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  • Volume 53, Issue 01

    • Volume 53, Issue 01

    FIGURE 1. A cross-section of a thermoelectric module is shown.
    Positioning, Support & Accessories

    Chillers and Coolers: Laser chillers evolve to meet industrial and medical space constraints

    Rick Slagle
    Jan. 24, 2017
    As lasers with higher output power are located in smaller packages to meet space requirements, the size of external laser chillers must also be reduced, while offering improved...
    A mesoscope performs random-access scanning of planes within a cylindrical brain area.
    Optics

    Neuroscience: Mesoscope provides 100X imaging volume at high resolution

    Barbara Gefvert
    Jan. 24, 2017
    A two-photon random-access mesoscope (2p-RAM) is optimized for high-resolution in vivo applications, with an imaging volume ~100-fold larger than other microscopes with comparable...
    (Adapted from H. C. Hendargo et al., with permission from The Optical Society [OSA] [2])
    This depth-resolved image of retinal vasculature, actually a composite of multiple, sequentially acquired FD-DOCT A-scans, is the product of a technique developed to overcome motion artifacts. Superficial vessels appear in red, while the deepest vessels are blue.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Optical Coherence Tomography: Advances in functional OCT

    Adam P. Wax
    Jan. 24, 2017
    A range of extensions enable optical coherence tomography (OCT) to achieve functional imaging, providing useful information about tissue dynamics and expanding OCT's clinical ...
    Macro-range OCT produced this full, 3D rendering of a life-size, chess-playing mannequin, consisting of 1000 × 1000 × 1000 A-scans before scan correction. It is based on 200 gigasamples (raw data) for a volume size of 0.98 m3 and dynamic range of 54 dB; for display, the researchers applied an intensity threshold of about 10 dB above the mean noise floor.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Optical Coherence Tomography: Bio and beyond - OCT advance breaks barriers in imaging scale, cost

    Barbara Gefvert
    Jan. 24, 2017
    A research team representing commerce and academia has made a welcome breakthrough in optical coherence tomography (OCT): meter-scale OCT.
    FIGURE 1. The optical system of a confocal microscope contains numerous flat optics.
    Optics

    Flat Optics: Tips on specifying and using flat laser optics

    Jan. 24, 2017
    Many considerations go into the design, fabrication, and use of flat optics for laser applications.

    More content from Volume 53, Issue 01

    FIGURE 1. Laser process data flow and intelligent analytics are optimized in the development laboratory and routinely applied in production.
    Lasers & Sources

    Industrial Laser Systems: For Industry 4.0, visualization and machine learning can be combined to enhance laser processing

    Jan. 24, 2017
    The iV Model combines process data with image and video data in a workflow architecture that allows a user to see all related sources and apply analytical tools such as images...
    FIGURE 1. The internal components of the Lincoln Laser POLYtek high-speed polygon scan head (a) are also depicted in a schematic (b).
    Lasers & Sources

    Laser Printing: Low-cost, high-speed laser printing meets requirements for consumer products and industrial parts

    Jan. 24, 2017
    A pulsed nanosecond MOPA laser, combined with a high-speed polygon scan head, matches printing rates for in-line and on-demand production without consumables such as ink.
    (Pseudo-color image courtesy of Eliot Young, Southwest Research Institute, and R.J. Smith, Sommers-Bausch Observatory, Boulder, CO)
    FIGURE 1. A M37 star cluster image acquired using a Princeton Instruments KURO:1200B back-illuminated sCMOS camera.
    Detectors & Imaging

    CMOS Cameras: Back-illuminated sCMOS technology boosts low-light imaging and spectroscopy applications

    Ravi Guntupalli
    Jan. 24, 2017
    Back-illuminated sCMOS cameras provide the sensitivity and frame rates needed for applications with relatively short integration times, such as hyperspectral imaging, astronomy...
    FIGURE 1. A Jablonski diagram is expanded to include vibrational (infrared) absorption, Rayleigh scattering, and Raman scattering.
    Spectroscopy

