light sources. Attachments include a polarizer to display shape and angle of beam polarity, as well as profiler, attenuator, aperture, and...

Red VCSEL.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The eVCSEL is a 635 nm laser with peak output power up to 10 W. The vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser is pumped by a scanning electron beam and can be modulated for user-configurable applications. The emitted light is highly polarized,...

CCD cameras.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The compact GS-Series periscope-type CCD camera with Gigabit Ethernet interface are designed for machine vision applications. The GSA 650, 660, 1380, and 2450 range from VGA to 5-megapixel resolution, with full-resolution frame rates up to 120...

Smart CCD camera.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The Condor-MS-5 is a multispectral acquisition system with five pixel-to-pixel-aligned sensors. It performs on-board processing and parallel software operations on each image band, all customizable by the user. Triggering and integration can be...

HUD camera lens.(New products)
March 1, 2009... A rugged, miniature, varifocal zoom lens allows development of a multiplatform head-up display. It provides a variable field of view and can focus from infinity to 35 mm from the lens. A motorized iris allows for wide light level changes. The...

Beamsplitters.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The LaserMUX line of optical filters are designed to combine or separate multiple beams. The dichroic beam combiners can multiplex or demultiplex 16 popular laser lines, including 405, 440, 488, 514, 561, and 635 nm, and the filters can be...

RGB light sensors.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The TCS3404 and 3414 digital color light sensors with integrated red, green, and blue filters can derive color chromaticity and illuminance of ambient light with 16-bit resolution, for managing LED and cold cathode fluorescent lamp display...

Laser-diode system.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The iBeam/iPulse diode-laser system provides more than 20 mW at 488 nm for applications such as flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and high-throughput/high-content screening. It has wavefront error less than 0.05 [lambda] [M.sup.2] better...

Fiber-coupled laser.(New products)
March 1, 2009... TruDisk lasers provide up to 16 kW of power delivered through fiber. They have a beam parameter product of 2 to 8 mm/mrad, with integrated power sensors and real-time power feedback control to maining continuous power at the work piece. A...

IR detector.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The UL 03162 infrared detector measures 384 x 288 x 25 pm and works without a thermoelectric cooler. An analog-to-digital converter is embedded on the chip, allowing the use of simplified driving electronic boards. It is aimed at applications...

Optics and coatings catalog.(New products)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An optics and coatings catalog includes high-laser-damage-threshold excimer and UV laser optics, new hybrid coatings, broadband mirrors and coatings, optical filters, as well as the company's other standard coatings....

DPSS Q-switched microlaser.(New products)
March 1, 2009... AltLAS is a compact Yb:YAG microlaser. This nanosecond diodepumped solid-state laser operates at 1030 nm, has repetition rates of up to 100 kHz, and output power up to 1200 mW. It has two operation modes: an internal trigger with several fixed...

Diode-pumped ultrafast fiber laser.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The Satsuma series of compact ultrafast fiber amplifiers offers more than 5 W average output power with a 500 fs pulse width and 1 MHz repetition rate. Housed in a rugged package, the turnkey system contains flexible electronics and is suited...

Fiber-coupled acousto-optics module.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The Fibre Q is a new fiber-coupled AOM (acousto-optics module), designed for pulsed fiber-laser amplifier systems. Housed in a compact, hermetically sealed package, the device is optimized for low insertion loss with a high extinction ratio and...

Solid-state laser combiner.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The ALC-500 solid-state laser combiner offers up to five solid-state laser lines. Consuming only a few hundred watts, it covers the visible spectrum from 400 to 650 nm for applications such as photo activation and confocal and TIRF microscopy....

Cameras for IR interferometry.(New products)
March 1, 2009... A 3-to-5-[micro]m-sensitive system has been added to the company's product portfolio, for use with 3.39 pm (HeNe) laser sources as well as a 3-to-12-[micro]m-sensitive system, for dual-band applications. Cameras for near-IR testing applications...

Optical-bench miniature spectrometer.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The AvaSpec-2048-ULS Ultra Low Straylight Miniature Spectrometer has added a new optical-bench design, Avabench 75-ULS. The optical bench has a dual internal mode-stripper along with multiple compound parabolic concentrators to further reduce...

Fiber for the Deep UV.(New products)
March 1, 2009... Optran UVNS (UV nonsolarizing) silica/silica fiber and PowerLightGuide bundles provide 40,000 continuous, unfiltered hours of level transmission at 95% of the original output. Manufactured in-house of all-silica, they are available at...

Laser-power meter.(New products)
March 1, 2009... The LabMax-TOP with GPIB is a laser-power and energy meter. It has interfacing capabilities to support GPIB/ IEEE-488, in addition to USB, RS-232 and onboard flash memory. GPIB provides a simple, robust way to control multiple instruments using...

