colossal camera pushes the limits of fabrication

Transcription

March 2007 Issue 148
The European magazine for photonics professionals
LENS DESIGN
B AC K C H AT
FIBRE LASERS
Thin lens looks for
applications in
mobile phones
Kaleido Technology
CEO reveals secrets
to start-up success
Bismuth-doped fibres
offer route to pulsed
all-fibre laser sources
L ARG E O P TI C S
COLOSSAL CAMERA
PUSHES THE LIMITS
OF FABRICATION
optics.org
Project6
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13:17
Page 1
EDITORIAL
Editor Jacqueline Hewett
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1194
[email protected]
News editor James Tyrrell
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1256
[email protected]
Production editor Alison Gardiner
Technical illustrator Alison Tovey
I s s u e 14 8 M a r c h 2 0 07
NEWS
5
Business
EUROPE/ROW SALES
Business development manager Adrian Chance
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1193
[email protected]
Halma buys Labsphere for $14 m•French
government gives 75.6 m to Imalogic project•People
10
Group advertisement manager Rob Fisher
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1260
robert.fi[email protected]
Advertisement manager Cadi Jones
Tel +44 (0) 117 930 1090
[email protected]
Senior sales executive Katrina Davis
Tel +44 (0) 117 930 1284
[email protected]
French government funds
digital sensor project p6
US SALES
IOP Publishing Inc, Suite 929, 150 South
Independence Mall West, Philadelphia PA 19106, USA
Tel +1 215 627 0880. Fax +1 215 627 0879
CHINA SALES
China sales executive Ann Hou
Shenzhen Yongge Advertising Co Ltd, Rm 1106,
Xinwen Building, No. 2 Shennan Zhong Road,
Shenzhen, Guangdong, PRC
Tel +86 755 82091822. Fax +86 755 82090566
[email protected]
It’s all about fibre
mPOF includes internal biosensor•Holes
improve microsphere imaging•IR sensor studies ant activity
15
R&D
16
Patents
Snow improves coupling efficiency•Bismuth boosts
all-fibre lasers
LED giants Osram and Philips agree to cross-licence
patents•Fibre firms announce “amicable” settlement of dispute
F E AT U R E S
17 Laser water jet cuts it in the material world
After 10 years in the making, Synova’s water-jet-guided
technology is being used to cut, drill, grind and dice materials as
varied as gallium arsenide and polycrystalline diamond.
Jacqueline Hewett catches up with Synova to find out the
advantages of the approach.
IR sensor counts ant activity
around nest site p14
Advertising production editor Mark Trimnell
20
CIRCULATION AND MARKETING
Subscription and circulation manager Jenny Brown
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1034
[email protected]
UK produces giant camera for IR astronomy
An infrared, 67 Mpixel, 3 tonne camera has been successfully
installed on the VISTA telescope in Chile. Martin Caldwell from
the UK’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory explains how the
instrument pushed the limits of large-scale optics.
ART DIRECTOR
Andrew Giaquinto
Laser water jet cuts groovy
patterns in OLED masks p17
23
Nerve stimulation gets IR light treatment
Stimulating nerves with pulses of infrared light could help to
restore a person’s balance, intensify hearing implants and lead to
more advanced prosthetic limbs. James Tyrrell talks with Mark
Bendett to discover more about Aculight’s role in this up-andcoming research area.
OPTICS & LASER EUROPE
Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BS1 6BE, UK
Tel +44 (0)117 929 7481
Editorial fax +44 (0)117 925 1942
Advertising fax +44 (0)117 930 1178
optics.org/ole
ISSN 0966-9809 CODEN OL EEEV
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Complimentary copies are sent to qualifying
individuals. For readers outside registration
requirements: £116/7168 ($208 US and Canada)
per year. Single issue £11/715 ($19 US, Canada
and Mexico). Contact IOPP Magazines, WDIS Ltd,
Units 12 & 13, Cranleigh Gardens Industrial Estate,
Southall, Middlesex UB1 2DB, UK.
Tel +44 (0)20 8606 7518. Fax +44 (0)20 8606 7303
Editorial
T E C H N O LO GY
11 Applications
ADVERTISING PRODUCTION
Advertising production coordinator Rachel Sermon
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1277
[email protected]
PUBLISHER
Claire Bedrock
Tel +44 (0)117 930 1151
[email protected]
Contents
25
Capella laser optically
stimulates nerves p23
Imaging colorimeters give advanced options
CCD-based instruments can provide accurate measurements of
spatial colour and luminance information for displays,
instrument panels, light sources and luminaires. Sean Skelley,
Doug Kreysar and Kevin Chittim weigh up the options when
buying imaging colorimeters.
PRO D U C T S
29 Power and energy meters•CCD cameras•Integrating sphere
© 2007 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.
Printed by Warners (Midlands) plc, The Maltings,
West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire PE10 9PH, UK.
REGULARS
38 Back chat
Cover (VISTA project)
Giant IR camera united
with VISTA telescope p20
For the latest news on optics and photonics don’t forget to visit optics.org
Project1
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Page 1
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N E WS
B U S I N E S S 5 E D I T O R I A L 10
AC Q U I S I T I O N S
Halma
Labsphere, a US developer of
light-measurement systems, has
been acquired by Halma, a safety,
health and sensor technology
group based in the UK, for about
$14 m (711 m) in cash.
The purchase follows Halma’s
acquisition of US spectrometer
specialist Ocean Optics in June
2004, as the group continues
to enhance its presence in the
photonics market. Halma is a
holding company of almost 50
subsidiaries worldwide, with
reported revenues in 2006 of
more than £300 m (7450 m).
Labsphere fits into Halma’s
health and analysis portfolio,
which generated 38% (£23 m) of
the group’s profit last year and is
reportedly Halma’s fastest-growing business sector.
“Labsphere has f irst-rate
knowledge in laser and LED
metrology applications,” Keith
Roy of Halma told OLE. “It is a
financially solid business with
excellent growth potential.”
Unaudited accounts for 2006
show that Labsphere delivered
revenues of $12.5 m with an
operating profit of $2.4 m.
Halma
Halma buys Labsphere for $14 m
Easy to use: Labsphere offers a wide range of light-measurement solutions
including out of the box systems for characterizing LEDs.
Labsphere’s products include
LED, laser and traditional lightsource light-measurement systems; uniform light sources for
calibration; and high diffusereflectance materials and coatings for backlit displays. What’s
more, the evolution of the fi rm’s
technologies has resulted in multiple patents in LED testing and
ultraviolet transmittance.
“One of the exciting areas is
the applicability of Labsphere’s
unique intellectual property to
other Halma com panies, providing immediate potential for
Keith Roy: Halma remains very
interested in the photonics sector.
its headquarters in North Sutton,
New Hampshire.
“Both companies will continue
to be branded and promoted independently,” added Roy. “That
said, we will look for marketing
collaborations, such as combining physical presences at trade
shows, where appropriate.”
According to Roy, Halma
remains very interested in making further acquisitions in the
photonics sector – specifically in
areas where the enabling technology resides in a number of different markets.
product-performance enhancement,” said Roy. “Innovation
is a corporate strategic goal of
the group and Labsphere will
be encouraged to support this.”
Halma is a keen investor in R&D,
spending almost 5% of its health
and analysis sector revenue on
R&D activity within the division and launching more than
60 new products.
Labsphere is likely to benefit
from Ocean Optics’ global distribution network as a way of providing new routes to customers.
It will continue to operate from
O P T I C A L N E T WO R K S
Giorgio Anania has stepped down
as Bookham’s president and CEO
after eight years of service.
Peter Bordui, a former director of New Focus, which was
acquired by Bookham in 2004,
and current non-executive chairman of the board, will assume the
CEO role on an interim basis.
Anania played a key role in
Bookham’s highly successful
initial public offering in April
2000, which helped to transform the company from its
beginnings as a niche supplier
of silicon photonics.
Today, through its acquisition
policy, the company designs,
manufactures and markets optiO L E • M a r c h 2 0 07 • o p t i c s . o r g /o l e
cal components, modules and
subsystems for a broad range of
markets, including telecommunications, aerospace, semiconductor and defence.
According to Bookham, the
resignation was reached by
mutual agreement between
Anania and the company’s board
of directors. “We thank Giorgio
for his hard work and dedication
to Bookham over the past eight
years,” said Bordui.
The news comes just two weeks
after the company announced
a $21.3 m (716.1 m) loss for the
second quarter of 2007 and disclosed that it was undertaking
an “aggressive overhead cost-
reduction plan” designed to save
around $6–7 m this year. The
firm said that the savings will
come mainly from reductions in
its workforce, consolidation at its
UK semiconductor operation in
Caswell, and shifting more development activities to China.
On a more positive note, as
OLE went to press, the company
revealed that its 980 nm pumplaser technology has been selected
by US firm Tyco Telecommunications for deployment in undersea
cable systems. Dubbed OceanBright, the products will be used
in erbium-doped fibre amplifiers,
which perform a critical repeater
function in optical networks.
Bookham
Anania resigns as CEO of Bookham
Resigned: after eight years of service
with Bookham, Giorgio Anania has
stepped down as president and CEO.
The deal is a significant
endorsement of Bookham’s technology as Tyco is one of the key
players in this market.
Tyco hopes to achieve production cost savings by applying the
980 nm pump technology to terrestrial and submarine systems.
5
NEWS
BUSINE S S
L A S E R T E C H N O L O GY
The Florida Photonics Center of
Excellence at the University of
Central Florida (UCF), US, has
been awarded $4.5 m (73.4 m)
to establish a new programme
on advanced laser technologies.
The Laser Technology Initiative,
one of six programmes recently
approved across Florida,
will focus on nanophotonics,
biophotonics, optical imaging
and communications. To further
enhance the initiative, UCF provost
Terry Hickey and other state
programmes are providing an extra
$9.6 m to enable the hiring of staff
and to build the infrastructure.
I N T E G R AT E D O P T I C S
Infinera, Sunnyvale, US, has
acquired Little Optics, a developer
of planar lightwave circuits. Based
in Annapolis Junction, Maryland,
US, Little Optics has pioneered the
development of integrated optical
devices using a combination of
planar-lightwave technology and
proprietary glass materials.
TELECOMS
Following the announcement of
12 500 job cuts worldwide, to take
place over the next three years,
Alcatel-Lucent (A-L) has been
meeting representatives of the
Dutch Works Council and unions
to discuss how the company’s
plans will affect employees in the
Netherlands. “Up to 180 staff will
be going over the next 24 months,”
said Coert de Boer, managing
director for the Netherlands.
Currently, A-L employs some
700 people in the country.
OPTICAL SENSING
French government gives
95.6 m to Imalogic project
Sofradir, a developer and manufacturer of infrared detectors, has
revealed a major step forward in
the 723 m digital-sensing initiative – Imalogic. According to
the fi rm, the French government
is set to contribute 75.6 m to the
project that involves Sofradir, Ulis,
Trixell and STMicroelectronics.
Imalogic brings together
the research and development
resources of four of the world’s
leading digital-sensor manufacturers, as well as incorporating
the microelectronics know-how
of CEA-LETI. The partners will
collaborate to develop a range of
digital sensors for various professional and commercial applications. Sofradir will focus on
high-definition infrared detectors for aerospace and security
markets. Ulis is primarily targeting the automobile industry.
Trixell and STMicroelectronics
will work together to tap into the
medical X-ray sector.
The financial support is part of
a French Finance Ministry initiative to help French industry
become more competitive globally. Sofradir, Ulis, Trixell and
STMicroelectronics will invest
about 70% in Imalogic. The
French Finance Ministry, as well
as regional agencies and municipalities in and around Grenoble,
where the companies’ research
and development centres are
based, will contribute 30%.
“Grenoble has a long tradition
Sofradir
IN BRIEF
Philippe Tribolet: Sofradir is taking a lead role in managing the Imalogic project.
of successful alliances linking
research, education and industry,” said project leader Philippe
Tribolet, vice-president of
research and development, technologies and products at Sofradir.
“The partners and I are thrilled
about the state supporting industry and research-led innovation
here. This contribution is a major
step towards helping us achieve
our mutual objectives.”
Imalogic is one of 30 microand nanotechnology, and embedded system-on-chip projects that
Minalogic, a global competitive
centre for microsmart devices,
is supporting. Sofradir is taking a leading role in managing
the project that is scheduled for
completion in 2009. A detailed
investigation of the constraints
that exist in the base technologies, which are common to all
and impact on product performance, is already under way. The
next step is to optimize the synergies found in the methodologies,
design tools and equipment used
by the partners. CEA-LETI’s role
will be to help the fi rms by developing base technologies and new
component architectures that
lower production costs.
Imalogic members hope to
win greater market share in the
commercial sector over the next
5–10 years. The firm expects
to increase revenue and create
new jobs as a direct result of the
project and the competitiveness
of the digital sensor products that
will be produced.
“Each member will greatly benefit from the shared knowledge
and skills that are being pooled
in semiconductor materials and
information processing, as well as
in integration and encapsulation
technologies,” continued Tribolet. “We believe that Imalogic will
enable us to overcome some well
known technological barriers and
open up new market opportunities in the whole spectral band
from X-ray to infrared.”
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NEWS
BUSINE S S
PE O PLE
O P T I C A L SY S T E M S
Gerd Litfin and Nils Stoesser have
taken up roles on the supervisory
board of LINOS AG as of 1 January.
Litfin and Stoesser succeed
Reinhold Barlian and Gottfried
Neuhaus, while Gerd Kastrup
retains his position. Litfin is the
founder of the LINOS Group and
was chief executive officer of LINOS
AG until the end of December
2006. Stoesser is the director
of Candover Partners Limited, a
private equity firm.
M E T R O L O GY
Zygo has appointed James Northup
as president of its metrology division.
Northup joined the company
as executive vice-president of
corporate business development.
Prior to joining Zygo, Northup was
chief operating officer at Toppan
Photomasks (formerly DuPont
Photomasks Inc) and president of
Photronics Inc. He holds a BSc, with
distinction, in chemical engineering
from the University of Rhode Island.
advanced systems analysis program
in 35 countries. Matty has 13 years
of sales and customer service
experience in high technology.