    Spectrometers: Excitation source parameters dictate Raman spectroscopy outcomes

    Robert V. Chimenti
    Jan. 24, 2017
    Unlike other forms of spectroscopy whereby a reference scan decouples light-source variations from the measured spectral data, Raman spectroscopy is extremely dependent on the...
    Courtesy of Tobias Kippenberg, EPFL
    FIGURE 1. A microtoroid optical and mechanical resonator at the same time.
    Lasers & Sources

    Diode Lasers: Exploring micro- and nanostructures with tunable diode lasers

    Jan. 24, 2017
    Optically pumping microcavities, advancing quantum technologies, and exploiting quantum dots are applications of tunable diode lasers that may significantly impact photonics.
    (Courtesy of Newport)
    FIGURE 1. Perhaps the most common laser-safety product is laser-line-blocking eyewear.
    Positioning, Support & Accessories

    Photonics Products: Laser Safety Equipment - Laser safety is an industry unto itself

    John Wallace
    Jan. 24, 2017
    A variety of laser-safety products includes personal gear, a vast array of other hardware, software, and audits and training.
    FIGURE 1. A 25 mm single Gauss system is imported as a STEP file with a ray bundle.
    Optics

    Optical Design: Simplify optomechanical design while eliminating STEP files and ray bundles

    Jan. 24, 2017
    The ability to package, analyze, and validate optomechanical designs with simulation software that integrates with SOLIDWORKS helps streamline workflows and reduce design and ...
    Content Dam Lfw Print Articles 2017 01 1701lfwcvrguy Silo
    Lasers & Sources

    Annual Laser Market Review & Forecast: Where have all the lasers gone?

    Gail Overton
    Jan. 24, 2017
    Laser companies both small and large are feeling the recent surge of tech-sector M&A activity.
    Jes Broeng
    Lasers & Sources

    Business Forum: Better bring a hands-on, customer-oriented attitude to photonics entrepreneurship

    Milton Chang
    Jan. 23, 2017
    Professor Jes Broeng's visit to Berkeley is to learn the culture and best practices that universities play in making Silicon Valley so successful in incubating startup companies...
    John Stack (left) and Joe Delfino (right).
    Lasers & Sources

    Market Insights: Is that big OEM right for your photonics business?

    Jan. 23, 2017
    Capturing a game-changing OEM has the potential to transform how a company operates, organizes, and creates a sustainable and profitable revenue stream.
    (Image credit: FBGS)
    A photo shows a cross-sectional view of a four-core multicore fiber (MCF) and the basic parameters that enable curvature and shape sensing.
    Fiber Optics

    Fiber-optic Sensing: Draw-tower FBGs in multicore fiber enable curvature sensing

    Gail Overton
    Jan. 23, 2017
    Light signals from a series of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) inscribed along the length of a single-core optical fiber (SCF) can quantify the strain, temperature, and pressure experienced...
    (Image credit: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland)
    The MIREGAS project aims to develop a tiny and low-cost, TO-can-sized mid-infrared sensor that uses an SLED source, a silicon PIC spectral filter, molded IR optics, and high-volume assembly and packaging technologies.
    Test & Measurement

    Gas Sensing: PIC filters and SLEDs progress towards low-cost, mid-IR multi-gas sensor

    Gail Overton
    Jan. 23, 2017
    Superluminescent light-emitting diode (SLED) source technology is being used in the development of a tunable, mid-IR, low-cost multi-gas sensor.
    A computer simulation shows the time-evolving water-droplet concentration within a cylinder cleared by the shock wave produced by picosecond laser pulses at 100 and 1000 Hz repetition rates. Note that the higher rep rate keeps the path clear of droplets.
    Lasers & Sources

    Ultrafast Lasers: Picosecond laser cuts through fog

    John Wallace
    Jan. 23, 2017
    Using light filaments created by a picosecond laser to clear a path through fog could allow other types of laser beams to pass unimpeded through fog and clouds.
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    Software

    Eyeteq algorithm helps the colorblind see colors

    Gail Overton
    Jan. 23, 2017
    Using the Eyeteq image-processing algorithm, color vision deficiency sufferers can see colors better in still and video images.