Pictures from an exhibition

April 7, 2014
When founded in 1955, SPIE -- then known as the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers -- placed great emphasis on the application of photo-optical instrumentation to aerospace, atmospheric science, and astronomy.
Conard Holton2 5f3c01fd8ddc6

When founded in 1955, SPIE—then known as the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers—placed great emphasis on the application of photo-optical instrumentation to aerospace, atmospheric science, and astronomy. That legacy continues at SPIE DSS (Baltimore, MD; May 5-9), which has evolved in the past few years into two symposia (Defense + Security and Sensing Technology + Applications), plus an exhibition.

We are emphasizing two related applications in this issue: advanced aerospace defense and the satellite imaging of vegetation on Earth. In the first, contributing editor Jeff Hecht describes the choice between quantum cascade lasers and optical parametric amplifiers for use in the next generation of infrared countermeasures to divert heat-seeking missiles from small military aircraft (see page 31). In the second, senior editor Gail Overton writes about the aircraft and satellite-based imaging systems that are monitoring terrestrial vegetation and soil moisture with great accuracy and resolution (see page 51).

Such application articles are not the only focus in this issue. New developments in lasers are always exciting and the article on MIXSELs by Ursula Keller and her colleagues at ETH Zurich shows how one technical advance can potentially affect applications ranging from optical communications and precision measurements to microscopy, ophthalmology, and micromachining (see page 45). MIXSELs, or optically pumped modelocked integrated external-cavity surface-emitting lasers, are setting new benchmarks as low-noise, ultrafast gigahertz lasers.

The range of technologies in this issue actually highlights the variety of photonics technologies, from articles about a quantum dot film for liquid-crystal displays (see page 39), to a new glass for exawatt-class lasers (see page 23) and a highly accurate, interferometry-based way of measuring the radius of a large optic (see page 65). Variety along with technical depth and insights are what you can expect from conferences such as SPIE DSS and this magazine.

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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