OLEDS
Harry Boehme has joined OLEDdeveloper Novaled of Germany as
chief financial officer and member
of the management board. “The
arrival of Harry on our management
board occurs at the proper time for
further developments at Novaled,”
said Novaled’s chief executive
officer Gildas Sorin.
S C I E N C E P O L I CY
Thomas Giallorenzi has joined
the OSA as senior director of
science policy. Giallorenzi will
help to expand the society’s
programmes and activities, with
particular emphasis on widening its
conventions and meetings portfolio.
S O F T WA R E
Breault Research Organization
(BRO) has promoted Kimberly
Matty to the position of vicepresident of global sales. In her
new role, Matty will lead BRO’s
team of sales representatives and
engineers supporting the company’s
LASERS
Synova, the pioneer of water jetguide laser technology, has named
Notker Kling as general manager of
its North American operations. Kling
will oversee operations at Synova’s
two US micromachining centres in
Boston and Silicon Valley, and help
to build adoption of the company’s
Laser MicroJet technology.
OPTICS
Melles Griot has promoted
Sherie Motakef to the position
of marketing manager for the
company’s distribution group.
This position carries responsibility
for all aspects of catalogue and
web marketing to Melles’ North
American and European client base.
Motakef will be based in Carlsbad,
California, US, and will report to
general manager Jacky Byatt.
COMPONENTS
Pacer International has employed
David House to head its new US sales
and support team. The company
recently opened a new office in Blue
Bell, Philadelphia, which will be the
headquarters of its North America
operation. House joins Pacer from
Perkin Elmer where he was western
US sales leader for the optoelectronic
industrial sensors division.
optics
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NEWS
EDITORIAL
LASER 2007
It’s all about fibre
World of Photonics
E-mail Alerts
“ Synova is
confident
that its
water-jet
products
can replace
existing
methods.”
Jacqueline
Hewett
Sign up for the free optics.org e-mail
alert now to receive independent and
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Laser NewsAlert sponsors
It’s hard to believe that here we are putting
the final touches to the March issue of OLE.
Photonics West took place more than a
month ago and it still feels as though we are
digesting all of the technical innovation
that was on show both in the exhibition and
during the conferences.
Fibre lasers are always a popular topic and
this was certainly the case at Photonics West.
One company raising its voice and looking
to increase its share in the micromachining
market was Synova. This Swiss firm is the
pioneer of water-jet-guided laser technology
and confidently believes that this approach
can be adopted wherever a normal laser
is being used. This is all thanks to the eyecatching list of advantages of using a waterjet rather than focusing a laser beam directly
onto a workpiece. Turn to p17 to read more
about the technology.
In this issue you will find news of a
fibre-coupled laser being used to optically
stimulate nerves (p23). The source and its
applications are being developed by Aculight
and several US universities. Aculight believes
that its Capella product, although currently
just an investigative tool, will be adopted in
curative applications and is keen to work
with other research groups.
“We would like to disseminate the
technology across as many clinical platforms
as possible,” Mark Bendett, Aculight’s
director of product development, told OLE.
“And the easiest way for us to do that is to put
it out to dozens of research groups that can
then work with us on the technology.”
To marvel at how far optical technology
can be stretched, turn to p20 to read about
a giant 67 Mpixel, 3 tonne camera that was
installed on the VISTA telescope in Chile in
February. Described as a real colossus among
optical cameras, it just managed to fit within
the largest cargo container allowed on a
Boeing747. The camera pushed large-scale
optics to the limits: a 1.4 m diameter filter
wheel and lenses that are 0.6 m in diameter
are two of many examples. And when you
factor in the earthquake-prone environment
of Chile, that presents a whole new problem
when it comes to getting things aligned.
Enjoy the issue.
Jacqueline Hewett, editor
E-mail [email protected]
10
TEC HNOLOGY
A PPLI CAT I O N S 11 R& D 15 PAT E N T S 16
SENSING
mPOF includes internal biosensor
“We have drawn around 250 m of
Topas mPOF in around 30 min,”
he said. “The mPOF has 3 holes
running along its length, each
around 50 µm in diameter.”
To turn the fibre into a biosensor, Emiliyanov and colleagues
exploit the fact that Topas is
chemically inert and that direct
binding of biomolecules onto its
surface is difficult.
“Com mercia l ly ava i lable
Antraquinion (AQ) linker molecules can attach to the Topas
surface when activated with
ultraviolet [UV] light and can
then accept sensor layers,”
explained the researchers. “As a
consequence, a UV mask can be
used to define localized sensor
layers inside a Topas mPOF.”
The team fi lled a 30 cm-long
Topas mPOF with a solution containing AQ molecules. After a
1 h incubation period, half of the
Grigoriy Emiliyanov
Danish researchers have created
an unusual fibre-optic biosensor
by exploiting the properties of
microstructured polymer optical
fibre (mPOF) fabricated from a
material called Topas. The team’s
device contains localized sensing
regions within the air holes that
run along the length of the fibre
(Optics Letters 32 460).
“We believe that this is the
fi rst mPOF to be fabricated from
Topas cyclic olefi n copolymer,”
said the researchers.
Traditionally, mPOFs are fabricated from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and their
optical properties are dictated
by the relative position, size and
shape of the internal air holes.
“Topas has attractive material
properties (no monomers and
very low moisture absorption
– about 100 times lower than
that of PMMA) and it is also chem-
The researchers used a Topas mPOF with
three holes running along its length to
create their fibre-optic biosensor.
ically inert,” explained the team.
“It exhibits an improved melt
viscosity and high tear strength,
allowing better conditions for
drawing optical fibres.”
Researcher Grigoriy Emiliyanov, from Technical University
Denmark, told OLE that the starting point is a preform 70 mm in
length and 25 mm in diameter.
fibre was illuminated with a UV
lamp emitting at 325 nm, resulting in localized binding of AQ
molecules, which in turn created
localized sensing layers via an
antigen–antibody binding detection procedure. Analysis using
fluorescently labelled antibodies
confi rmed that the sensing layer
existed only where the fibre had
been exposed to UV light.
“We believe that defi ning the
sensing layer locally in a section
of the fibre introduces the possibility of up-concentrating the
target mole cules in a confined
region,” said Emiliyanov. “This is
advantageous for grating-based
sensor configurations for labelfree detection of biomolecules.”
“The next step is to improve the
fabrication process and be able
to draw Topas mPOF with better
guiding properties, such as singlemode,” concluded Emiliyanov.
I M AG I N G
By A L Narayan
Engineers from the University of
California at San Diego (UCSD),
US, have developed a camera
lens that they say is more than
five times thinner than its conventional counterparts.
The new design, which sees tiny
mirrors embedded in a single optical crystal, derives its operation
from Cassegrain telescopes and
could lead to a new generation of
slim lenses for mobile-phone cameras (Applied Optics 46 463).
While today’s cameras focus
light by using a set of compound
refractive lenses placed next to
each other, the new lens reflects
light back and forth inside a thin
optical crystal made of calcium
fluoride. “All the power in this
crystal is reflective, and there is
only a small refractive compo-
nent that gets introduced when
light enters the plane-annular
aperture,” UCSD’s Eric Tremblay
told OLE.
The prototype plano-aspheric
optic is 6 cm wide and 5 mm thick.
Its front side is flat and has a reflective central core surrounded by a
thin ring-shaped aperture. The
rear face is aspheric and has a
series of black and silver rings
surrounding an aperture for connecting a CMOS sensor.
Light entering from the annular aperture bounces along the
two reflective surfaces while
making its way to the sensor. “We
call it the eightfold annular design,
because two incoming light rays
would encounter exactly eight
mirrors on their way to the sensor,” explained Tremblay.
Four concentric mirrored
UCSD
Folded optics enables
ultrathin camera lens
The “eightfold” lens is only 5 mm thick.
the surfaces is aspheric, all of
the reflective surfaces (in the
rear portion of the lens) can be
shaped in a single mounting,”
said Tremblay.
The team has built a basic digital camera with a resolution of
1024 × 768 pixels to demonstrate
the power of its lens. Images taken
with conventional camera lenses
and the origami lens were compared and found to be very similar.
However, the new design suffers
from a smaller field of view (FOV)
and depth than conventional
cameras. While the FOV cannot
be enhanced – which might preclude its use in high-end digital
cameras – wavefront coding can
be used to increase its depth.
The current prototype has a
fi xed focal length, but the team
is now designing variable-focus
crystals that have air between
the two reflective surfaces.
rings are located at precise
positions on the disk to create a
pathway for the light-rays. Light
entering the annular aperture
is forced to strike the largest of
the concentric ref lectors and
then follows a zigzag path to the
smallest reflector before arriving
at the CMOS sensor.
Baff les made from a black
light-absorbing material were
fabricated between the mirrors
to prevent stray light from interfering with the images.
The mirrors were cut into the
calcium fluoride slab using dia- A L Narayan is a freelance writer
mond turning. “As only one of based in Singapore.
11
TECHNOLOGY
APPLICATIONS
MICRO - OPTICS
Holes improve microsphere imaging
of gold (40–120 nm) or nickel
(60 nm). They then exposed the
uncoated side of the sample to a
Ti:sapphire source with a wavelength of 797 nm and a pulse
duration of between 100 fs and
10 ps, to form an aperture in
each microsphere.
As Baeuerle explained, it is
critical to match the laser pulse to
the diameter and material properties of the metal-coated microspheres. These spherical lens-like
particles can display strong aberrations and the addition of a welldefined, round aperture helps
to diminish imaging faults by
behaving as an iris.
To understand the fabrication
process better, the team modelled the intensity distribution
Johannes Kepler Univer sity Linz
Confocal microscopy and parallel
laser-surface processing are two
key areas that could benefit from
a laser-fabrication process being
developed at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. Researchers
used a Ti:sapphire source to generate well-defined, round apertures
in a monolayer of either gold- or
nickel-coated, amorphous quartz
(SiO2) microspheres (Appl. Phys.
Lett. 89 261104).
“The apertures significantly
improve the imaging properties of the microspheres,” Dieter
Baeuerle, head of the Institute
for Applied Physics, told OLE.
“Femtosecond laser-induced
forward transfer is the only
technique that permits the fabrication of apertures on microlens
Apertures in a monolayer of
gold-coated, amorphous quartz
microspheres created using a single
pulse of Ti:sapphire laser radiation.
arrays of this type.”
First, the researchers deposited an aqueous solution of
microspheres onto a quartz
slide and coated the resulting
monolayer structure with a fi lm
of a plane-wave incident on a
sphere and used the results to
determine suitable operating
parameters. Currently it can
create well-defined apertures
as small as 0.1 µm (radius) in a
75 nm thick gold fi lm, with a fluence of 40 mJ/cm 2 and a pulse
duration of about 130 fs.
Experiments with nickelcoated microspheres revealed
that the metal offered increased
protection against laser ablation
of the quartz surface. The scientists believe that this is related
to the higher absorptivity of the
nickel film compared with gold.
Bauerle was unwilling to comment on the next steps for his
team but it appears to be focused
on optimizing its process.
Casting technique puts new spin on
polymer antireflection coatings
Spin-casting polymer latex
onto glass is a convenient and
reproducible way to fabricate
antireflection (AR) coatings, say
researchers at Sichuan University, China. As it is widely used in
the electronic industry, the team
believes that spin casting could be
used in mass-production environments (Optics Letters 32 575).
“Polymer latex is on the nanoscale and can be prepared easily,
so we tried to assemble a nanoporous surface by spin-casting,”
Yuechuan Wang from Sichuan’s
College of Polymer Science and
Engineering told OLE. “The
present work is a promising start
12
and is applicable to flat optics.”
Forming nanoporous structures on the surface of highly
transmissive optical components
is an attractive way to produce AR
coatings. Although methods such
as particle deposition have yielded
excellent AR properties, the team
says that these approaches are
time-consuming compared with
spin-casting.
Wang says that it only takes
a few minutes to coat an area
of 100 cm 2. He adds that optical transmittances at 550 nm of
95.7% for a single-sided coating
and 99.5% for a double-sided
coating have been achieved.
Yuechuan Wang, Sichuan Univer sity
M AT E R I A L S
SEM image of an antireflective coating
made by spin-casting polymethyl
methacrylate latex onto a glass slide.
The refractive index and the
thickness of the coating control
the AR properties and both of
these factors can be adjusted during spin-casting.
“The porosity of the coating
[which influences the refractive
index] can be adjusted by changing the spin rate and the concen-
tration of the coating solution,”
he said. “The thickness of the
monolayer particle film can be
adjusted by using latex particles
of the desired diameter and by
forming multilayers.”
Wang and colleagues Hao
Jiang and Ke Yu prepared their
polymer latex by the emulsion
polymerization of methyl methacrylate. Filtered before use,
the polymer latex was typically
110 nm in diameter.
The team studied the resulting coatings using atomic-force
microscopy and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). These
methods revealed that the AR
coatings were highly porous and
highlighted the dependence on
factors such as spin speed.
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Page 1
TECHNOLOGY
APPLICATIONS
L E D S/ D E T E C T O R S
IR sensor sheds light on ant activity
when ants enter or exit the nest
during a given time.
“Very-low-power and lownoise electronics were used for
conditioning the signal and
detecting changes in the IR
light,” explained Noda. “We used
a fi lter to isolate the signal shifts
produced by ants from those
created by environmental light
changes. Power consumption is
less than 50 mW per node, with
90% of that feeding the LED.”
Initial results show that the
activity of a nest is typically periodic, with steady activity during
the night and almost none in
the daytime. “The most interesting intervals are where this
steady activity builds up and
slows down,” said Altshuler. “We
already have a preliminary size
distribution of activity bursts that
can be interpreted in terms of theories involving self-organization.”
The team hopes to measure the
activity of ants in a trail leading
to and from the nest. “We plan to
learn how perturbations travel
through a queue of ants and compare the dynamics of ant traffic
with that of urban or human traffic, which is a subject of intense
research nowadays.”
is an important material in the
field of magnetic data storage.
