FROM THE EDITOR

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  Laser Weapon Systems: Ready For Prime Time?

  Following years of speculation, anticipation, and (more recently) demonstrations, it appears that laser weapon systems will finally make their debut in the field sometime in the next year. The readiness and efficacy of lasers for combat use, however, remains a matter of some debate.

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  The Sequester, DARPA, And A New Reality For U.S. Defense R&D

  Sequestration was the dominant theme at SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing (DSS) 2013 in Baltimore last week. Talk of U.S. budget cuts and their impact on the defense industry was almost omnipresent during the event, starting with Monday’s plenary keynote address by DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar, who explained how the agency will approach the development of new military capabilities amidst both fiscal and threat uncertainties.

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  My 3 Favorite Technologies From SPIE DSS 2013

  The SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing (DSS) exhibition is a place where even the most hard-core tech geek can get lost amidst a sea of cutting-edge technologies being utilized in almost unthinkable ways. Autonomous robots doing what only humans could previously do, in environments too dangerous for humans to go. Tiny Raman spectrometers that analyze and identify chemicals or explosives in a matter of seconds. Cameras capable of providing remarkably detailed battlefield images in nearly any lighting or weather condition, at incredible distances. There’s much more than anyone can hope to absorb in only three short days — or write about in a few short paragraphs. For this reason, I’m going to share with you only my three favorite technologies from DSS.

• Has Giant Space Spectrometer Found Evidence Of Dark Matter?
• Cosmic Microwave Background Anomalies Challenge Principles Of Big Bang Theory
• 100x Efficiency Improvement For Solar Energy Device

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

PG&O: Precision Optics for Military Imaging

Precision Glass &Optics, an expert in optical manufacturing for over 25 years, offers advanced thin film coatings, commercial optics and precision optics (standard and customized) for military and defense applications. Plano optical components include prisms, windows, beamsplitters, light pipes, optical mirrors, and retro reflectors.

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  Visible MTF System – Swinging Arm Type
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  80 and 200um InGaAs Avalanche Photodiodes
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  VC Optimum Smart CCD Camera Series

FEATURED VIDEOS

• Infrared Optical Assemblies Now Available

  Matt Hebert, optics account manager with Novotech, Inc., provides us with some background information on his company.

• Lenses For Machine Vision, Surveillance, And Medical Applications

  In this video, Jim Sullivan, director of sales and marketing for Schneider Optics, tells us about his company’s C-mount lenses, emerald ruby lenses, and xenon emerald lenses at Photonics West 2013.

• Live From Photonics West 2012: New Ultra-High-Speed, High-Spatial-Resolution Camera System Andrew Bridges of Photron introduces their new ultra-high-speed, high-spatial-resolution camera system, the Fastcam IS-1M. The 312 x 260 pixel resolution ISIS (in-situ image storage) CCD sensor system can capture a wide range of ultra-high-speed events at up to 1 million frames per second.
• Live From SPIE DSS 2012: FLIR Demos Mid-Wave Science-Grade Cameras For R&D Applications

  Dave Bursell, director of the Science Segment at FLIR Systems, talks to Photonics Online about FLIR's line of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) science-grade cameras for R&D thermography applications. These include the X8400 1280 x 1024 MWIR InSb camera, the X6550 640 x 512 MWIR InSb camera, the X6800 high-speed MWIR camera, and the X8300 high-speed MWIR megapixel camera.

• Video: Cycle Helmet Testing Impact test of cycle helmet

• New Green Laser For Raman Spectroscopy, Flow Cytometry, Confocal Microscopy
• Video: Wall Street Crash 4th Take...
• 2D FFT CCD Spectrometer For High-Sensitivity UV Applications

LEADING SUPPLIERS

IRCameras

IRCameras provides the most technologically advanced infrared imaging systems available for scientific, industrial and military applications. In addition to our extensive line-up of standard commercial cameras and IDCAs, we offer custom design and build services to meet unique optical, packaging and space-constrained requirements

