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  • Volume 54, Issue 01

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    FIGURE 1. The interaction of mid-IR photons with matter affects molecular vibrations, including those of many organic molecules; the mid-IR wavelength range is sometimes called the spectral 'fingerprint region.'
    When used in Raman-scattering gas-sensing systems for breath analysis, air-quality monitoring, and other needs, fiber lasers reduce system size and complexity.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    Courtesy of LLNL
    Slanted Light Interrogation for Cross-Correlated Encoded Recording (SLICER) is a semiconductor-based optical technique for recording ultrafast single-shot events.
    Slanted Light Interrogation for Cross-correlated Encoder Recording (SLICER) records ultrafast single-shot events over record-long lengths using a pump-probe-style architecture...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of Jens Große/MAIUS)
    FIGURE 1. For the MAIUS mission that demonstrated the first Bose-Einstein-Condensate in space, the complete experimental setup fit into a pressurized chamber measuring 50 cm in diameter and 2.79 m long inside the rocket.
    Quantum sensing may reach industry before cryptography or computing—an example is a Berlin collaboration that is miniaturizing the lasers for satellite operations in which quantum...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Adapted from C. L. Chen and R. K. Wang [2])
    FIGURE 1. Optical coherence tomography-based angiography (OCTA) samples signals from five points in an A-scan (axial scan), three of which (1, 2, and 5) are located in static tissue (that is, not in blood vessels) and two of which (3 and 4) are within a functional blood vessel. OCT signals from the vasculature—points 3 and 4—show dynamic changes over time, while signals from the other points remain steady.
    Driven by technology advances, OCT angiography is set to change ophthalmic care as dramatically as optical coherence tomography (OCT) did.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    FIGURE 1. The coefficient of performance (COP) of two laser-diode thermoelectric cooling modules by AMS Technologies, the TE-500 and TE-650, was characterized as a function of temperature difference (dT) and cooling capacity (Qc) using eight heat sources of 15 × 15 mm2 on top of the laser base plate and is given for an average temperature on the mounting plate.
    Laser diodes work best when cool—different cooling approaches work best for different laser powers.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    FIGURE 1. High-power semiconductor laser brilliance and Moore’s Law are compared.
    With continuously improving efficiency and power, laser diodes will continue to displace legacy technologies, both changing the way things are made and enabling new things to ...
    Jan. 18, 2018
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    Consumer electronics are driving growth to new heights for laser manufacturers and laser materials processing equipment providers and, in turn, enabling markets that need yet ...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    1304qa Chang New
    Starting a company is good for the photonics industry and for our economy because entrepreneurship encourages innovation.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of Fraunhofer IOF)
    FIGURE 1. Researchers from around the world gathered at the MIMAS Workshop, held at the Fraunhofer IOF in Jena, to develop a roadmap for the advances needed in optical fiber technology.
    Workshop in Jena on next-generation optical fiber technology provides perspectives and a roadmap for fiber lasers.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of Johns Hopkins University)
    In performing vessel-separation calculations using delay-and-sum (DAS) and short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) images with a pulsed laser diode (PLD), the researchers found photoacoustic (PA)-based measurements to be more reliable than those generated by tracking data obtained from the surgical robot’s kinematics.
    A new publication reports the application of photoacoustics for real-time surgical guidance.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of UCLA)
    Training the deep neural network is a matter of providing low-resolution 'input' images and corresponding high-resolution 'training labels.' Optimizing various parameters minimizes loss between the network’s output and high-resolution training-label corollaries. Once training is complete, the network can take any low-resolution image and quickly generate, in a sngle pass forward, a higher-resolution version with improved field of view and depth of field.
    A team of researchers has demonstrated that a deep neural network can generate an improved version of a standard microscope image in
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of the University of Twente)
    Biasing a silicon LED in avalanche breakdown mode shifts its emission to wavelengths
    Using silicon LEDs biased in "avalanche breakdown" mode to generate visible light that is easily detected by standard silicon photodiodes in a high-quantum-efficiency process ...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    Two perpendicularly oriented Laue lenses focus an x-ray beam into a small spot (a). An object under investigation can then be placed into the optical path and its image recorded by the detector (courtesy of DESY, Andrew Morgan/Saša Bajt). Using this new setup, the silica shell of the diatom Actinoptychus senarius, which measures 0.1 mm across, is shown in fine detail in this x-ray hologram recorded at 5000-fold magnification. The lenses focused an x-ray beam to a spot about 8 nm in diameter, which then expanded to illuminate the diatom and form the hologram (courtesy of DESY/AWI, Andrew Morgan/Saša Bajt/Henry Chapman/Christian Hamm).
    A team of scientists has developed novel lenses that enable x-ray microscopy with record resolution in the nanometer regime.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of the University of Glasgow)
    A free-space optical (FSO) communications link in the city of Erlangen, Germany was used to verify the phase degradation of twisted light beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) per the models used by the researchers. It was found that low-order OAM beams can be successfully transmitted and used for quantum-key distribution and spatial-multiplexing operations, but that higher-order beams would more than likely require adaptive optics.
    Researchers developed a comprehensive model to study the effects of atmospheric changes on the phase of orbital angular momentum beams.
    Jan. 18, 2018
    A manufacturing-environment test setup by NIST (a) for a radiation-pressure power meter (RPPM) includes a laser source and weld head, a copper (Cu) folding/focusing mirror, the RPPM, and a water-cooled thermopile power meter, termed the device under test (DUT). The RPPM calibration factor (b) was determined by tests comparing the RPPM and DUT onsite measurements (red circles); an equivalent calibration factor was determined in the NIST laboratory between NIST’s K-series calorimeter and the DUT (blue square).
    NIST has provided data on its radiation-pressure power meter in a manufacturing test environment for beam powers in the range of 20 kW, comparing these results to those gathered...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    Surface treatments that include magnetorheological finishing, etching with hydrofluoric acid, ion-beam sputtering, and others can improve the post-polished surface quality of ...
    Jan. 18, 2018
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    A group has come up with an effective configuration for nanostructured TiO2 for UV photodetection made of hollow TiO2 nanospheres on p-type gallium nitride (GaN).
    Jan. 18, 2018
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    Researchers have succeeded in developing a high-power 589 nm sodium laser pulsed at the Larmor frequency in the 200-350 kHz range for remote magnetometry.
    Jan. 18, 2018
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    Researchers have developed an optical scheme that uses dual-wavelength illumination that introduces chromatic aberration in a singlet lens to double the depth of field (DOF).
    Jan. 18, 2018
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    Researchers have designed and fabricated a robust varifocal microlens array that operates by applying a voltage across a flexible transparent dielectric elastomer to force the...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    Conard Holton2
    Forecasting photonics in 2018 is a risky endeavor and I’ll keep in mind the quote attributed to Danish physicist Niels Bohr, "Prediction is very difficult, especially about the...
    Jan. 18, 2018
    (Courtesy of SPIE)
    FIGURE 1. Augmented reality/virtual reality/mixed reality (AR/VR/MR) will be a focus of SPIE Photonics West 2018.
    Photonics continues to grow at a rapid pace, and the premier conference for highlighting the best the industry has to offer continues to grow as well.
    Dec. 28, 2017
    1. G. Overton, A. Nogee, D. Belforte, and C. Holton, “Where have all the lasers gone?” Laser Focus World, 53, 1, 32–52 (Jan. 2017); https://goo.gl/cafgPi. 2. See https://goo.gl...
    March 1, 2017