Che says that the technique can
be extended to other targets and
that the group is now investigating metal alloys and several
dielectric samples.
Key to the process is a ytterbium-doped fibre laser (FCPAµJewel) that emits 500 fs pulses
with a central wavelength of 1 µm
and a variable repetition rate of up
to 200 kHz. The scientists found
that they could suppress the formation of large (>20 nm) dropletlike particles by limiting the laser
fluence at the sample to below
1 J/cm2. This value is thought to
correspond to the threshold of
strong plasma formation.
At first the team ablated its target in a vacuum, but it was the
use of different background gases,
such as argon and oxygen, that
produced the most interesting
results. “We achieved a core-shell
[Ni–NiO] structure as intended,”
said Che. “But the NiO cubes were
discovered by accident.”
High-resolution transmission
electron microscopy conducted
at the University of Michigan, US,
revealed that the nanocubes were
in fact single NiO crystals. This
was a surprise, because the team
thought that the timescale of the
ultrafast laser ablation would be
too short for oxidation to occur.
Claro Noda
infrared (IR) LED, a mirror and a
phototransistor. The LED and the
phototransistor have a peak emission/sensitivity of approximately
850 nm. “The LED and phototransistor are placed back to back and
carefully aligned in an incision
within a cylindrical mirror,”
explained researcher Claro Noda.
“The result is a thin light curtain
that propagates over the inner
surface of the mirror from the LED
to the phototransistor.”
The team installed its IR sensor at the entry–exit point of a
bibijaguas nest, a leaf-cutting
ant that is endemic to Cuba. On
entering the nest, the ant steps
through a ring and interrupts
the light curtain that triggers a
count. The key term is “activity”
which is defi ned as the number
of counts the sensor generates
Using simple optical components
to quantify the behaviour of ants
could help scientists tackle problems such as traffic management,
say researchers at the University
of Havana in Cuba (Review of Scientific Instruments 77 126102).
“Ants show a highly nonlinear, collective behaviour that
somehow produces an overall
intelligence out of individual simplicity,” Ernesto Altshuler from
Havana’s Complex Systems and
Superconductivity Laboratory
told OLE. “We want to quantify
and understand the process of
self-organization that produces
this overall intelligence. Many
authors believe that ant behaviour
may teach us robust algorithms
that can be used in engineering.”
The sensor, developed by
Altshuler and colleagues, uses an
The sensor in-situ verifying ant activity.
M AT E R I A L S
Low-power, ultrastable femtosecond laser pulses are ideal for
generating nanocrystals with a
narrow particle-size distribution,
say researchers in the US. What’s
more, various structural forms,
such as cubes and core-shell
combinations, can be produced
by ablating in the presence of different background gases (Applied
Physics Letters 90 044103).
“One of the big advantages of
our technique is its simplicity,”
Yong Che of IMRA America told
OLE. “The nanoparticles are
dispersed uniformly on the sub-
14
IMRA
Laser pulses make
nanoparticles
The cubes are single crystals of NiO.
strate without aggregation.”
According to Che, the technique
is independent of the substrate
material and no heating process is
required. This means that nanoparticles can be deposited onto
heat-sensitive substrates, such as
glass, plastics and polymer films.
In this study the researchers
decided to ablate nickel, which
TECHNOLOGY
R&D
LASERS
Nanosized snow crystals could
be an interesting candidate for
boosting the coupling efficiency
of high-intensity laser energy
into matter, say researchers in
Israel. The team from Racah
Institute of Physics (RIOP) and
Soreq Research Center has discovered that sapphire targets
coated with snow absorb more
than 95% of the incident light
compared with approximately
50% for the bare substrate (Appl.
Phys. Lett. 90 041501).
The experiments were performed using a Ti:sapphire laser
emitting 150 fs, 40 mJ pulses at
a wavelength of 800 nm. Input
The Hebrew Univer sity
Snow improves coupling efficiency
SEM image of snow on a sapphire target.
energy and reflected light were
monitored using photodiodes.
Bandpass filters were used to
isolate the laser light and photodiodes were fitted with a diffuser
to average any slight differences
in alignment. The laser target
substrates with different textures.
A molybdenum sample with a
rough surface produced snowflakes measuring several microns,
whereas a smooth sapphire target
gave much smaller clusters in the
10–100 nm range.
Zigler and his team discovered
that the large flakes behaved as
solid targets in their own right
and failed to enhance the absorption of incident laser radiation. In
contrast, the team believes that
the smaller clusters were highly
ionized, which helped to increase
the laser absorption from 58% for
a bare sapphire surface to 97%
when it was covered with snow.
was scanned from shot to shot so
that each pulse was exposed to a
fresh area of the sample.
The snow clusters were grown
on the substrate by injecting water
vapour into a vacuum chamber at
less than –70 °C. “The main problem was producing a snowflake
with dimensions in the range of
several angstroms,” Arie Zigler,
head of RIOP’s high-intensitylaser laboratory, told OLE. “This
was necessary to allow the laser
radiation to penetrate through
the entire diameter of the snowflake’s characteristic branch.”
To vary the size of the snow
crystals, the team used target
MICROFLUIDICS
Researchers at the Hungarian
Academy of Sciences are using
light to control the velocity of
liquid flowing through tiny pores
by incorporating a photoconductive material into the channel
structure. Ideal for microfluidic
systems, the technique exploits
the concept of electro-osmosis
and relies on changes in the local
electric field to modulate the flow
(Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 263508).
“We can use light to switch the
flow on and off and to change the
direction of flow at a junction,” Pal
Ormos, director of the Institute
of Biophysics, told OLE. “Light
is easy to handle and brings an
additional degree of freedom to
microfluidic systems.”
The system works by using
light to manipulate the local electric field, which in turn affects the
electro-osmotic driving force and
changes the flow rate. In simple
terms, illuminating the channel
with light reduces the flow rate.
To test its concept, the team
built a 0.1 × 0.2 × 10 mm microfluidic channel. The structure
was formed by placing a polydimethylsiloxane top plate, prepared using soft lithography,
over a glass slide coated with a
200 nm-thick photoactive layer
of cadmium sulphide (CdS).
“Cadmium sulphide absorbs
across a broad spectrum from
550 nm down to below 400 nm
and can be excited effectively
with a mercury lamp,” said
Ormos. “To avoid exciting the
CdS layer during observation, we
use a red (600 nm) LED source to
view the process.”
The team captured the flow of
water seeded with 2 µm-diameter polybeads on video and
analysed the flow field using particle-tracking velocimetry. By
illuminating the photoconductive bottom of the microchannel
for 30 s, the researchers were
able to reduce the flow velocity
by more than a factor of five,
from 45 to just 8 µm/s. Ormos
adds that 30 s was simply a
convenient time interval for the
flow measurement. It turns out
that the velocity transition time
is actually closer to 1 s.
Looking at potential applications, light-activated switching
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Light modulates electro-osmotic flow
The researchers used a 3D finite
element method to model the behaviour
of an optically controlled Y junction.
could play a key role in helping
to speed up mixing in tiny channels. “Mixing is a great problem
in microfluidics as the flow is
always laminar and the rate of
mixing is limited by diffusion,
which is slow,” Ormos said. “One
idea is to use light to change the
flow patterns in microscopic
reaction chambers.”
15
TECHNOLOGY
R&D/PATENTS
FIBRE LASERS
A bismuth-doped fibre can act
as a saturable absorber (SA) and
extend the lasing wavelength
range of ytterbium-doped fibres to
1200 nm, according to researchers at the Russian Academy of
Sciences. Q-switched pulses
produced at this wavelength are
suitable for micromachining and
frequency doubling brings medical applications into play (Optics
Letters 32 451).
“Bi-doped glasses exhibit
broadband luminescence in the
near-infrared region,” researcher
Vladislav Dvoyrin told OLE.
“Depending on the glass composition, it could be up to 400 nm
FWHM covering the entire silica
transparency region from 1 to
1.7 µm. Such glasses are therefore very promising for creating
broadband amplifiers for fibre
telecommunication lines and
tunable or femtosecond lasers.”
Inserting a fibre SA into the
cavity of a fibre laser is a simple
way to construct an all-fibre
pulsed laser. Knowing that Bidoped fibres have a broad absorption band at 1 µm that overlaps
Images: Russian Academy of Sciences
Bismuth boosts all-fibre lasers
The team (left to right): Dr V Mashinsky,
L Bulatov and Dr V Dvoyrin.
This image shows luminescence (red)
from a Bi-doped fibre under visible light
excitation. The output beam is excitation
light that has not been absorbed.
well with the Yb luminescence
band, Dvoyrin and colleagues
decided to use these fibres as SAs
for Q-switching Yb-fibre lasers.
The team investigated two
configurations. The first Yb-Bi
double-cavity laser comprised a
Yb-doped phosphosilicate laserfibre fusion spliced to a Bi-doped
aluminosilicate fibre using a
fibre-Bragg grating. A diode laser
emitting at 975 nm optically
pumped the Yb-doped fibre.
“At 1066 nm, the Yb-Bi laser
produced pulses with energies of
up to 140 µJ, peak powers up to
100 W and pulse durations could
be minimized to 400 ns,” said
Dvoyrin. “We demonstrated fre-
quency doubling at 1066 nm and
also made a pulsed fibre Raman
laser at 1256 nm pumped by a
Yb-Bi laser.”
In the second configuration,
the team spliced a piece of Bidoped fibre to the other end of the
Yb-doped fibre. This second Bidoped fibre acted as an amplifier
and allowed the team to generate
Q-switched pulses.
“An additional fibre-Bragg
grating was spliced to the output
of the second Bi-doped fibre to
reflect the pump backward,” said
Dvoyrin. “We used the second
piece of Bi-doped fibre as an amplifier because only a small part of
the Yb lasing power (the pump in
this case) was absorbed in the first
piece of Bi-doped fibre.”
According to Dvoyrin, this produced lasing between 1150 and
1200 nm. “At 1160 nm we report
a pulse energy up to 10 µJ, peak
power up to 5 W, pulse duration
approximately 1 µs, a repetition
rate between 10 and 100 kHz and
an average power up to 500 mW,
with an efficiency of around
10%,” he said. “We also saw a
stable modelocked Q-switched
mode with duration of a single
peak in a packet less than 1 ns.
Frequency doubling at 1160 nm
was possible.”
Inspired by its initial fi ndings,
the team from the Fiber Optics
Research Center now plans to
increase the pulse energy up to
1 mJ, shorten the pulse duration
to 100 ns and develop Bi-doped
fibres capable of producing lasing action beyond 1200 nm.
“We have also licensed our Bidoped fibre technology,” revealed
Dvoyrin. “Yb-Bi lasers are of great
practical interest and Bi-doped
fibres seem to be the best fibre SAs
for Yb-fibre lasers at this time.”
PAT E N T S
LICENSING
BIOLASE teams up with P&G for
consumer applications
BIOLASE Technology, the US maker of dental
lasers, has signed a definitive license agreement
with The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G). The
terms of the deal grant P&G rights to certain
BIOLASE intellectual property for use in the
development of consumer products in a number
of different areas.
The agreement explains that P&G will pay
BIOLASE royalties based on product sales,
milestone payments and $250 000 quarterly
payments until the first product is launched – a
portion will be credited against future royalties.
BIOLASE will file further details of the agreement
with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
“This agreement with P&G opens the door
for BIOLASE to participate in the consumer
market alongside a proven leader in consumer
products,” said BIOLASE’s president and chief
executive officer Jeffrey Jones. “We look forward
to P&G bringing to the market new consumer
products through this relationship.”
SE TTL E M E NT
Fibre firms announce ‘amicable’
settlement of year-long dispute
OFS Fitel, Furukawa Electric Company of North
America (FENA) and Nufern say that they have
amicably settled the patent litigation that was
brought by OFS and FENA in the US District Court
LED giants Osram and Philips
for the District of Connecticut.
agree to cross-licence patents
In a statement announcing the settlement, the
Osram and Philips have signed a patent crossparties say that they are pleased to resolve the
licence deal that involves the mutual licensing
dispute, after over a year of litigation, on fair and
of patents for inorganic and organic LEDs. The
reasonable terms.
agreement covers patents held by Philips and
The terms of the settlement remain
its US-based subsidiary Lumileds, as well as
confidential although the arrangement
those held by Osram and its subsidiary Osram
Opto Semiconductors. “We expect this to put us does include a licence to Nufern under US
in an even better position to use LED technology Patent Numbers 4,909,816 (Optical fiber
to serve the demands of the market,” commented fabrication and resulting product); 4,666,247
(Multiconstituent optical fiber); and 5,949,941
Rüdiger Müller, president and chief executive
(Cladding pumped fiber structures).
officer of Osram Opto Semiconductors.
To search for recently published applications, visit http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/ and http://ep.espacenet.com.
16
MATERIAL S PROCE S SING
Laser water jet cools and
cuts in the material world
After 10 years in the making, Synova’s water-jet-guided technology is being used to cut,
drill, grind and dice materials as varied as gallium arsenide and polycrystalline diamond.
Jacqueline Hewett catches up with Synova to find out the advantages of the approach.
Wet cut versus dry cut
Synova was established in 1997 with the
aim of commercializing the water-jet
idea developed by the fi rm’s founders in
the early 1990s at the Federal Institute
of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. Today, 10 years later, the fi rm has
60 employees and subsidiaries in the US,
Japan, Korea and China.
“The original technology was developed to decrease heat damage during laser
dentistry,” Tuan Mai, Synova’s director
of process development told OLE. “But we
soon realized that using a water jet opened
200 µm
All images: Synova
The micromachining market is already
crowded with sources such as solid-state
and fibre lasers vying to supplant traditional
methods. One company backing a different
approach and hoping to capture a significant market share is Synova, which is pioneering water-jet-guided laser technology.
Synova is confident that its patented
LaserMicroJet technology, which involves
directing a laser beam into a thin water
jet, has a number of significant advantages over classical laser cutting such as:
no heat-affected zones, parallel kerfs and
the ability to cut thick and hard materials
(see box p19).