Let poor old Galileo rest in peace.(IN MY VIEW)
March 1, 2009... You may not have realized it yet, but 2009 has officially been declared the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations. This year was chosen because it marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's significant observations that...

Photonic products proliferate.(EDITOR'S DESK)
March 1, 2009... Welcome to the 2009 Laser Focus World Buyers Guide. This new edition of our annual Industry Sourcebook has been completely updated--as it is every year--to reflect the rapidly changing landscape of products and manufacturers within the field of...

Laser sources.(SECTION 1: 2009 Buyers Guide)(Buyers guide)
March 1, 2009... Products listed alphabetically by type Suppliers listed alphabetically for each type LASER SOURCES DYE LASERS CryLas GmbH Berlin, Germany; www.crylas.de Elk Industries LLC Melbourne, FL; www.elkindustries.com ...

Dye lasers, CW.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... DYE LASERS, CW TUNABLE RANGE LOW HIGH POWER LINEWIDTH PUMPING (NM) (NM) (W) (NM OR MHZ) METHOD 275 350 1.5 0.003 nm DPSS 450 700 5...

Dye lasers, pulsed.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... DYE LASERS, PULSED TUNABLE RANGE LOW HIGH ENERGY REP RATE PULSE (NM) (NM) (J) (HZ) LENGTH (NS) 200 2500 0.2 10-30 5 200 4500...

Gas lasers, CW (argon-ion).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (ARGON-ION) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) ...

Gas lasers, CW (argon-krypton-ion).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (ARGON-KRYPTON-ION) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 2.5 ...

Gas lasers, CW (krypton-ion).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (KRYPTON-ION) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) ...

Gas lasers, CW (carbon dioxide).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (CARBON DIOXIDE) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER ([micro]M) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 9-11 ...

Gas lasers, CW (far-infrared).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (FAR-INFRARED) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER ([micro]M) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 40-1200 ...

Gas lasers, CW (helium-cadmium).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (HELIUM-CADMIUM) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 325 ...

Gas lasers, CW (helium-neon).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, CW (HELIUM-NEON) OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 543 0.0015 ...

Other gas lasers, CW.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... OTHER GAS LASERS, CW OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH BEAM DIAMETER (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (MM) 5.3 [micro]m 2 ...

Gas lasers, pulsed (excimer).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, PULSED (EXCIMER) OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH REP. RATE (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (HZ) 157 0.001 ...

Gas lasers, pulsed (carbon dioxide).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, PULSED (CARBON DIOXIDE) OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH REP. RATE ([micro]M) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (HZ) 4.6-5.4 2 ...

Gas lasers, pulsed (metal-vapor).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, PULSED (METAL-VAPOR) OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH REP. RATE (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (HZ) 224.3 20...

Gas lasers, pulsed (nitrogen).(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... GAS LASERS, PULSED (NITROGEN) OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH REP. RATE (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE (HZ) 337 0.00017 ...

Other gas lasers, pulsed.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... OTHER GAS LASERS, PULSED OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH (NM) [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE REP. RATE (HZ) 224.30 0.1 500 260-270 ...

Semiconductor lasers, CW.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS, CW OUTPUT POWER THRESHOLD TRANSVERSE WAVELENGTH (W @ DRIVE CURRENT MODE (NM) CURRENT IN A) (MA) (SINGLE OR MULTI) 375 ...

Semiconductor lasers, pulsed.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS, PULSED WAVE- ENERGY (J) DIODE, REP. LENGTH STACK, RATE (HZ) (NM) ARRAY 350-1500 1-10 nJ Diode ...

Solid-state lasers, CW.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... SOLID-STATE LASERS, CW OUTPUT POWER (W) WAVELENGTH [TEM.sub.00] MULTIMODE BEAM DIA. (NM) (MM) Nd:YAG 473 0.05 ...

Solid-state lasers, pulsed.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... SOLID-STATE LASERS, PULSED OUTPUT ENERGY (J) WAVELENGTH TEM. MULTIMODE REP. RATE (HZ) (NM) CTH:YAG 2.1 [micro]m 10 Er 1550 ...

Tunable solid-state lasers, CW.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... TUNABLE SOLID-STATE LASERS, CW TUNABLE RANGE LOW HIGH LINEWIDTH (NM) (NM) POWER (W) (NM OR MHZ) 4 12 >10 mw 10 MHz 205 800 0.5 ...

Tunable solid-state lasers, pulsed.(Laser Specification Tables)
March 1, 2009... TUNABLE SOLID-STATE LASERS, PULSED TUNABLE RANGE LOW HIGH ENERGY (J) REP RATE (NM) (NM) (HZ) 190 550 500 mW 80 MHz 193 193 >2 mW@ ...