IRCameras is a subsidiary of Santa Barbara Infrared, a long-time leader in the design and manufacture of electro-optical (E-O) test instrumentation. SBIR, in turn, is part of HEICO Corporation, a technology-based aerospace company that’s been engaged in niche market segments within the aerospace, aviation and electronics industries for more than 40 years. Together we are uniquely positioned to advance development of thermal imaging technologies, and to commercialize these technologies for a wide range of applications including:

• nondestructive testing
• predictive maintenance
• online process monitoring and control
• scientific research
• target signature
• security and surveillance

We offer a range of purchase, rental and lease options, and a full line of accessories including software, data acquisition systems and optics. Our goal is to make your infrared imaging program a complete success. We welcome the opportunity to learn more about your requirements, and to explore how we might be able to assist in creating and supporting the optimal program to meet your particular infrared imaging requirements.

Excelitas Technologies

Excelitas Technologies is a global technology leader focused on delivering innovative, customized optoelectronics and advanced electronic systems to a global customer base of leading OEMs seeking high-performance, market-driven technologies.

LATEST HEADLINES

• UltraVolt – Precision High-Voltage Amplifiers Can Operate In DC, Reversible And Amplifier Mode

  Latest from UltraVolt is news of the expansion of its popular line of precision high-voltage amplifiers with the new the HVA Series which is capable of operating in DC, reversible and amplifier modes.

• Panasonic Develops A High-Brightness White Light Source Using Near Ultraviolet Semiconductor Lasers And Phosphors

  Panasonic Corporation today announced that it has developed a semiconductor white light source capable of outputting luminous flux in the 10,000-lumen class.

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  Application Optimised Lenses For Machine Vision

  Resolve Optics Ltd. has built a strong international reputation for working with machine vision camera suppliers and system integrators to develop application optimised lenses to enable them to benefit from the full performance of their camera or sensor system.

• Photonics Societies Unite To Announce The National Photonics Initiative

  The American Physical Society (APS), IEEE Photonics Society, Laser Institute of America (LIA), the Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society of Optics and Photonics, recently announced the launch of the National Photonics Initiative (NPI), a collaborative alliance seeking to unite industry, academia and government experts to identify and advance areas of photonics critical to maintaining US competitiveness and national security.

• Umicore Thin Film Products Introduces New Product Catalog

  Product Catalogue “Consumables for PVD Applications” (evaporation materials and accessories) featuring new application guidelines and technical data.

TECHNICAL ARTICLES

• Military And Defense Markets: Adjustments, Opportunities, And The Future

  Q&A with defense supplier executives on DoD budget cuts, growth areas, and the future.

• Analysis Of Fluorescent Substances And Binary Mixtures Through Shifted Excitation Raman Difference Spectroscopy

  Raman spectroscopy is used to provide both qualitative and quantitative analysis of materials in a wide variety of applications. While the technique has proven to be an effective way to measure substances, there is still an issue with the natural fluorescence many substances possess.

• Comparing Color Camera Technologies: Single-Chip Bayer Area Scan Vs. 3-CCD

  There is a perception that color precision can only be achieved with three-chip prism-based (3-CCD, multiple-chip prism, etc.) video cameras. By Gretchen Alper, Adimec

• 3 Trends In Biological Imaging — And Their Impact On Microscope Automation And Control

  The field of biological imaging is constantly evolving, driven forward by the increasingly complex and technologically sophisticated demands of the research community. As microscopy and other imaging techniques change, so too must the motion control systems that enable them. Photonics Online recently had the opportunity to talk with John Zemek, executive director of Applied Scientific Instrumentation. ASI manufactures sub-micron micropositioning hardware for laboratory and microscope automation and OEM systems. Zemek discusses the trends in biological imaging that are having the biggest influence on positioning system design, and what factors you should consider when evaluating such technology for your specific application.

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• 05.08.13 -- My 3 Favorite Technologies From SPIE DSS 2013
• 05.06.13 -- Milli-Pulse Pressure Injector; HyperFlux U1 Spectrometer; MWIR InSb Camera