And it seems that the industry is starting to take note when you look at the fi rm’s
track record over the last nine months. On
the back of CHF10 m ($8.1 m) of venture
capital funding received in August 2006,
Synova has opened two US micromachining centres (MMCs) in Boston and Silicon
Valley to promote its technology and fuel
its adoption. MMCs are also scheduled to
open in Korea and Japan in March.
In terms of orders, Vishay, a maker of
discrete semiconductors and passive components, placed a follow-on order in September 2006 for a laser-dicing system. Then
in January, Synova secured two orders from
Korea – one for a stencilling system that will
be used in OLED mask manufacturing, and
the second for a system that will perform
thin-wafer edge grinding.
500 µm
500 µm
Synova has exploited the advantages of its LaserMicroJet technology to produce clean and parallel cuts
in a range of materials. The images here show the cutting of marble (top left), OLED masks (top right),
medical stents (bottom left) and cubic boron nitride (bottom right).
up new applications for industrial laser
machining thanks to its many advantages
over traditional techniques.”
The basic idea is simple: take one laser
beam and couple it to a pressurized water
jet. This sounds good in principle, but as
light and water are not natural bedfellows,
it is easier said than done.
Synova’s key technology is a coupling
unit (see diagram p18) that forms the heart
of its modular LaserMicroJet product line.
The unit passes a laser beam through a
water chamber where it is focused onto a
nozzle. The laser is then contained inside
a water jet by total internal reflection and
guided to the workpiece where it ablates
material by heating. The water jet cools the
workpiece between laser pulses and expels
molten material from the cut.
In comparison, during dry laser cutting,
the laser is focused directly onto the workpiece, and the beam has a conical shape
between the focusing lens and the focal
point. The beam ablates the material by
heating at the high-intensity focal point.
An assist gas, coaxial to the laser beam,
removes molten material.
Each LaserMicroJet product has three
key separate components: a laser source, a
water pump and a coupling unit.
The laser is typically a pulsed solidstate source such as an Nd:YAG emitting
at 1064 nm, or a fibre laser emitting at
approximately 1070 nm. “The absorption
properties of water at different wavelengths
dictate the choice of laser,” explained Mai.
“For example, you cannot use a CO2 laser
with our technology because the water
absorption is so high you would boil the
water. However, you can use a second harmonic at 532 nm and a third harmonic in
the ultraviolet at 355 nm.”
Average laser powers can range from
50 to 200 W; pulse durations from the
nano- to microsecond scale and pulse repetition rates from 500 to 50 kHz depending
on the pulse duration. The laser source can
be remote from the machining system as
17
laser
focusing lens
window
working range
(depth of field)
water
chamber
conventional
laser beam
(divergent)
water-jetguided laser
(cylindrical)
nozzle
working
range
Synova
focal
point
Synova
a flexible 100–200 µm-core-diameter fibre
delivers the beam into the coupling unit.
“This means that we can use multimode
lasers and don’t have any problems with
beam astigmatism,” commented Mai. “The
beam is homogenized inside the water jet
and we see a top-hat profi le that is very
good for cutting. It also means that you can
remove the fibre and plug it into a second
laser if you want to test different sources.”
The pump delivers a constant water flow
with pressures ranging from 2 to 50 MPa.
“The water must be clean and free of contamination and particles because we use
the water jet as a waveguide, so it must
be transparent and stable,” said Mai. “We
deionize and degass the water to ensure
that there are no perturbations in the jet.”
In the coupling unit, Synova uses a series
of optics to image the end of the delivery
fibre onto the water-jet nozzle. Made from
diamond or sapphire, the nozzles are interchangeable and are available in diameters
ranging from 25 to 150 µm.
Mai explains that in general, the working distance is 1000 times the nozzle
diameter. This means that a 50 µm nozzle
gives a working distance of 50 mm and a
corresponding kerf width of 50 µm.
Synova’s LaserMicroJet product line
The diagrams on the left compare a dry (left) cut using a conical beam and a water-jet (right) cut using a
parallel beam. The instrument on the right is a Synova laser-dicing system.
has four family members: dicing, edgegrinding, stencilling and cutting systems.
“Today we mainly concentrate on so-called
micro-applications. That is the niche for
us at the moment,” commented Mai. “Our
technology can be adopted wherever a normal laser is being used.”
According to Mai, one up-and-coming
market is wafer dicing, which typically
relies on diamond blades. The company
has used its technology to successfully
dice silicon, gallium arsenide and germanium wafers, as well as silicon carbide
(SiC) and sapphire. Important advantages
include the absence of a thermal load.
The kerf can be close to the die to increase
the number of chips per wafer and give a
higher die-fracture strength.
Synova says that one of the most significant issues with dicing SiC wafers is blade
wear – LaserMicroJet technology removes
this worry and lowers the downtime and
corresponding cost of ownership. Synova
has demonstrated through-cutting of
380 µm thick SiC wafers with a kerf width
of 45 µm and cutting speed 40% higher
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LaserMicroJet facts
Synova believes that coupling a water jet
and a laser beam together has revolutionized
the field of precision cutting. The inherent
differences between water-jet-guided and
conventional dry-laser technologies are said
to be responsible for the variations seen in
the quality of the final cut.
Synova lists the following as advantages of
its LaserMicroJet technology:
O The water jet removes heat between incident
laser pulses and avoids the introduction of
defects caused by heating such as oxidation
or microcracks within the sample.
O The cut is exceptionally clean. Molten and
condensed materials are washed away
by the water. An additional thin water film
generated on the workpiece prevents
further contamination through redeposition.
O The ablation products are bound to the water
in such a way that no hazardous materials
(such as toxic gases) are emitted. This is
an important advantage for dicing gallium
arsenide wafers.
O The water jet exerts a low mechanical force
on the workpiece (less than 0.1 N) – much
smaller than the force that is applied by an
assist gas.
O The diameter of the laser beam is
determined by the diameter of the water jet.
These conditions allow a cutting precision
as low as 1 µm.
O There is no focal point between the
workpiece and the nozzle. The quality of the
cut does not vary with working distance.
O The water jet guides the laser down to the
bottom of the kerf and high aspect ratios
can be achieved during cutting. The cut
edges are parallel.
O There is low water consumption of 1 l/h at
300 bars.
than a diamond saw blade (4.6 mm/s).
Another significant market where Synova has already seen some traction is manufacturing OLED masks. “We have been able
to produce long and narrow slots with a
tapered profile,” said Mai. “In one example
these were 55 mm long, 100 µm wide at the
top and 50 µm wide at the bottom. The pitch
between these can be as little as 150 µm.”
Producing medical stents, which are used
to open blocked passageways such as arteries, is another area where Synova believes its
water-jet approach gives it the upper hand.
“These are mostly manufactured using
classical laser cutting and can require postprocessing steps,” said Mai. “Many stents
are made from memory-shape materials
such as Nitinol, which is very heat sensiO L E • M a r c h 2 0 07 • o p t i c s . o r g /o l e
tive. Using a 30 µm nozzle, the pitch and
size of the features can be made very small,
and using a water jet avoids problems such
as heating. There is no structural change in
the material and no oxidation.”
Finally, Mai believes that Synova is the
only player that can cut hard materials with
high quality, good/superior speed and high
aspect ratio. Materials falling into this category include polycrystalline diamond on a
tungsten carbide substrate and cubic boron
nitride (CBN). “Using 532 nm light, an aver-
age power of 60 W and a water-jet diameter
of 50 µm, we have cut 3 mm-thick CBN with
a speed of 5 mm/s and produced a smooth,
parallel clean cut with a sharp edge.”
Boasting a list of advantages as well as
a diverse range of applications, the technology, Synova believes, has what it takes
to challenge all others in the materialsprocessing market. As the fi rm continues
to expand and promote its technology, the
term “water-jet guided laser” certainly looks
like becoming more commonplace.
Q
LASER OPTICS
IR OPTICS
UV-NIR, Nd: YAG
UV Grade High
Power
Gaussian Mirrors
Internet Stocklist
ZnSe, ZnS, CO2
Ge, Si, CaF2, BaF2,
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Elements
Gratings and
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DETECTORS IR
PbS/PbSe, MCT
Thermopile,
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with or without TEC
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LASER DIODES
Pulsed, CW,
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Spectroscopic,
QCLs, VCSEL, DFB,
Lead Salt, Optional
TECs, Arrays,
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UV Filters, NBP
LWP, SWP, Custom
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UV-vis
UV SiC with
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vis Si, NIR InGaAs
Colour Sensors
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OPTOELECTRONIC
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Proximity, Light Barrier
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ACCESSORIES
Laser Safety
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IR Converter
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IR Camera Viewers
www.lasercomponents.co.uk
L ARGE - SCALE OP TIC S
UK produces giant camer
One of the world’s largest cameras to be
built for astronomy was transported to the
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
in Chile in February. It will be the eyes of
VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) – a new 4 m-class
telescope that will survey the sky in the
southern hemisphere in the scientifically
important spectral region of 1–2.5 µm.
The telescope’s camera is almost 3 m long,
uses large optics (i.e. its entrance window is
1 m in diameter) and weighs 3 tonnes. These
features make it a real colossus among optical cameras, and its demanding performance requirements (see box) have pushed
large-optics technology to the limit.
The design required the finished instrument to be portable – this means that it can
be lifted on and off the telescope by a crane
as a single assembly. In total, the camera
has taken four years to design and build,
and uses components sourced from suppliers across Europe and the US.
On the move
The camera had to be built on a dedicated
handling stand. The stand and the camera’s mounting had to be made strong
enough to allow for the earthquake-prone
environment of Chile. This feature was
also useful when it came to transporting
the camera. It was just possible to make the
camera and its stand fit within the largest
cargo container allowed on a Boeing747.
As with other large optics, such as mirrors
for astronomical observatories at remote
sites, this journey to Chile was particularly
risky for the fragile and high-value optics of
the camera, especially as the last part of the
trip was along a very rough dirt road in the
Atacama desert.
Because of such concerns, many previous
instruments have been shipped in several
parts, but this has other disadvantages. In
this case, the bold decision was made to
ship the instrument complete. This was
made possible partly thanks to the built-in
strength of the earthquake-proof assembly
and partly by following the approach of the
space industry for shipping satellite optical
pay loads of a similar size to launch sites.
The camera arrived safely at the ESO at
20
the beginning of February and members of
the team have spent a month installing it
and carrying out initial tests. This included
the delicate operation of lifting the portable
camera off its stand by crane and raising it
into the observatory dome to finally unite
it with its telescope.
Various other tests of VISTA’s systems and
software will follow and the camera’s first use
on the sky should start this autumn. There
are plans to take test images of so-called
guide stars to set up VISTA’s active optics system and verify its imaging performance.
After that, the VISTA science programme
will use the wide-angle, high-sensitivity
properties of the camera and its optics to
make new surveys for infrared (IR) objects
across the sky of the southern hemisphere.
The aim is to look deeper into the universe
and yet be able to complete the searches
faster than ever before.
Pushing the limits of large optics
The camera uses the world’s largest focalplane array of detectors measuring 0.3 m
in diameter and incorporates wavefront
sensing detectors for the active optics
control of the telescope. The term active
optics refers to the compensation of errors
such as focus, alignment and aberrations,
which are corrected by adjusting some
components on the actuators. The two
telescope mirrors are made active in this
way, using signals derived from the camera wavefronts.
The focal plane is so large because VISTA
has a relatively wide-angle field of view, imaging an area of sky that is three times the
diameter of the Moon. The cryogenic detector array comprises 16 IR-detector modules
from Raytheon, US, giving 67 Mpixel in
total. The wavefront-sensing system was
built at the University of Durham, UK, using
charge-coupled devices from e2v.
Packing such a large format of detectors
into one camera produces multiplexing
challenges for supplying power, clocking of read-outs and extracting signals at
low noise. The camera has a significant
amount of electronics on board to overcome these problems, including five large
racks mounted around its outer surface. In
VISTA project
An infrared, 67 Mpixel, 3 tonne camera has been successfully
installed on the VISTA telescope in Chile. Martin Caldwell
from the UK’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory explains how
the instrument pushed the limits of large-scale optics.
The camera was united with the VISTA telescope (left) after a tre
array of detectors measuring 0.3 m (bottom) and many other cus
sustained operation, wide-field images can
be produced every 10 s leading to data rates
of up to 1 Tb per night of observing.
A giant filter wheel that is 1.4 m in diameter sits just above the focal plane (see
diagram). The wheel needs to be large as
it has to house up to seven arrays of spectral filters. Each of these arrays covers one
waveband and is approximately 0.3 m in
size to fully cover the detector array. The
science wavebands currently installed are
centred around 1.0, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.15 µm,
with bandwidths of 0.1–0.3 µm.
Developed by the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC), the challenge with
such a large, moving component was to
create a cryogenic mechanism and motor
to deal with the large inertia involved when
swapping rapidly between different filter sets.
Change-over times are on the order of 10 s.
The main camera optics comprises a group
of three lenses, each 0.6 m in diameter. The
lenses correct aberrations and allow a normally narrow-field two-mirror telescope to
be used over a wide field of view. The lenses
are the maximum size that can be manufactured from IR-transmitting silica. They are
ra for infrared astronomy
Ruther ford Appleton Laborator y, UK
detector array modules
(infrared and CCD)
filter barrel
lens barrel
baffle tube
pressure window
cryostat vessel
electronics rack
telescope structure
and mirrors
Ruther ford Appleton Laborator y, UK
VISTA background and performance
ek across the Atacama desert (top middle). It uses a focal-plane
stom components sourced from Europe and the US (top right).
fabricated by Sagem in France and built into
a cryogenic lens-barrel by UKATC.
A significant challenge was making the
lens mounts stiff enough to limit the flexure
effect when the camera orientation varies
as the telescope tips around the sky, and yet
compliant enough to cope with the large
thermal strains that occur during cooldown and warm-up. Both effects are exacerbated as lens size increases due to the low
conductivity of silica, and their control is
critical to the quality of the final image.
