Major imaging/lighting acquisition: International technology group SCHOTT (Mainz, Germany) acquired a majority interest of 70.8% in Moritex Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). SCHOTT is a manufacturer of fiber-optic light and image guides and Moritex provides lighting systems based on LED and fiber-optic technology, as well as optical imaging systems for industrial image processing in Japan. SCHOTT and Moritex both signed a letter of intent on strategic cooperation in June, 2007 and have been working together successfully in the areas of sales, purchasing, and research and development since then. The relationship between both companies (SCHOTT with its strong presence in Europe and the U.S. and Moritex with its strong presence in Asia) will improve access to markets of strategic importance.
Polysilicon wafer agreement: Advent Solar (Albuquerque, NM), a manufacturer of solar cells and modules, announced an agreement with Deutsche Solar AG, a subsidiary of SolarWorld AG and one of the largest producers of mono- and multi-crystalline silicon wafers for the photovoltaic (PV) industry. Under the agreement, Deutsche Solar will provide Advent Solar with its SOLSIX wafers through 2018 with a total value of more than $350 million dollars. This steady silicon wafer supply will enable Advent Solar’s rapid business expansion through the introduction and delivery of next-generation solar modules based on its Ventura Technology, or what it calls the solar industry’s first comprehensive cell-to-module solar architecture.
LED lighting kit: OSRAM Opto Semiconductors (Santa Clara, CA) has developed a tool for anyone who wants to test LEDs with various accessories and applications while gaining practical knowledge of LED lighting: the LED Engineering Kit. The new kit, available for purchase at www.ledlightforyou.com/led-kit, includes an OSRAM OSTAR high-power LED and components from various LED Light for You (LLFY) partners including lenses and reflectors, a power supply, a thermal interface material, a selection of heat sinks, and a technical-assistance brochure. The LED Light For You (LLFY; www.ledlightforyou.com) network was set up in 2006 and initiated by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors to combine the competence of specialists in the fields of optics, thermal management, and electronics.
Optics in Spanish: Edmund Optics (EO; Barrington, NJ), in a continuing effort to meet the needs of the European marketplace, introduced its new Spanish language website at www.edmundoptics.es. The new website features the entire EO online catalog translated into Spanish, including 2275 new optics and photonics advances. Free Spanish language technical support is also available for site visitors and EO customers. In addition to new products, the site includes an interactive online discussion forum, online calculation tools, engineering downloads, and FAQs to help customers quickly and easily select their optics, saving time and money. EO customers and Web site visitors are also encouraged to sign up for a free technical email newsletter with new products, exclusive discounts, and promotional offers.
Charles Townes honor: Clemson University (Clemson, SC) is celebrating its long-time connection with Nobel Prize winner Charles H. Townes on by naming its state-of-the-art optical science laboratories in his honor. The Charles H. Townes Laboratories for Optical Science and Engineering is located at the Advanced Materials Research Laboratory (AMRL) in the Clemson University Advanced Materials Center. Townes is most well known for his research that led to the development of the laser, for which he received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1964. For more information, contact Susan Polowczuk, public information director for News Services at Clemson University, at [email protected].
Optical fiber award: Corning Incorporated (Corning, NY) received R&D Magazine’s 2008 R&D 100 Award for its ClearCurve optical fiber. The award recognizes the 100 most technologically significant new products of the year. This is the sixth industry award that Corning ClearCurve fiber has received since its introduction in 2007. Martin J. Curran, senior VP and general manager, Corning Optical Fiber, said, “In the development of ClearCurve fiber, we had our customers’ needs in mind. The main objective was to manufacture a fiber with vastly improved macrobend performance to allow carriers to design optical fiber into much more challenging installation environments.” The ClearCurve fiber solution is hundreds of times more bendable than standard single-mode fiber and can be bent around very tight corners with virtually no signal loss.
Fiber amplifier contract: Northrop Grumman (Redondo Beach, CA) was chosen to develop single-frequency fiber amplifiers for the new Revolution in Fiber Lasers (RIFL) program by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Dan Wildt, VP of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector, said, “Coupled with the proprietary scalable architecture that we’ve successfully developed for the Joint High Power Solid State Laser program, we have demonstrated the essential building blocks for success. RIFL will enable us to scale this important technology to weapons-class powers.” Northrop Grumman has previously scaled narrowband fiber lasers to powers of 400 W by combining multiple fiber amplifiers with a near-perfect beam quality of 1.1.
