Photonics West 2011: Day 3 Report
By Jim Pomager and Ron Grunsby
Here is a rundown of some of the happenings on Thursday at Photonics West 2011.
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Opto Diode
The big news at Opto Diode’s booth was the company’s recent acquisition of International Radiation Detectors (IRD). The acquisition adds IRD’s extreme UV capabilities — for 193- and 90-nm laser power monitoring, direct detection of soft X-rays, and other applications — to Opto Diode’s established expertise in photodiodes and visible and IR LEDs. IRD’s products are noteworthy for maintaining their pulse response over time (without noticeable degradation), even at high light densities. Opto Diode also showcased a new high-power 30-die NIR LED array. The OD-850-30-030 delivers a narrow beam angle of 30 degrees, has a peak wavelength of 850 nm (840-nm minimum, 865-nm maximum), and a total optical power output of 16 watts. Opto Diode’s general manager, Russ Dahl, told us that the small-footprint array is ideal for heads-up displays (HUDs), night vision systems, and illumination with video-based systems.
The Cooke Corporation
Steve Daicos, president of The Cooke Corporation, discussed the pco.edge sCMOS Camera with Photonics Online. The camera, which was launched last year, simultaneously delivers extremely low noise, fast frame rates, wide dynamic range, high quantum efficiency, high resolution, and a large field of view — all in one image. “Our biggest challenge is explaining that the features occur simultaneously,” Daicos said. “We’re seeing an increase in the knowledge base of the customers as far as knowing what sCMOS is all about. There has been an increase in the quantity and seriousness of the people coming to our booth this year.” Top applications of the pco.edge include genome sequencing, super resolution microscopy, and live cell microscopy.
Laser Components
The COUNT series of single photon counting modules was the center of attention at the Laser Components booth. The company launched a new addition to the series during the event — the COUNTblue. This new device boosts the COUNT’s quantum efficiency at shorter wavelengths (to >60% in the blue range), while maintaining the extremely low count rates for which the series is known. The COUNTblue is intended for fluorescence measurement and microscopy applications. The COUNT series was also awarded the NASA Tech Brief Product of the Year Award during Photonics West.
Laser Operations LLC / QPC Lasers
Laser Operations, manufacturer of the QPC line of diode lasers and diode-pumped laser products, showcased its BrightLock Ultra-G family of green 532 nm lasers at its booth. These compact (122 x 70 x 26.4 mm), passively cooled modules deliver up to 6 watts of CW output power for medical, military, and defense applications. Another interesting product on display was the recently introduced SUltra OEM solution, which incorporates a laser, visible aiming beam, power supply, thermal management system, and controller electronics in a single air-cooled package. The portable system is available in 532, 980, 1,064, 1,470, and 1,920 nm wavelengths and produces optical power up to 50 watts (CW or pulsed) — ideal for plastic welding and laser soldering, heat-treating, medical laser therapy, forensics, and direct illumination applications.
Ophir Photonics Group
Precision laser measurement specialist Ophir Photonics unveiled a number of new products during Photonics West. Among them was the new 3A-P-THz power/energy sensor, which is designed to measure THz light sources from very low power up to 3W and is traceable to standard laboratory calibration. Also on display was a new line of high damage threshold power volume absorbers for short pulsed lasers (<1us) — a unique spray deposited on the surface of these absorbers enables them to handle power density up to 3KW/cm2 and gives them response rates as fast as 1s. In addition, Ophir launched the Shock Absorber, a mounting post designed to reduce vibration and eliminate false triggering of pyroelectric laser power/energy sensors, and a new release of its BeamGage laser beam analysis software, which now supports GigE cameras for high-speed applications.
Edmund Optics
EO launched both its “Super Service”-themed spring 2011 catalog, highlighting many of the company’s nearly 24,000 stock optic products, and its new Real-Life Optics Superhero Awards, which honor individuals for their contributions to the advancement of optical science. (Click here to meet the first winners and nominate your hero.) On the product front, EO introduced two new tunable polymer lenses (developed by Optotune, Inc.), one focus-tunable electrically and the other manually/mechanically. The company also demonstrated its new line of TECHSPEC high-resolution large-format lenses, designed specifically for line scan and large area scan cameras.
Jenoptik
Two Jenoptik divisions were represented at the company’s booth — Lasers & Materials Processing and Optical Systems. The Lasers & Materials Processing group brought a number of new products to the event, including: the JenLas disk IR70 infrared disk laser for solar cell and micro material processing; the JOLD-x-QA-8A diode laser module (with up to 2,400-W qcw output power) for industrial, military, and medical equipment applications; and the fiber-coupled diode laser module JOLD-75-FC-11, with 75-W output power and a 105-µm fiber, for optical pumping of fiber lasers. The Optical Systems group showcased a range of precision optical capabilities, from optical components to digital imaging to electro-optical systems. The division’s micro-optics business group also demonstrated its integrated micro-optic technologies for semiconductor and flat-panel display equipment manufacturers.
Agilent Technologies
Agilent introduced booth visitors to the MLC400, a laser combiner designed for fluorescence and confocal microscopy research applications. Thanks to the company’s Complex Monolithic Optics (CMO) technology, the system’s beam combining optics are bonded into an optical assembly, which allows Agilent to permanently align the beam combiner before it leaves the factory. This approach guarantees permanent laser alignment, minimizes optomechanical stress, reduces optical surface exposure to the environment, and improves thermal management — even in demanding environments. As a result, users are spared the need to regularly realign and otherwise maintain the optics, as is the case with more conventional optomechanical assemblies. Agilent is also exploring new applications for CMO technology outside of microscopy.
Vytran
Vytran showcased its new LFS-4000 large-diameter fiber splicer and LDC-400 large-diameter fiber cleaver, along with its FFS-2000 splicing workstation, GPX-3400 glass processor, and various PTR-200 series recoaters. “We promote our splicers a lot, and people think of us like that, but we also do recoating,” said Bill De Costa, Vytran director of sales and marketing. “Our biggest growth opportunity is enabling companies who need glass processing, from fibers to small rods.” Vytran’s complete product lineup includes fully integrated workstation and discrete process tools for optical fiber stripping, cleaning, cleaving, splicing, recoating, and testing.
JDSU
JDSU announced new micro lithography or patterning processes for JDSU optical coatings that contribute to improved light sensing intelligence in a wide variety of consumer electronic products. Coatings patterned with new JDSU processes are layered onto optical sensors that allow products to sense and adjust according to ambient light conditions. End products include smart phones with lighted screens that fade out when pressed to a caller's ear and dashboard displays in automobiles that adjust the intensity of lighting according to external conditions. “A lot of consumer devices that did not require optics now do,” Markus Bilger, product manager for Custom Optics at JDSU, told Photonics Online. “We see this as a growth industry for us.”