Above the lenses is a large cryogenic baffle tube that blocks ambient thermal emission from the observatory and atmosphere,
which would otherwise swamp astronomical sources emitting in the 2 µm spectral
region. Because the system is wide-field and
relatively fast (~F/3), it is not possible to use
the conventional approach where an internal cold pupil stop would fully block this
background emission. Instead, blocking is
achieved by making the cold baffle tube of
sufficient length to prevent direct views of
the ambient surround and by making its
internal surfaces sufficiently absorbing.
This creates another problem. The baffle
VISTA is a £36 m project funded by grants from UKATC and the infrared camera was provided
by a UK consortium led by the Rutherford
the UK Department of Trade and Industry’s
Appleton Laboratory.
Joint Infrastructure Fund and the Particle
VISTA’s key performance statistics are:
Physics and Astronomy Research Council
(PPARC). Queen Mary, University of London, is O field of view – 1.65° diameter;
the lead institute of the VISTA consortium.
O image quality – 0.5 arcsec;
The project forms part of the UK’s
O spectral range – 0.9–2.5 µm;
subscription to ESO, and VISTA will be an ESO O sensitivity (5-m level, 15 min exposure
– 20th magnitude source.
telescope. The project is managed by PPARC’s
must be reflective in the thermal wavelength region of approximately 10 µm,
such that heat radiated by the window to
the baffle is efficiently returned to the window to prevent it from becoming too cold
and misting up. The answer is to use specially designed reflective baffle vanes with
a dichroic coating that absorbs in the 2 µm
region, but reflects in the longer thermal
wavelength region.
Under test, this solution, which includes
a coating developed by Reynard Corporation, US, offered sufficient stray-light blocking as well as the correct thermal balance
between baffle and window. The required
baffle length makes the camera’s cryostat
relatively long and leads to its front window
having an aperture of approximately 1 m.
Such a large vacuum window, fabricated
from 8 cm-thick IR-transmitting silica for
strength, and to meet stringent optical
quality requirements, could only be made
with the collaboration of three manufacturers: Heraeus, Germany, which produced
a large boule of homogenous Infrasil glass;
Corning, US, which flowed-out the glass
to the required size; and Sagem, France,
which performed the final polishing using
ion-beam techniques to remove the residual inhomogeneity effects and arrive at a
transmitted wavefront error of approximately 100 nm.
One final challenge was the optomechanical design and producing a structure to
hold all of the cryogenic items (detectors,
filter wheel, lenses and baffle, totalling
0.7 tonnes) on a thermally isolating cradle
in a cryostat vessel. This structure needed to
be sufficiently stiff to limit flexing effects and
yet compliant to cope with thermal cycling,
while allowing significant cooling power to
be applied and last, but not least, having the
ability to survive earthquakes. Particularly
challenging were the issues of controlling
the detectors and the optics focus positions
to within less than 10 µm planarity across
the large focal plane and making this stable
enough with respect to the telescope.
Q
Martin Caldwell is an instrument systems
engineer within the Space Science and
Technology Department at Rutherford Appleton
Laboratory. For more information, see www.
sstd.rl.ac.uk or e-mail [email protected].
21
Project1
7/2/07
09:46
Page 1
MEDICAL RE SEARCH
Nerve stimulation gets
infrared light treatment
Rather than popping pills, patients of the
future may find themselves relying on
infrared (IR) nerve stimulation to tackle a
range of medical conditions. Increasingly,
scientists are looking at the body’s neural
network as a way of providing localized
treatment. The concept may sound farfetched, but vagus nerve stimulation is
available today as an alternative to Prozac
for managing depression.
Neurons are typically activated using
electricity, but researchers have recently
discovered that pulses of IR light can also
stimulate nerves. To help drive this work,
Aculight has teamed its optics know-how
with the research community’s medical
knowledge and come up with an investigative tool for use in the laboratory.
In simple terms, the fibre-coupled laser
device can be thought of as a neurological
circuit tester. “You stimulate the nerve at
one location and observe what happens
at the other end to see if the pathway is
open,” Mark Bendett, Aculight’s director of
product development, told OLE. “In a Petri
dish you can see how a signal propagates
through adjacent cells.”
The firm is collaborating with Northwestern University, US, on a programme to optically stimulate the cochlear nerve, which
plays a key role in hearing. Today, cochlear
implants are electrically activated and feature approximately 10 channels that help
to recreate the sensation of hearing, but the
technology appears to have hit a barrier.
“Right now in a cochlear implant, the real
limitation is current-spreading,” said Bendett. “Even if you put 100 electrodes into the
cochlea, most of them would crosstalk and
you wouldn’t gain any more fidelity.”
It turns out that one of the big advantages
of optical stimulation is the technique’s
high spatial accuracy. “You don’t have the
problem of current spreading because the
process involves photons hitting the target
and not electrons, which are conducted by
water in the body,” he added.
The team expects IR stimulation to offer
Aculight
Stimulating nerves with pulses of infrared light could help to restore balance, intensify
hearing implants and lead to more advanced prosthetic limbs. James Tyrrell talks with
Mark Bendett to discover more about Aculight’s role in this up-and-coming research area.
Capella: Aculight’s infrared nerve stimulator is intended for use in medical and scientific research.
“We believe that
this will end up in
curative
applications.”
similar benefits when applied to the ear’s
vestibular system. “As we get older our
vestibular system degrades, which can
lead to a lack of balance,” explained Bendett. “I think that this could be one of the
largest complaints that we will see with
an aging population.”
Origins of the technology
Researchers at Vanderbilt University, US,
were some of the fi rst to investigate the
effect of pulsed IR light on neural activity. “They demonstrated the basic concept
using a free-electron laser,” explained
Bendett. “You want a wavelength that is
absorbed sufficiently to stimulate the nerve
without ablating the tissue and it turns out
that 1.85 µm is one of those wavelengths.”
The group approached Aculight to provide a portable light source. Bendett and his
colleagues responded with an engineering
prototype based on a diode laser array. Two
years later, Aculight released its production
version dubbed Capella that could be used
straight out of the box. “The current model
has a tremendously rich set of features,” said
Bendett. “Users can switch between trains
of pulses and single and continuous formats
using front knob controls.”
One of the challenges that the designers
faced was the need to balance coupling efficiency with the amount of power on target.
“We want to maximize the efficiency of the
coupling from the laser to the fibre, but at
the same time we need to contain the light
to a sub-cellular level of about 10 µm or so,”
revealed Bendett. “This can be done using
a variety of special optics or tapered fibres,
but the trick is to do it cost-effectively.”
Aculight offers the Capella in both
high- and low-power configurations. “As
you would expect, it’s a trade-off between
pulse energy and speed,” said Bendett.
“We can actually semi-customize the
unit to match the application, so if you
are working on a smaller nerve and need
23
MEDICAL RE SEARCH
less optical power then we can give you
sharper rise times.”
Although currently an investigative tool,
the fi rm expects the technology to evolve
into a fully implantable device. “We believe
that this will end up in curative applications,” Bendett said. “It’s further down
the road, but we can see uses in prosthetic
limbs where you might do the stimulation
optically and then provide feedback electrically to make the unit touch-sensitive.”
With so many applications on their
hands, Bendett and his co-workers are
busy trying to figure out which ones will
really benefit from optical stimulation. “I
was at a neural interface conference last
year where a Parkinson’s patient with an
electrical deep-brain stimulator stood up
in front of the audience,” he recalled. “The
patient could turn up the stimulator so that
it completely stopped their tremors, but at
this level they were then unable to speak.”
This side-effect is a symptom of electrical
crosstalk. “The current is hitting the cells
that it is supposed to, but it’s also hitting
those that it shouldn’t,” explained Bendett.
“It’s exactly this kind of application where
we see optical systems coming into play.”
Aculight’s business strategy for nerve
stimulation is based on intellectual prop-
Capella specifications
Parameter
Tissue-penetration
depth
Stimulation duration
Stimulation
repetition rate
Maximum duty factor
Emission wavelength
Maximum optical
pulse energy
Optical fibre
diameter
Fibre connector
Power requirements
Dimensions
Weight
Cooling
Triggers
Value
300–600 µm
10 µs – 20 ms
0.4–1000 Hz
5%
1850 nm (approx.)
5 mJ (at 1 ms)
200–600 µm
SMA
115 or 240 V
12.5 × 13.25 × 4.75 inch
11.5 lb
Air cooled
Internal and external
lator into the hands of researchers. “We
would like to disseminate the technology
across as many clinical platforms as possible,” said Bendett. “And the easiest way
for us to do that is to put it out to dozens of
research groups who can then work with
us on the technology.”
The fi rm already has National Institutes
of Health grants with the Northwestern
and Vanderbilt universities, and aims to
be flexible in terms of providing users with
the technology. “Currently we have a total
of six universities testing different nerves
and techniques with our laser,” explained
Bendett. “Ultimately, to get a good idea of
the application landscape we expect three
to four times this number of institutions to
trial the device.”
Today, the unit is aimed at the research
market and is registered as a laboratory
instrument. “As soon as we start working
on humans we will have to go through the
US Food and Drug Administration approval
process,” said Bendett. “Realistically, we
will probably do this in conjunction with
other companies in the medical field rather
than on our own.”
Q
erty. “We are positioning ourselves to be a
sort of clearing house for the technology,”
said Bendett. “We have an exclusive licence
from Vanderbilt University and would like
to be involved as an OEM [original equipment manufacturer] for the hardware.”
For more information contact mark.bendett@
The fi rm is keen to get its optical stimu- aculight.com.
YOUR CHOICE FOR PUBLICATION FASTER
THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT*
Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics
Submit your next research paper to Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics to benefit from:
• fast publication times (*the average receipt-to-first-decision time for papers in 2006 was just 42 days)
• free use of colour and multimedia in the online version of your paper
• easy web-based submission and article-tracking facilities
To find out more, visit www.iop.org/journals/jopa.
An official journal of the European Optical Society
Image: Colour coded x-y displacements caused by rotation of a speckle pattern around its centre P Somers and N Bhattacharya 2005 Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics 7 S385–S391.
24
PRODUCT GUIDE
Imaging colorimeters
give advanced options
CCD-based instruments can provide accurate measurement of spatial colour and luminance
information for displays, instrument panels, light sources and luminaires. Sean Skelley,
Doug Kreysar and Kevin Chittim weigh up the options when buying imaging colorimeters.
The need for speed
imaging
lens
CCD
detector
interline transfer
neutral density
filter wheel
instrument control,
data acquisition and
image-processing
system
Radiant Imaging
colour filter
wheel
full frame
interline transfer with colour filters
Fig. 1 (left): a schematic of the main functional elements of an imaging colorimeter. Fig. 2 (right):
commonly used CCD types in imaging colorimeters include full frame, interline transfer and interline
transfer with integrated colour filters. The type of CCD used will impact on the instrument’s performance.
luminance data at a number of viewing
angles. This technique is accurate but slow
and therefore used to collect data only from
a small number of points on the source over
a limited range of angles. This makes it possible to miss significant features or defects
in the product’s output.
Imaging colorimeter basics
Imaging colorimeters were developed specifically to address the limitations of prior
instrumentation. The main components
of an imaging colorimeter are: an imaging lens; a set of colour fi lters; a chargecoupled device (CCD) detector; and data
acquisition and image-processing hardware/software (see figure 1). Some instruments may include neutral-density fi lters
and a mechanical shutter.
The system acquires an image of the
device under test through each of the various colour fi lters. This is then processed
using previously determined calibrations
to deliver accurate data about the source’s
colour and luminance as a function of
spatial location. For example, in a single
measurement, an imaging colorimeter
can measure the luminance and colour
of every pixel in a display simultaneously
at a given viewing angle. The instrument
can also be mounted on a goniometer to
automate these measurements at different
viewing angles.
Because an imaging colorimeter simultaneously samples multiple points from a
source, it is inherently faster than techniques based on spot measurements. In
addition, simultaneously measuring the
entire surface of a source or display makes
the instrument useful for gauging colour
and luminance uniformity, as well as
identifying very small defects. An imaging
colorimeter can even assess display characteristics, such as distortion and focus
quality. The ability to render a processed
image of the display also can help to reveal
subtle features for qualitative analysis by a
human operator.
Current commercially available imaging colorimeters come in a variety of
configurations. In terms of hardware,
the most important differentiators are
the type of CCD and colour fi lters. Understanding how these components impact
on performance is essential when specifying an imaging colorimeter.
V
For many types of FPD, human visual
inspection is by far the most common
method to monitor production quality.
Specifically, units are removed from the
production line and inspected for colour
and brightness uniformity, and defects
such as dead pixels, for example. The primary drawback of this manual-inspection approach is speed, since it cannot be
integrated directly into the assembly line.
Human inspection is subjective and can
easily vary from operator to operator. This
non-quantitative approach also makes it
difficult to enforce standards throughout
the component vendor supply chain.
A similar speed issue applies to LED
manufacture. The final performance of an
LED-based illumination system depends on
the exact angular and colour output characteristics of the source. However, LEDs are
made in high volume so any such characterization must be accomplished quickly
and add little incremental cost.
Metrology instruments for both of these
applications have been available for many
years, albeit with limited capabilities. An
established method is to mount a spot photometer or colorimeter onto a two-axis goniometer and sweep the measurement head
through various arcs to obtain colour and
shutter
Radiant Imaging
The market for light-emitting products
has expanded tremendously over the past
decade to include flat-panel displays (FPDs)
and high-brightness LEDs for automotive applications. As consumers of these
high-volume devices become more discerning about product quality, there is an
increasing need for accurate, high-speed
metrology equipment to support their
development and production. Instrumentation for spatially resolved measurements
of colour and luminance is particularly
important. This article reviews the basic
operating principles and performance
trade-offs of one such class of instrument
– imaging colorimeters.
25
28/2/07
11:13
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+31 26 319 0500
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www.oceanoptics.eu
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Project1
PRODUCT GUIDE
CCD choices
full frame
interline
with filters
interline
Radiant Imaging
actual intensity
profile
measured intensity profile
CIE matched filter
transmission
CIE z
Radiant Imaging
Virtually all imaging colorimeters are built
using one of three types of CCD: full frame;
interline transfer; or interline transfer with
integrated colour filters (see figure 2, p25).
