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  • Volume 58, Issue 11

    • Volume 58, Issue 11

    (Courtesy of LightPath Technologies, based on USGS data)
    FIGURE 1. Together, China and Russia provide 83% of the world’s germanium, with other non-U.S. countries producing about 12%.
    Optics

    Chalcogenide glass gears up for infrared imaging

    Sam Rubin
    Oct. 21, 2022
    Chalcogenide glasses transmit a wide range of infrared (IR) wavelengths and are poised to take over the market for imaging and laser optics in this spectral range. But U.S. manufacturin...
    (Courtesy of Agile Space Inc.)
    FIGURE 1. Agile Space is one of many new space vehicle propulsion system providers using laser AM.
    Laser Processing

    A glimpse into laser applications in aerospace

    Eliana Fu
    Oct. 20, 2022
    Laser processing is an ideal technology for applications in aerospace and, in particular, space exploration. Its benefits include an improved buy-to-fly ratio, reduction in lead...
    (Photo credit: Marcin Szczepanski/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, University of Michigan College of Engineering)
    (L-R) Laser engineer Lauren Weinberg, research scientist John Nees, and research engineer Galina Kalinchenko pose for photos while working on the ZEUS laser at the NSF ZEUS laser facility in a Michigan Engineering lab.
    Lasers & Sources

    University of Michigan fires up ultrafast, ultrapowerful ZEUS laser

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Oct. 17, 2022
    The ZEUS laser is the most powerful laser in the U.S.—featuring chirped-pulse amplification and a multi-laser beam capability.
    (Courtesy of Dario Polli, Politecnico di Milano)
    FIGURE 1. The employed 2 MHz repetition rate allows the researchers to generate broadband, red-shifted Stokes pulses that cover the whole fingerprint vibrational region using white-light supercontinuum generation in a bulk crystal.
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Bioimaging advance aids creation of enhanced clinical devices

    Justine Murphy
    Oct. 17, 2022
    Leveraging Raman-based principles enables researchers to close in on more sensitive and faster biomedical devices.
    Photo 139993271 © Blackboard373 | Dreamstime.com
    Dreamstime Xl 139993271
    Executive Forum

    Optics take center stage as digital environments grow

    Peter Fretty
    Oct. 14, 2022
    Tim Vang, vice president of marketing and applications for Semtech’s Signal Integrity Products Group, shares his thoughts on optics within an increasingly digital world.

    More content from Volume 58, Issue 11

    FIGURE 1. Packaging integration for frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR.
    Test & Measurement

    Seeing a bright future for LiDAR

    Peter Fretty
    Oct. 13, 2022
    Component evolution plays an instrumental role as LiDAR firms continue jockeying for position in the autonomous race.
    (Courtesy of Wonshik Choi, Center for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics)
    FIGURE 1. If an object being imaged is small or has a linear structure, the waveform of the reflected signal of the single scattered wave remains similar even when the incident angle is changed (a). The waveform of the reflected signal of the multiple scattered waves changes without similarity, even with a slight change in incident angle. Using these inter-wavefront properties, single scattering components and multiple scattering components can be separated from each other (b).
    Bio&Life Sciences

    Holographic microscope sees through intact mouse skull

    Justine Murphy
    Oct. 12, 2022
    Deep-tissue imaging allows researchers to observe and study a mouse’s neural networks.
    Courtesy of Ildar Rakhmatulin, Heriot-Watt University
    The new laser system, which works in conjunction with machine learning technology, is made from affordable, off-the-shelf components.
    Lasers & Sources

    Laser-AI system may help eliminate pesky insects

    Justine Murphy
    Oct. 11, 2022
    A laser-based system made from off-the-shelf equipment could help rid farms of invasive cockroaches.
    Hollie Wright, Heriot-Watt University
    Whats App Image 2022 10 05 At 09 18 26[34]
    Science & Research

    Faces in Photonics: Hollie Wright, Heriot-Watt University

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Oct. 10, 2022
    Meet Dr. Hollie Wright, a research associate at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.
    Courtesy of Navari Surgical and Sahlgrenska University Hospital
    2211 Wn Liver Surgery Image
    Detectors & Imaging

    AR and optical imaging collide to aid liver tumor surgery

    Justine Murphy
    Oct. 6, 2022
    As researchers continue to explore effective treatments for liver cancer, a technique melding AR with optical imaging appears promising.
    (Courtesy of Institute of Applied Physics, TU Dresden)
    FIGURE 2. The active film for the novel sensor concept is only as thick as a human hair; here, processed on thin glass substrates, it exhibits a wavelength-dependent luminescence.
    Detectors & Imaging

    Photoluminescence-based sensor aids light source meteorology, anti-counterfeit measures

    Justine Murphy
    Oct. 5, 2022
    A new sensor technology and approach is allowing researchers to better characterize light sources. This could someday assist in anti-counterfeit measures and the development of...
    FIGURE 1. Ce:Nd:YAG laser design.
    Lasers & Sources

    Solar pumping converts broadband sunlight into efficient laser light

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Oct. 4, 2022
    A novel three Ce:Nd:YAG rod solar-pumped laser achieves 4.64% solar-to-laser energy conversion efficiency.
    FIGURE 1. Dirty optics can deteriorate the laser beam’s intensity distribution. In this example, dust particles on a lens in the optical system caused large ripples in the beam profiles at the working plane.
    Test & Measurement

    Quick tutorial: Laser beam profiling with camera-based systems

    Nicholas Prefontaine
    Sept. 30, 2022
    Know how to measure a beam profile with a CMOS sensor? How about selecting a sensor and pixel size? Or setting up a profiler?
    A photonic nanojet formed by 2-µm-diameter polymer microspheres (dashed lines) move together with the microsphere (a); force hysteresis on the polystyrene microparticle with a diameter of 5 μm (b); schematics of the counter-propagating beam setup pulling a dielectric particle from opposite sides (c); motion snapshots of live MB231 cancer cells under paired beams with a modelocked laser (left) or with a Raman laser (right, wavelength of 1.65 µm) dominant suggest opposite motion directions (d); and optical force for a polystyrene microsphere (15 µm diameter) as a function of the modelocked laser power with a fixed Raman laser (e).
    Science & Research

    Microparticles create photonic nanojets for parallel manipulation of cells

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Sept. 28, 2022
    Photonic nanojet-mediated optical backaction force enables parallel manipulation, which may help researchers design photonic devices with biological materials.
    Photo 105511060 © Nando Harmsen | Dreamstime.com
    Dreamstime Xl 105511060
    Commentary

    Takeaways from the SPIE Photonics Industry Summit

    Peter Fretty
    Sept. 27, 2022
    At its first annual Photonics Industry Summit recently held in Washington DC, SPIE welcomed an impressive lineup of speakers intimately involved in bringing the recently appropriated...
    (Photo credit: Muharrem Kilinc)
    A 1% Yb-doped 2-cm-long YLF crystal used in cryogenic amplification studies.
    Lasers & Sources

    What goes into building amplifiers for an attosecond x-ray free-electron source?

    Sally Cole Johnson
    Sept. 21, 2022
    Researchers are exploring the limits of ytterbium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride’s wavelength tuning and femtosecond-pulse generation to better understand its capability as a ...