We'll be doing this every Friday -- a short selection of our editors' top news picks of the week, from Laser Focus World and elsewhere. Here are a few from the week of July 12, 2013:
1. That's right, this one is NOT about Google Glass! It's about other somewhat strange high-tech eyeglasses, some of which don't even need electricity to operate. (How so, you may ask -- well, take a look.)
"High-Tech Eyeglasses, Not Made by Google," http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/technology/personaltech/high-tech-eyeglasses-not-made-by-google.html?ref=technology&_r=0
2. In this case, maybe I liked the headline (I made it myself), but far more than that, I liked the fact that a researchy, leading-edge piece of optics with important applications can now be made in just one minute (I was conservative in my headline).
"NIST makes optical frequency-comb setup in two minutes," http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2013/07/nist-makes-optical-frequency-comb-setup-in-two-minutes.html
3. In the larger scheme of things, this item is probably the most significant in today's list -- and it wasn't widely reported. Data from the REMS UV sensor on the NASA's Mars Curiosity rover shows that temperatures and pressures at the Curiosity site support liquid water on the surface of Mars (more likely moist dirt rather than ponds), and thus conditions for life.
"SAM instrument on Curiosity Rover supports evidence of life on Mars," http://spie.org/x102177.xml?highlight=x2418&ArticleID=x102177
4. This one's here because I'm continually amazed at what computer-chip lithography can be pushed to achieve. In this case, a Taiwanese company outlines its plan to use exposure light with a 193 nm wavelength to create feature sizes of 10 nm (so, yes, twentieth-wave).
"TSMC to use ArF immersion lithography all the way down to 10 nm feature sizes," http://www.laserfocusworld.com/articles/2013/07/tsmc-to-use-arf-immersion-lithography-all-the-way-down-to-10-nm-feature-sizes.html
5. The new fingerprint: an IR image of the blood vessels in your face . . .
"ID Got You, Under the Skin," http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130711113420.htm
John Wallace | Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)
John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.