A full-frame CCD is an unobstructed rectangular array of detectors. Electronic charge
accumulates in each pixel when light
strikes the CCD. Readout occurs by sequentially shifting each row of pixels down into
a read-out register until the entire array is
cleared. An external shutter prevents light
from reaching the CCD during the read-out
cycle to avoid image smearing.
In an interline-transfer CCD, alternate
columns are masked with an opaque layer.
During read out, the accumulated charge
in each exposed column is rapidly transferred laterally to a non-imaging column
where the charge is shifted into the readout register. This allows read out to occur
while another exposure is being acquired.
Both of these CCD types respond only to
incident luminance and cannot measure
colour directly. To measure colour, separate exposures must be made through red,
green and blue colour fi lters. However, a
variant of the interline-transfer architecture has each pixel overlaid with either a
red, green or blue colour fi lter specifically
for direct colour measurement.
There are several important CCDdependent performance characteristics to
be aware of, starting with fill factor. When
an image is formed on a full-frame CCD,
virtually none of the information is lost. On
the other hand, a significant percentage of
the surface of an interline-transfer CCD is
opaque, so image features that fall on this
blocked area will not be seen. In practice,
interline-transfer CCDs often use a micro-
integrated filter
400
600
500
wavelength (nm)
700
Fig. 3 (top): low fill factor can cause important data
to be lost, especially when imaging small sources
or features. Fig. 4 (bottom): individual colour filters
that closely match the system response to the CIE
curves can be obtained, but the filters typically
integrated directly onto CCDs do not provide a good
match. This graph shows the CIE z curve together
with the system response using a well-matched
filter versus an integrated filter.
lens array to focus some of the light that
would normally be blocked into the active
area. This can increase fill-factor efficiency
by up to 70%. The fill-factor problem is further exacerbated by the presence of integrated colour fi lters. Figure 3 shows how
missing data can cause erroneous results
An image speaks louder than 1000 measurements
when the output of a single LED is focused
onto a 5 × 5 pixel area of the CCD.
Another major difference between CCD
types is their dynamic range. The defi nition of a CCD’s dynamic range is the maximum capacity of each pixel in electrons
(called the full-well capacity) divided by
the RMS dark noise (the number of electrons read from the device with no input
light). Full-well capacity increases with
pixel size. Full-frame CCDs typically have
larger pixels, with full-well capacities of
between 200 000 and 700 000 electrons,
making dynamic ranges of 14 (16384:1) to
16 bit (65536:1) possible. In contrast, the
full-well capacity of most interline-transfer CCDs is in the 10 000–20 000 electrons
range, resulting in a dynamic range of
12 bit (4096:1) or less.
There are also several practical differences between CCD types. A full-frame
CCD requires an external shutter and
active cooling to minimize noise while an
interline CCD does not. These features add
to system size, weight, cost and complexity.
An interline-transfer CCD can be read out
faster than a full-frame CCD, which could
be a consideration in high-speed production applications.
Calibrated colour
Correlating the colour response of a CCD
camera to the human visual system
requires measurements to be made in a
calibrated colour space, such as the CIE
format. This means matching the overall
system response to the corresponding CIE
colour curves using colour filters. Very
close matching is possible by designing
external glass fi lters. Unfortunately, the
RGB colour filters typically integrated onto
Imaging Photometer and Colorimeter
LumiCam 1300
For measuring and analyzing displays and
panel graphics
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phone +49 89 45 49 43 -0
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www.instrumentsystems.de
WE BRING QUALITY TO LIGHT
27
PRODUCT GUIDE
Choosing the right hardware
In commercial systems, full-frame CCDs
are usually paired with CIE-matched colour fi lters, while interline-transfer CCDs
are mated with either CIE-matched fi lters
or on-chip fi lters. The full-frame systems
are typically the most expensive and the
slowest, however they deliver superior
dynamic range (up to 16 bit), signal-tonoise ratio and colour accuracy. They are
well suited to high-contrast applications
such as automotive headlamp evaluation
or high-end projector contrast testing.
Interline-transfer cameras with integrated
colour filters offer low cost and high speed but
limited dynamic range (usually 8–10 bit) and
colour accuracy. This makes them a better
choice for many on-line or at-line production
inspection tasks. However, their limited fill
factor means that they may not be optimum
for examining small-scale features, such as
pixel and sub-pixel defects.
Interline-transfer systems with CIEmatched fi lters offer a good compromise
between cost and performance. With a typical dynamic range of 12 bit and excellent
colour accuracy, they deliver enough performance for production testing of FPDs,
backlights, projection systems and instrument panels, and are suitable for use with Imaging colorimeters enable advanced metrology.
LEDs and other narrowband sources.
nitely assess what hardware and software
tools are available for a particular system.
Calibration
In conclusion, imaging colorimetry
While hardware choice is important, the
accuracy of any imaging colorimeter is instrumentation has developed over the
only as good as its calibration. Most manu- past few years to meet the evolving needs
facturers’ systems leave the factory fully of manufacturers of displays and other
calibrated but the ease with which the user light sources. These quantitative metrolcan perform periodic recalibration can be ogy tools will play an increasingly critical
a major differentiator in long-term system role in display production as volumes and
consumer expectations increase.
performance and utility.
Q
Typical calibrations include flat fielding,
luminance scaling and colour calibration. Sean Skelley is technical support manager,
For instance, allowing users to create on- Doug Kreysar is vice-president of operations and
site colour calibrations when measuring Kevin Chittim is vice-president of marketing at
specific spectra can increase the colour Radiant Imaging. For more information e-mail
accuracy of the system. Prospective pur- [email protected] or visit www.
chasers of imaging colorimeters should defi- radiantimaging.com.
Radiant Imaging
interline-transfer CCDs do not provide a
close match to the CIE curves. The resultant colour accuracy is highly dependent
on the nature of the source being measured and how the system is calibrated.
Accuracy using mismatched filters is usually substantially worse when measuring
narrowband sources, such as LEDs. Figure
4 (p.27) shows an example of the spectral
mismatch of a colorimeter using integrated
filters with the CIE colour curves.
TM
Optical
ILLUMINATOR
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COBRA Millimeter-Wave
LINESCAN
Photodiodes (DC - 300GHz)
Lasers
Powerful LED illumination
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Tel: +353-21-4320750
Fax: +353-21-4327451
[email protected]
28
Transceivers (60GHz)
Optical mm-wave sources
• Long lifetime and increased
reliability
• Frontlight and backlight
configurations
COBRATM is the no-compromise illumination approach for
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w w w. s t o c k e r y a l e . c o m
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Interested in
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NASDAQ: STKR
Copyright © 2007 StockerYale Inc. All rights reserved.
PRODU C T S
If you would like your company’s products to be featured in this section,
please send press releases and images to James Tyrrell ([email protected]).
Line-scan cameras
AMS Technologies
The new dual-band
line-scan camera from
Princeton Lightwave is
now available through
AMS Technologies.
Equipped with two
independent sensors,
the ID line-scan camera can simultaneously
image visible (400–900 nm) and infrared
(1000–1700 nm) wavelengths.
The two images are then automatically spatially
and temporally registered. Each sensor provides
two analogue output streams that are processed
using correlated double sampling and darklevel correction. The streams are converted to
12-bit digital data and buffered into dual-port
RAM for synchronization and further digital
processing. The camera is ideal for machinevision applications such as inspection in the food
industry and sorting different plastic materials in
waste-management machinery.
www.ams.de
UV spot-lamp
DYMAX
The new BlueWave 200 ultraviolet spot-lamp
system from DYMAX comes with an integrated
intensity adjustment feature that allows a
constant intensity level to be maintained during
production. This ensures a fast, low-shrinkage
cure of the adhesive, minimizes the heat
development and protects sensitive components.
Reaching intensities of more than 17 W/cm2,
the BlueWave 200 primarily emits UVA and
visible light (300–450 nm) to match the curing
needs of photo-initiated adhesives. The intensityadjustment feature allows users to take control
of the desired intensity level and compensate
for any decline due to aging. A removable knob
on the front panel gives the user easy access to
manually adjust the emitted intensity level.
www.dymax.com
RGB LED
Marktech Optoelectronics
Marktech
Optoelectronics
has announced the
availability of the
LC503NPP-20H-A3,
a 4-lead, RGB solidstate light source from Cotco. Combining high
light output, low power consumption and highreliability materials, the LEDs are said to be ideal
for colour-changing applications.
The emitter comes in a 5 mm package and uses
a round water-clear lens. Other specifications
include a 20° viewing angle and an operating
temperature range of –40 to 95 °C. Incorporating
InGaAlP and InGaN technologies, the luminosity
is quoted as up to 4180 (red), 4180 (green) and
1100 mcd (blue) at 20 mA. The 4-pin package
allows the red, green and blue chips to be
controlled individually.
www.marktechopto.com
Power and energy meters
Laser Lines
Laser Lines has added
the SOLO2 and the UNO
to its Gentec EO monitor
family. The SOLO2 is a
power and energy meter
that is ergonomically
shaped and can read high repetition-rate energy
detectors up to 3 kHz. The firm says that the
SOLO2’s screen is twice as large as that of the
SOLO-PE. It is also compatible with all Gentec
power meters and energy detectors up to 3 kHz.
The UNO power meter has the same ergonomics
as the SOLO2. The company says that the UNO
combines a large screen and easy navigation in
an affordable package that includes the most
useful functions.
www.laserlines.co.uk
Specialist UV lenses
Resolve Optics
Resolve Optics designs
optical elements out
of synthetically fused
silica or ultravioletgrade calcium fluoride
to provide the best
possible transmission
in the ultraviolet
(UV) range. Using
proprietary UV antireflection multilayer coatings,
the firm achieves wide spectral coverage from
230 to 500 nm and offers greater than 99%
transmission per surface.
As well as custom designs, the company also
offers a range of standard high-performance
UV lenses including a unique high-performance
60 mm focal-length forensic UV lens for use with
reflected UV imaging systems. This lens has a
8.3° field of view at a magnification of 1:1.25,
rising to 16.6° at long object distances.
www.resolveoptics.com
Single-emitter diode laser
nLight
nLight has released a beta version of its 30%
fill-factor conduction-cooled “CS” bar, rated
at 60 W. By combining its proprietary facet
passivation technology with AuSn solder on an
expansion-matched CuW sub-mount, the firm
says that it is able to offer a significant increase
in brightness over the previous 40 W, while
increasing lifetime in both continuous-wave
and on/off applications. Specific wavelengths
ranging from 790 to 830 nm can be customized
for OEM applications.
Each device will have 19 × 150 µm emitters
on a 500 µm spacing, conforming to industry
standards. Typical operating currents are quoted
as approximately 60 A, with a compliance voltage
of <2 V. The output is TE-polarized and nLight can
include an AR-coated cylinder lens to collimate
the fast axis.
www.nlight.net
CCD camera
SVS-VISTEK
The svs16000 from SVSVISTEK is a progressivescan 16 Mpixel camera
with a resolution of
4904 × 3380 pixels. It
is based on an interlinetransfer charge-coupled device from Kodak with a
diagonal of 43.3 mm. The ultrahigh-speed version
has a frame rate of up to 3 full images per second
while in partial scan mode images with fewer lines
can be read out at a considerably higher speed.
SVS-VISTEK’s ConvenientCam configuration
software allows users to adjust camera
parameters such as gain, offset and exposure
time. Variable operation modes such as free
running or triggered allow the user to easily
integrate the camera into their application. The
camera measures 65 × 67 × 45 mm making it
ideal for space-sensitive applications.
www.svs-vistek.com
LEDs
Moritex
The new line of
dome-type LED light
sources from Moritex
has been designed
to evenly illuminate
object surfaces for
image processing and
inspection applications. Two different sizes of
MG-Wave dome LEDs are available, each in four
different wavelengths: red, green, blue and white.
Unlike other forms of lighting, the firm says that
repeatedly switching the light on and off doesn’t
cause deterioration. A narrow bandwidth is also
said to make it easy to acquire the contrast
essential for image processing. The MG-Wave
range also includes high-powered spot, direct
ring, low-angle ring, shadowless, edge backlit,
array backlit, coaxial, bar, linear, oblique and
parallel lighting LEDs, as well as power sources
and a wide variety of LED lighting accessories.
www.moritex.com
29
PRODUCTS
Integrating sphere
Optronic Laboratories
The OL 700-4pi
integrating sphere from
Optronic Laboratories is
designed to accurately
measure the luminous
flux of LEDs. Specifically, Optronic says that the
product has been designed in anticipation of the
new LED measurement recommendations from
the CIE for total luminous flux and partial LED
flux measurements. This single and easy-to-use
accessory can be used in tandem with the
OL 770-LED test and measurement system.
The LDX-3600 Series High Current Laser Diode Drivers
combine high current output with multiple levels of laser diode
protection for safely controlling high power laser diodes. These
products are being developed to deliver output current ranging
from 10A to 120A with a compliance voltage of up to 30V in CW
or QCW mode and designed to deliver the precision, power
and flexibility needed for R&D as well as manufacturing test
applications.
The LDX-3600 Series intuitive front panel is
designed for quick and easy operation without
confusing multi-level menus. Dual displays allow
simultaneous indication of laser current, voltage,
or power while at the same time monitoring laser
diode temperature. Laser diode current, voltage
and temperature limits along with pulse mode
parameters such as pulse width and duty cycle
are quickly and easily set. A unique power
display mode allows laser diode power to be set
based on slope efficiency and threshold current
parameters. External output power monitoring is
supported through an independent photodiode
measurement circuit.
Developed for automated laser diode testing in CW or pulse
mode, these drivers combine an IEEE-488/GPIB interface with
trigger inputs and outputs and precision four-wire voltage
measurement for fast, accurate, high power laser
characterization.
In addition, the LDX-3600 Series incorporates multiple levels of
laser diode protection including adjustable current and voltage
limits, output shorting relays, soft turn-on/off circuits and
transient protection during power up and laser operation. A
thermistor based temperature monitor provides additional
protection through a programmable temperature limit which
can be used to shut off the laser output when a temperature
limit is exceeded. Dual independent interlocks are provided for
further laser and operator protection.