RoHS compliance: Nextreme Thermal Solutions (Durham, NC), provider of microscale thermal and power management products for the optoelectronics industry, announced that future thermoelectric products will be manufactured using RoHS-compliant assembly methods. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive restricts the use of hazardous materials, including lead-based solder, in the manufacture of various types of optoelectronic and electrical equipment. As the replacement for lead-based solder, Nextreme is using a gold/tin (AuSn) alloy. AuSn solder provides excellent joint strength and thermal conductivity.
Nanophotonics roadmap: A European taskforce has identified how nanophotonics could develop over the next 5 to 15 years. The “Emerging Nanophotonics Roadmap” document, released within the framework of the Photonics21 strategic research agenda, has been promoted by the E.U. Network of Excellence on nanophotonics (PhOREMOST), composed by 34 partners and over 300 researchers. Gonçal Badenes, group leader at ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences (Barcelona, Spain) is the chairman of the taskforce that produced this first attempt to map the rapidly evolving field of nanophotonics. Nanophotonics harvest new functions and properties of nanostructures and sub-wavelength phenomena, with applications in information and communication technologies, environment, transport, security, and life sciences. The Roadmap can be downloaded at http://tinyurl.com/roadmap-nanophotonics.
High-brightness pump contract: Alfalight (Madison, WI), a manufacturer of high-power diode lasers, received a $1.36 million contract from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in Adelphi, MD. This 12-month program, entitled “High Brightness Diode Sources II” (HiBriDS II), will enable Alfalight to extend the success of previous programs to create solid-state laser diode pump sources with higher brightness and reliability than current technology can provide. The objective of the program is to demonstrate 1 kW of 975 nm narrowband, wavelength-locked diode laser light coupled into a 600 µm, 0.22 NA fiber.
People in the news: Laser machining company PhotoMachining (Pelham, NH) has added to its staff a well known laser scientist: Francis (Bo) Burns; formerly with IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and ESI. He has 12 patents in the areas of laser applications, surface science, failure analysis, and vibrational spectroscopy. As applications scientist, Burns will work with customers to develop laser-based manufacturing processes.
Laser Photonics (Lake Mary, FL), provider of CO2 and fiber laser systems for materials processing, appointed Todd Hockenberry to the role of executive VP of sales and marketing. Hockenberry has 20 years of experience in leading and developing customer-facing teams. Prior to joining Laser Photonics, he was most recently executive VP of sales and marketing at Control Laser and was responsible for building a new sales and marketing organization.
Automation Engineering Incorporated (AEi; Wilmington, MA) appointed Geoffrey Olson as product line manager to lead the global expansion of its camera module assembly, alignment, and test division. Olson brings over 15 years of experience in photonics and flexible automation. Prior to joining AEi, he was responsible for corporate equipment technology at Flextronics and was responsible for corporate equipment evaluations and equipment development projects including automated manufacturing equipment for next-generation cell phone cameras and automatic fiber-optic alignment systems.
More people in the news: Ken Mooyman was promoted to president and CEO of spatial information company Leica Geosystems (Heerbrugg, Switzerland). Initially educated as a surveyor, Mooyman has been at the forefront of the professional positioning marketplace for over 20 years, from the early days of GPS to the recent development of laser scanning technology.
Diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser manufacturer Powerlase (Crawley, England) appointed Paul Harrison as Applications Engineering Manager as the company prepares to expand into new sectors and international markets. Harrison has 14 years experience working with lasers and is currently studying for an Engineering Doctorate at Heriot Watt University. Prior to joining Powerlase, Paul ran his own laser cutting company, Go! Lasers, and was a customer support engineer for laser engraving company Zed Instruments.
Fusion Optix (Cambridge, MA), developer of optical components and solutions for energy efficient lighting and displays, appointed S. Donald McCullough to its Board of Directors. A lighting industry veteran, McCullough spent over 25 years at GTE Sylvania in a variety of roles. After leaving Sylvania, McCullough became president and COO of Nasdaq-traded Signature Brands and has since offered his expertise to companies as an independent consultant.