To learn more about the new LDX-3600 Series High Current
Laser Diode Drivers, visit our website at www.ilxlightwave.com
or contact one of our sales engineers at (001) 406-556-2481.
800-459-9459 406-556-2481
www.ilxlightwave.com
Celebrating 20 Years of Innovation
30
www.olinet.com
UV diode laser systems
TOPTICA Photonics
German firm TOPTICA
Photonics has expanded
its range of high-power
frequency-doubled
all-diode laser-based
systems into the ultraviolet (UV).
Starting with a wavelength of around 670 nm,
the TA-SHG 110 offers output powers of more
than 100 mW between 329 and 336 nm. The firm
says that the continuous-wave UV emission has
a very narrow linewidth, is tunable and spatially
singlemode. Industrial applications include
interferometry, holography, biophotonics and
Raman spectroscopy. Scientists performing
spectroscopy, cooling and trapping of atoms,
ions and molecules could also benefi t from the
laser system.
www.toptica.com
Interferometer
PROMET International
The FiBO 300
interferometer from
PROMET International
offers 3D surface
mapping and visualdefect evaluation
capability from
a portable and
vibration-insensitive
design. Equipped
with calibrated objectives ranging from 1.8 to
20×, possible applications include inspection
of multimode 125–700 µm fibre connectors,
photonic crystal fibre, microlens arrays and
other components less than 1 mm in diameter.
The FiBO 300 also comes with Durango
software for advanced interferometric
measurements and highly specialized
applications. With a kinematic snap, the firm
insists that the FiBO 300 guarantees exact
positioning and eliminates tedious adjustments
when switching between fibre types, connector
styles and PC/APC polishes.
www.promet.net
Brilliant EaZy
Streamlined
EaZy Upholds
Superior
“Brilliant”
Performance
PRODUCTS
DPSS lasers
Cobolt
Cobolt of Sweden has released higher-power
versions of its continuous-wave Cobolt Calypso
lasers while retaining the compact package and
optical performance of lower-power models. The
single-line Cobolt Calypso is now available with
up to 100 mW at 491 nm and the Cobolt Dual
Calypso with up to 50 + 50 mW at 491 + 532 nm.
All Cobolt lasers are single frequency with very
narrow spectral bandwidth (typically <30 MHz). The
firm quotes a root mean square noise of <0.3%,
peak-to-peak noise of <3%, a beam quality of M2
<1.1 and a power consumption for the full system
of <40 W.
www.cobolt.se
3CCD remote-head camera
Toshiba Imaging Systems
Q-Switched Nd : YAG Laser with added
EaZe-of-Use
• 330mJ in 6ns @1064nm
• Detachable Cables
• Prompt Set-up and
Warm-up Times
• Bookshelf Power Supply, 12kg (appx 27 lbs)
• Ergonomic Remote Control Box
All Brilliant Features:
- High Quality Beam Profile
- Interchangeable Harmonics Generators
- Field Proven Reliability and Stability
www.quantel-laser.com
www.bigskylaser.com
The IK-TU51 highresolution, 3CCD
remote-head camera
from Toshiba Imaging
Systems is available
with 1/3 - and 1/2 -inch
image sensors. High sensitivity (800-line
resolution) plus interchangeable heads combine
to make this video camera ideal for a variety of
industrial, entertainment and R&D applications.
The camera provides real-time imaging
with 10-bit digital signal processing. The
imager offers a frame memory for continuous
video imaging in integration mode, a freezeframe function, and a user-selectable one- or
two-pulse triggering mechanism. Additional
features include 0.02 lx (at 4 s exposure), a
14-step detail-enhancement capability and a
six-vector colour-enhancement circuit. The IKTU51 is available with an RS-232C interface,
LVDS digital and RGB analogue outputs, and a
standard C-mount lens flange.
www.cameras.toshiba.com
NIR detector array
Andor Technology
The iDus InGaAs detector
array system from Andor
Technology is the latest
addition to its iDus
range of spectroscopic
detectors. Available with
a choice of a 512- or 1024-element photodiode
array, the product covers the wavelength range
between 800 and 2200 nm.
Other specifications of the product include a
peak quantum efficiency of >80% with low noise,
thermo-electric cooling to –85 °C for optimal
signal-to-noise performance and simple USB 2.0
connectivity. Coupled to one of Andor’s Shamrock
spectrograph models, the Andor iDus InGaAs
detector array is ideal for a diverse range of nearinfrared spectroscopy applications.
www.andor.com
31
Project11
19/2/07
10:05
Page 1
LASER 2007
World of PHOTONICS
18 t h I NTE R NAT I O NAL TR AD E FAI R AN D CONGRESS FOR OPTICAL
TECHNOLOGIES— COMPONENTS, SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS
LIGHT
AT WORK
A LEADING INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR DOES NOT ORIENT ITSELF
TO STANDARDS. IT IS THE STANDARD. No other exhibition presents innovative optical technologies in direct combination with industrial application sectors for various branches of industry— as “light at work.”
That makes LASER. World of Photonics the most important business and networking platform for all market leaders,
decision-makers and users—just like you.
Take advantage of the benefits of online registration now at www.world-of-photonics.net
NEW MUNICH
TRADE FAIR CENTRE
18–21 JUNE 2007
www.world-of-photonics.net
PRODUCTS
Power combiner
SIFAM Fibre Optics
Suitable for use in the
latest generation of fibre
lasers and high-power
fibre amplifiers, SIFAM
has introduced a range
of state-of-the-art highpower combiners that
can combine the power of up to 19 fibre-coupled
laser diodes into a single output fibre. SIFAM says
that its customers have used these components
to achieve combined optical output powers of over
100 W continuous-wave and 100’s kW pulsed.
High-power combiners are available in 6 + 1 × 1
configurations with singlemode and polarizationmaintaining feed-throughs. Combiners with large
mode-area central-fibre feed-throughs are also
available giving improved optical brightness.
Using the same technology platform, 1 + 1 × 1
configuration solutions are also available for low
power applications such as printing.
www.sifamfo.com
Optical glass
AFO Research
AFO Research has completed testing of its next
generation of speciality optical glasses for the
communications, medical-laser and commerciallaser industries. The firm says that its glasses
have superior optical characteristics compared
with commercially available products such as
BK20, ZBLAN, Phosphate and FP 20.
According to the company, its AFO glasses
will form the core of better-performing highpower compact lasers, high-power fibre lasers
and high-power fibre amplifiers. “By offering a
lower-cost, high-quality glass to optical-device
and component manufacturers, the resulting
improvements in performance at lower cost can
drive profitability better than any glass currently
on the market,” said Jack Illare, chairman and
president of AFO Research.
www.aforesearch.com
Direct-drive rotary stages
Aerotech
Aerotech’s ALAR
large-aperture rotary
stages combine
brushless direct-drive
motor technology
and integral precision
encoders with angular
contact bearings for
backlash-free, fast and
ultraprecise positioning
with a high payload capacity. Featuring compact
space-saving housings with aperture sizes of
100, 150, 200, 250 and 325 mm, the range is
aimed at high-throughput single- and multi-axis
testing, and alignment applications across
manufacturing and research.
Accuracy across the range is listed as 3.9 arcsec
(calibrated) and repeatability is 0.3 arcsec. The
fundamental stage resolution before encoder
multiplication is between 4.3 and 10.3 arcsec.
With Aerotech controls, the resolution is increased
to between 1000 and 8000× making the useable
stage resolution as low as 0.00054 arcsec. The
range is available in continuously rotating or limited
travel versions and each aperture size is offered in
two height configurations.
Order
Today
Get it
Tomorrow
www.aerotech.co.uk
CCD camera
Prosilica
Prosilica is now shipping
its GE2040 gigabit
Ethernet camera in
response to customer
demand for a compact,
high-resolution
machine-vision camera
with fast frame rates and excellent sensitivity. The
device incorporates Kodak’s state-of-the-art KAI4021 progressive-scan charge-coupled device
sensor and delivers 2048 × 2048 resolution at
15 frames per second. Both monochrome and
colour versions are available with either C-mount
or F-mount fixtures.
The camera housing measures approximately
4 × 5 × 6.5 cm and, like all of the firm’s cameras,
includes an electronic shutter for capturing highspeed motion events. Fitted with direct RGB24
output, the camera is said to suit a wide range
of applications such as flat-panel display and
PCB inspection, medical imaging and general
machine vision. Prosilica says that the GE2040
is particularly suited to traffic- and publicsecurity applications thanks to the camera’s high
resolution and snapshot shutter.
www.prosilica.com
Fibre laser
NP Photonics
NP Photonics has
introduced the Rock, a
single-frequency fibre
laser that is insensitive
to vibration and does
not require active stabilization. The Rock is based
on a passive stabilization technique developed
by the firm for DWDM fibre-optic sensing systems.
This method is said to significantly reduce the
sensitivity of the frequency noise to vibration and
low-frequency acoustics.
According to Philippe Brak of NP Photonics,
the Rock, which is now ready for production,
will reduce the cost and complexity of actively
stabilized multilaser systems by 50%. Brak
explained that this breakthrough is important
because multilaser systems are expected
to double the productivity of oil fields and
significantly increase the security of harbours.
www.npphotonics.com
80% of All Orders From Europe
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PRODUCTS
3D-surface metrology systems
Zygo
Control software
JPSA
Zygo has released a new addition to its NewView
line of high-performance 3D-surface metrology
systems. Focusing on affordability and simplified
operation, the NewView 600 series comes in a
compact package designed to meet the needs of
research and production.
According to the firm, the NewView 600 is
ideally suited to fast, non-contact, 3D-surface
topography measurement and offers high
precision, simplified operation, configuration
flexibility and advanced data analysis. The
product is available as a complete stand-alone
system or as an integrated metrology module for
OEM applications.
JPSA, a designer
of ultraviolet laser
materials processing
workstations, has come
up with comprehensive
system-control software.
The JPSAControls32 package offers features such
as a system configuration editor for manipulating
software settings and a CAD file translation
capability to automate the programming of
complex designs. The software allows the set
up and control of motion elements, including
linear stages, rotary stages and motorized beamdelivery system components, as well as laserfiring mechanisms. Other benefits of the package
include a high-level programming language and a
wafer-scribing macro builder.
www.zygo.com
NIR diode lasers
DILAS Diode Laser
DILAS has released
near-infrared diodelaser sources emitting
60 W continuous-wave
from a single 19-emitter bar at 808 and 980 nm.
Available in a 25 × 25 mm conduction-cooled
package, these multimode diode lasers are said
to be the ideal pump source for solid-state lasers
used in medical and industrial applications.
The devices have an operating current of
60 A and a compliance voltage of 1.7 V. Beam
divergence is specified as <65° × <10° for
90% enclosed power. The firm adds that it
can include an AR-coated aspherical cylinder
lens to collimate the fast axis to <12 mrad. For
applications requiring a collimated beam, the
company’s slow-axis lensing capability can
further improve bar brightness.
www.jpsalaser.com
CCD camera
JAI
JAI has introduced
a series of 4 Mpixel
(2048 × 2048) cameras
that can be softwareswitched between dual-tap mode operating at
15 frames per second (with automatic channel
balancing) and single-tap mode operating at
8 frames per second. The series is based on
Kodak’s high-fidelity 1.2-inch progressive-scan
IT charge-coupled device sensor (KAI-4021)
and includes both monochrome and Bayer CFA
colour models.
Units are available with a choice of Camera Link
or GigE Vision gigabit Ethernet digital interfaces.
All devices feature image-centre partial scanning
(100, 250 or 500 lines) as well as variable partial
www.dilas-inc.com
scanning where the user can choose both the
starting point and the specific number of lines to be
Laser-machining system
Process Photonics
scanned. Full-frame shuttering of up to 1/16000 s,
asynchronous reset and no-delay pulse-width
Process Photonics, US,
control shuttering are also included.
has launched a laserOther features include a 2X binning mode,
machining system that
is capable of high-speed selectable in the horizontal direction, vertical
processing of rigid board direction, or both; a PIV mode enabling the
capture of pairs of images separated by only a few
and flex materials, as
microseconds; and defective pixel compensation.
well as green ceramic
tape. Dubbed FP1000,
www.jai.com
the workstation features
active pulse shaping for superior process quality
IR camera module
MultiPix
and high-performance motion and laser-beam
control for rapid, accurate panel processing.
Jenoptik’s IR-TCM 640 high-resolution infrared
The unit is equipped with a Windows-based
(IR) camera module is now available from MultiPix
operator interface and programmable processes
Imaging. According to the firm, this is the first
include via-drilling, skiving, cutting and routing.
commercially available camera module offering
According to the firm, the entire FP series of
VGA resolution (640 × 480 pixels) in real time.
products is designed to suit industry-standard file When configured with an optional hardware
formats and data-logging requirements. Software extension for resolution enhancement, the
allows the machine to adapt to small-lot, high-mix camera can produce photo-realistic IR pictures
and high-volume production requirements.
with 1.2 Mpixel resolution. Based on an uncooled
microbolometer, the IR-TCM 640 is said to suit
www.processphotonics.com
34
High-Power
NanoScan
for
High Power Lasers
NIST-Traceable
♦ Measure focused CO2 laser
♦
♦
♦
♦
beams up to 5kW
Determine beam size and
position simultaneously
Unparalleled accuracy,
speed and ease-of-use
Wavelength range from
190nm – >100µm
Beam sizes from
20µm to ~17mm
♦ CW and kHz pulsed beams
♦ Q-Switch
♦ PWM
♦ Even femtosecond lasers!
visit
www.photon-inc.com
to find your nearest
Photon representative
PRODUCTS
machine-vision and security applications, and is
equipped with standard Firewire, S/C Video and
RS232 interfaces.
www.multipix.com
Optical
Power
Meters
Vibration and topography measurement
Polytec
Polytec is now offering a
measurement-services
programme that it
claims makes advanced
non-contact vibration
and topography measurements available for
every budget. By eliminating the need for a
capital purchase and/or the addition of dedicated
manpower, the firm believes that its package suits
engineers who have short-notice critical needs.
The equipment on offer includes 1D and
3D scanning-laser vibrometers, single-point
vibrometers, microstructure (MEMS) motion
analysers and topography measurement systems
operated by experienced application engineers.
The technology is fundamentally non-destructive,
works on most surface finishes, eliminates
mass-loading and minimizes contact transducer
mounting, wiring and signal conditioning.
Tests may be run at the customer’s facility
or in one of three of Polytec’s North American
laboratories in Detroit, Los Angeles and Boston.
Data can be exported in several formats for
further processing, such as FE correlation and
modal analysis.
www.polytec.com
Thin-film coatings
DSI
Deposition Sciences
Inc (DSI) has released a
dichroic hybrid coating
that is designed to be
highly reflective over
selected wavelength
bands and minimally reflective over the rest of the
spectrum. According to the firm, its HeatBuster
Spectral Metal thin-film-coating line combines the
spectral advantages of glass mirrors with the cost
savings and durability of sheet-metal fabrication.
The base material for the new product is
highly polished stainless steel. A dark mirror
coating is initially deposited onto the substrate
to optically couple the unwanted wavelengths
into the metal. Finally, a highly reflective dichroic
coating is then applied to the dark mirror to
provide spectral selectivity.
For curved optics, the parts can be formed
using standard sheet-metal fabrication methods
prior to coating. Curved collection optics can
be fabricated as long trough reflectors and then
laser-cut into segments of the desired length.
Alternatively, the HeatBuster Spectral Metal
sheets can be laser-cut into simple or complex
shapes after the coating process.
www.depsci.com
Complete Family for
Power Range 5nW to 30W
• High Power & High Sensitivity
Power Meters
• Analog & Digital Displays
• Interchangeable Sensor Heads
• Photodiode & Thermal Sensors
• Slim & Integrating Sphere
Sensors
• NIST-Traceable Calibration
Hungry for
your thoughts . . .
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market-driven understanding of technology
TRISTAN®
The World’s most innovative
Spectrometers
LED flash driver
NXP
NXP, a semiconductor company founded by
Philips, has unveiled its portfolio of solidstate lighting electronics. The UBA3001
is a camera-phone LED flash driver that
produces the maximum flash-light output at
the highest efficiency from a battery-operated
mobile handset, says NXP. The unit offers a
programmable output current of up to 1000 mA in
flash mode, up to 850 mA in flash-during-transmit
mode, up to 300 mA in torch mode and up to
5 mA in indicator mode. Other application areas
for the firm’s technology include automotive and
general lighting.
laser beam
diagnostics
Beamlux II software
• Evaluation compliant
to ISO
• multiple camera support
• high measuring rate
• automation of
measurements
• for R & D and production
www.nxp.com
Alignment laser
Photonic Products
New Features
• Truly mobile spectroscopy solutions
• WLAN & Bluetooth interfaces
• 2048 x 14 px back-thinned detector
•Touch-screen & integrated OS
Pre-configured Versions:
Photonic Products has
launched a 645 nm
laser-alignment
module that it says
is ideal for use in
industrial alignment
and machine vision. The
300-0100-00 series
comes with a range of
interchangeable pre-aligned precision optics
including an 88° cross, 58° line and a 58°
cross/spot.
Both the laser intensity and focus can be
adjusted by the user with the intensity ranging
from 0.1 to 4.5 mW. With a diameter of 14 mm,
the laser-diode module incorporates anti-surge,
anti-static and reverse-polarity protected
electronics; an anti-reflection coated scratchresistant glass window to protect the internal
optics; and a 2.1 mm jack socket.
www.photonic-products.com
Customized spectral range available!
Order your catalog now:
[email protected]
m·u·t GmbH
fon: +49 (0)4103 9308-0
[email protected]
m·u·t America, Inc
fon: +1 (804) 512-3449
[email protected]
m·u·t Asia Ltd
fon: +86 (21) 639 19 319 ext. 19
[email protected]
www.mut-gmbh.de
36
Ultrafast oscillator
Newport
The Mai Tai DeepSee
from Newport is ideal
for basic research and
biological imaging
applications such
as multiphoton
microscopy. Complete with automated group
velocity dispersion compensation, the new Mai
Tai delivers more than 300 nm in useable tuning
range and more than 2.5 W of average power.
“In order to provide users with a hands-free,
out-of-the-box solution, we are very excited to
introduce the Mai Tai DeepSee,” said Philip
Smith, product manager for Newport’s SpectraPhysics Laser Division. “This new laser is an ideal
solution that incorporates automated dispersion
compensation and enables biologists to image
deeper while preserving the integrity of their living
tissue sample.”
www.newport.com
Beamprofiler cameras
• industry standard
• USB, Fire Wire, Analog
• XUV...VUV...VIS...IR
• high resolution
• high dynamic
customized solutions
Optische Messtechnik GmbH
fon: +49 (0) 5 51 7 97 67 -0
[email protected]
www.metrolux.de
Beamlux II
demo software
available
PRODUCTS
Fibre-bundle laser
Lumics
generation, fluorescence upconversion and the
investigation of non-linear optics.
Lumics is now producing a laser that emits up to
300 W of optical output power at a wavelength
of 900 nm from a multiple fibre bundle with a
single-connector output. The LU0975C300 uses
a standard SMA 905 output connector that is
specified with a 1 mm fibre diameter.
The laser diodes are assembled on a watercooled plate in a space-saving double-layer
design. Available at 915, 940, 960 and 975 nm,
the product uses very small TO220 fibre-coupled
single-emitter diodes and operates over an
ambient temperature range of 0–50 °C. The
footprint is specified as 310 × 170 mm with
a maximum height of 70 mm. The laser suits
industrial laser applications as a pump source or
direct-diode applications in material processing.
www.lumics.com
Ti:sapphire ultrafast amplifier
Coherent
Coherent has updated
its Legend series of Ti:
sapphire regenerative
ultrafast ampliers. The
Legend Elite features the same form dimensions
and integrated-software interface as earlier
models, which simplifies upgrades for end users
and system builders alike. The unit is available with
several different pulse-width options, ranging from
femtosecond through to picosecond output. Major
improvements include superior stability and the
ability to generate extremely short (< 35 fs) pulses.
According to the firm, the one-box amplifier can
be operated as a turnkey tool for many hours of
continuous operation without the need for external
adjustment. Applications include the study of
molecular dynamics, photochemistry, photoelectron
www.coherent.com
Objective focusing system
piezosystem jena
Piezosystem jena says that it has developed its
latest micro-objective focusing system – the
MIPOS 500 UD – especially for applications
requiring upside-down operation, such as inverted
microscopes. The company says that the design is
free of mechanical play, provides a total travel of
500 µm and a resolution in the nanometre range.
As with other members of the MIPOS series,
mounting the 500 UD is simple. It involves screwing
a FLEX-Adapter thread-ring into the imaging system
(for example, a microscope) and mounting the
MIPOS 500 UD onto this ring with a clamping
screw. Integrated position sensors also guarantee
positioning without hysteresis and drift. The
MIPOS 500 UD is being targeted at applications in
biology, laser technology and medicine where highresolution precision positioning is critical.
www.piezojena.com
Optical sensor interrogator
Micron Optics
Micron Optics is offering a high-speed optical
sensing interrogator for monitoring and analysing
vibration modes on up to four channels
simultaneously. The si920 can operate with
acquisition rates as fast as 500 kHz on a single
channel or 100 kHz on four-parallel channels.
Featuring Fabry-Perot tunable filters, the unit is
designed for use with fibre-Bragg grating sensors
that can be deployed in applications such as
ballistics testing, blast analysis and acousticemissions monitoring.
www.cvilaser.com
OBC
ELCAN Optical Technologies
www.ELCAN.com
13
Fujifilm Recording Media
www.polymer-optics.com
www.gentec-eo.com
6
www.oerlikon.com/optics
9
26
www.globallasertech.com
14
30
www.instrumentsystems.de
27
28
Ophir Optronics www.ophiropt.com
OSRAM www.osram-os.com/GLDS
Pacer International www.pacer.co.uk
PCO www.pco.de
Photon Inc www.photon-inc.com
Quantel www.quantel-laser.com
Scitec Instruments
www.world-of-photonics.net
32
Stockeryale Inc
19
34
36
4
Texas Instruments
ILX Lightwave www.ilxlightwave.com
Instrument Systems
IPHOBAC www.ist-iphobac.org
Laser 2007 Exhibition
Laser Components (UK) Ltd
www.lasercomponents.co.uk
Lee Laser www.leelaser.com
M.U.T. www.mut-gmbh.de
Melles Griot www.mellesgriot.com
36
22
www.newport.com
Ocean Optics www.oceanoptics.eu
Oerlikon Optics
Global Laser Technologies
8
IFC, 15
IBC
12
31
35
31
www.scitec.uk.com
• Stepper Motor Controller
• Piezo Controller
• Shutter Controller
• Strain Gauge Reader
• USB Hub for up to
Six Controllers
www.stockeryale.com
www.dmddiscovery.com
Thorlabs www.thorlabs.com
Topa Verpakking www.topa.nl
Share your product ideas.
www.thorlabs.com
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Tools of the Trade
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Over 10,000
Products.
18
28
7
33, 35, 37
18
The index is provided as a service and, while every effort is made to ensure its accuracy, Optics &
Laser Europe accepts no liability for error.
• DC Servo Controller
Hungry for
your thoughts . . .
Metrolux Optische www.metrolux.de
New Focus www.newfocus.com
Newport Spectra-Physics
9
Gentec Electro-Optics
Small Form Factor
T-Cube Drivers
www.micronoptics.com
ADV E R T I S E R S’ I N D E X
CVI Technical Optics
Motion
Control
Drivers
BAC K C HAT
CEO shares secrets to running
a successful high-tech start-up
What are the key attributes that make a successful business leader? In this month’s interview Per Ibsen,
CEO of Kaleido Technology, offers his thoughts on what it takes to manage a technology company.
What personal qualities do you need
to lead a technology business?
Persistency and motivation are essential.
It is very important to be able to motivate
not only your employees, but also the board
and venture capitalists. You have to remain
enthusiastic even when the firm hits stumbling block after stumbling block. It can take
a lot of research to get the business up and
running and this can involve spending long
periods of time in uncharted territory.
In fact, when you are putting together a
business plan, you can be sure that there
will be surprises along the way. You try
to take everything into consideration at
the start, but there will always be things
that come up and make it harder for the
company to reach its goals. When we
started Kaleido, we were confident that
we could purchase equipment that would
help us leap towards our goal of producing moulded integrated optics. It turned
out that when we bought the equipment
and squeezed the machines as hard as we
could, they just didn’t live up to our expectations. The state of the art was much lower
than we had perceived, which came as a
surprise as I have built million-Euro clean
rooms where usually 85–95% of the equipment is functioning to specification.
I would say that it’s a good idea to multiply the time schedule for reaching your
goals by two, three or even pi, as some people suggest. You should be very flexible and
fast to adapt to changes once you are on the
move. It is important to communicate to
shareholders and other interested parties
where the company is now and what its
future looks like.
38
Kaleido Technolog y
Per Ibsen is well versed in taking technology into the marketplace. Back in 1991,
he founded Danish fi rm Ibsen Microstructures to focus on the industrial application
of diffractive optics. The company was sold
to ADC Telecommunications in 2000 for
$80 m (760 m) and then became Ibsen
Photonics following a management buyout one year later. Today, Ibsen is putting
his management skills into practice as CEO
of Kaleido Technology – a start-up specializing in freeform and integrated optics.
Knowledge is power: Per Ibsen believes that the CEO must be able to get to grips with the technology.
What do you think is the best way to to focus on the business. This is the case in
prepare for the role?
the US where the figure is probably closer to
Good business-development skills are
important and you must understand the
technology. Some people say that a CEO can
have a solely commercial background, but
in this case you would need to be very fast in
getting to grips with the technology. A product manager who has developed a product
from its infancy through to a mature level,
touching on all of the different areas and
functions, including finding strategic partners and negotiating business agreements,
would be an ideal candidate.
I took a different path. Following my
MSc, I was employed for just one year in
a company making embossed holograms
for credit cards. When the fi rm went bankrupt, I had the opportunity to buy all of the
equipment and to continue. It was a hard
way to learn and I can see now that with
the background of a product manager the
fi rm’s development time could have been
cut by several years.
How can starting up a company be
made easier?
715 m for the fi rst funding round.
You should try and enhance the group
of people around the company as a way
of bringing in additional experience. At
the beginning, the skills of the start-up
are limited, so you should try to close the
holes. You can do this through consultants or by putting together an advisory
board that contains technologists as well
as investment managers. Company founders should admit that they need help and
get professional advice.
What is your dream for Kaleido?
I want to integrate optics, prisms, lenses and
everything in one monolithic unit. If you
look at electronics, it was only when components became integrated that applications
started to take off, and this is what we want
to achieve with Kaleido. Using wafer-moulding techniques, our dream is to offer a rugged
design with many functions in one simple
plate. Today, we make machined components with freeform surfaces, but the final
plan is to provide wafer-moulded optics. We
have been talking with a lot of Asian market
leaders and they are very interested in the
technology. Right now our next step is to
find a strategic partner.
Q
In Denmark, when a company is at seed
level then you are typically working with
fi rst-round funding of around 72 m. The
trend is to go through many “pipette”
financing rounds. In my opinion, it would
be better to take a lot more money in the For more information contact pei@kaleidofi rst round and have the peace and quiet technology.com.
Project3
23/2/07
11:49
Page 1
www.osram-os.com/GLDS
G.L.D.S.
Global Laser Diodes Specialists
Meet the G.L.D.S. team from OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, your No. 1
partner for all laser diode solutions. Worldwide. Equipped with a full line
of state-of-the-art laser bars and our new laser stacks, the G.L.D.S. team
delivers the right product and the laser expertise. Brilliant minds, brilliant
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colossal camera pushes the limits of fabrication

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