Color sensor
The ColorMax-1000 is a color sensor that outputs color intensity, allowing users to finely tune automation processes and tighten control over color in manufactured goods. With a 5-kHz sampling speed, the sensor includes 15 colors in memory for matching colors and has an M30 threaded enclosure.
EMX Industries,
Cleveland, Ohio
www.emxinc.com
Ti:sapphire-laser system
The femtoTRAIN series Ti:sapphire-laser system from High Q Laser measures 530 × 200 × 75 mm, including all optics and a green pump source. Features include a passive, self-starting semiconductor saturable absorber modelocking (SESAM), greater than 400-mW output power, pulse durations down to 50 fs, wavelengths between 780 and 900 nm, and repetition rates between 20 and 120 MHz.
Photonic Solutions,
Edinburgh, Scotland
www.psplc.com
Laser probe
The SLP-330 Scanning Laser Probe is designed for use with the Romer CimCore Infinite, 3000i and Stinger II Portable Articulating Arms. The probe can scan parts with dimensions up to 12 ft. long without moving, or scan parts of any size if the arm is moved. Dual detectors view the laser line from two different angles, reducing the number of passes required to capture steep sidewalls and deep geometries.
Laser Design, Minneapolis, MN
www.laserdesign.com
Anticounterfeiting chemistry
DigiVU chemistry enables manufacturers to digitally create high-definition microimages on or within a product that are almost impossible to reproduce by existing methods, preventing counterfeiting. The chemistry can be applied to any substrate, including plastic, glass, edible products, and cardboard.
Sherwood Technology, Cheshire, England
www.sherwoodtech.com
Nanopositioner controller
The Nano-Drive nanopositioner controller has a USB connector to boost data transfer rates to the company’s high-speed nanopositioning stages. The device is compatible with common waveform-generation software such as LabVIEW and comes with example virtual instruments and a software library. It controls stages that allow subnanometer motion in up to five axes.
Mad City Labs, Madison, WI
www.madcitylabs.com
Piezoelectric motor
The SQ-115 piezoelectric Squiggler cryogenic motor operates from room temperature to under 4 K. It is available with a metal housing for fast integration into systems. It adjusts optical alignment continuously so a camera can be focused at room temperature and maintain focus as it is cooled.
New Scale Technologies, Victor, NY
www.newscaletech.com
Filters
A series of new filters includes 29 colored glass filters, eight absorptive neutral-density filters, 2-in.-square optical-crown glass-metallic neutral-density filters, and UV fused-silica metallic neutral-density filters with five new optical densities. They come in a variety of sizes.
Newport, Irvine, CA
www.newport.com
LED arrays
A 60-die LED array has a 40° radiation beam angle. It comes in varying wavelengths with typical peak wavelengths of 405, 470, 525, 610, 830, and 870 nm, with customized higher-temperature versions available on request. Operating temperature ranges from -55°C to 100°C with a maximum junction temperature of 100°C and thermal resistance J-C parameter of 3°C/W typical.
Opto Diode, Newbury Park, CA
www.optodiode.com
Optical-engineering software
Fred 4.50 optical-engineering software is a surface-based program that can simulate the propagation of light through most optical/mechanical systems. New abilities include ray-tracing bitmap source files, simulating CIR color analysis, creating meshed sample surfaces, and creating surface properties with user-defined BSDF data.
Photon Engineering, Tucson, AZ
www.photonengr.com
Short-pulse laser
The DS20 Nd:YLF laser for materials processing produces more than 5 mJ/pulse at 1053 nm, 3 mJ/pulse at 527 nm, and more than 1.5 mJ/pulse at 351 nm, all at rates of 1 kHz with a pulse width of 4 ns and diffraction-limited mode quality. Repetition rates can be varied from single shot to 10 kHz. The laser diode is field-replaceable.
Photonics Industries, Bohemia, NY
www.photonix.com
Photon-counting board
The NanoHarp 250 data-acquisition board for multichannel scaling and photon counting is available in a new software version, 2.0. The short PCI slot card with integrated discriminators is designed for acquisition of fluorescence and luminescence decays on the nanosecond to millisecond time scale. It has a programmable trigger output for excitation sources.
PicoQuant, Berlin, Germany
www.picoquant.com
Piezo controller
The OEM amplifier module 30DV50 for the d-Drive digital piezo nanocontroller comes with an autocalibration routine and automatic sensor identification. All values of the actuating system are automatically stored in the amplifier for ease of configuration. The device can be used with strain gauge, LVDT, or capacitive feedback sensors without additional modification.
Piezosystem Jena, Jena, Germany
www.piezojena.com
Laser surface velocimeter
The LSV-300 laser surface velocimeter is designed for noncontact measurement and control of velocity and length in continuous-process industries. It can distinguish between forward and reverse motion and standstill and measures speeds up to 2500 m/min with an accuracy of 0.05%. It has standoff distances of 500 or 900 mm and a 60‑mm depth of field.
Polytec, Tustin, CA
www.polytec.com/usa
MEMS software
MEMS PRO version 5.1 software is a CAD tool suite for the design and analysis of microelectromechanical systems, including their electronics and packaging. It has more output formats for 3-D geometries than previous versions, can handle material properties better, and has improved automatic meshing capabilities. Enhanced libraries for system-level models include expanded support for mixed optical/electronic devices.
SoftMEMS, Grenoble, France
www.softmems.com
Miniature slides
Miniature slides are complete assemblies for linear motion applications in which short strokes are required. They come in four basic sizes with widths from 17 to 32 mm and lengths from 26 to 165 mm. They are made of hardened stainless steel and can achieve running accuracies of 2 µm over a stroke of 100 mm.
SKF Motion Technologies, Bethlehem, PA
www.linearmotion.skf.com
Ti:sapphire laser
A pulsed Ti:sapphire laser combines a 20-fold prism beam expander with a holographic grating in grazing incidence configuration for stable operation without intracavity etalons. Tuning range is from 695 to 905 nm and 350 to 450 nm with a bandwidth less than 0.04 cm-1 and pulse energy more than 100 mJ. It can be pumped with an Nd:YAG to 600 mJ at 532 nm.
Radiant Dyes Laser and Accessories, Wermelskirchen, Germany
www.radiant-dyes.com
Thin-film analysis
The MicroXR line of microbeam x-ray fluorescence metrology systems has added solid-state silicon lithium detectors for thin-film analysis in the semiconductor and microelectronics industries. The detectors have a 10‑mm active area and extend the energy range for measurements of heavier elements to 29 keV. The detectors do not require liquid-nitrogen cooling.
Thermo Electron, Waltham, MA
www.thermo.com
Machining laser
The BASU2-NYC-Q Q-switched rotary disk laser provides 220-kW peak power at 2.5 kHz in 16.5-ns pulses and 28.2-W average power at 109.4 kHz in 65-ns pulses. Beam quality is diffraction-limited (M2 = 1.05). Output can be converted to other wavelengths using optional harmonic-conversion modules. The lasers are designed for machining systems in semiconductor and medical applications.
Sparkle Optics,Rolling Hill Estates, CA
www.sparkleoptics.com
Spectroscopy system
The Porta-LIBS-2000 portable analyzer for real-time qualitative measurements of trace elements uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. It includes a pulsed Nd:YAG emitting at 1.06 µm, a spectrometer with up to eoght channels that covers the 190- to 1000-nm range, and a 2048-pixel CCD array. Software and a spectral database identify elements.
StellarNet, Tampa, FL
www.stellarnet-inc.com
Color wheel
The SilentWheel DP is a thin-film optical component to manage color in digital projectors. It comes in diameters from 40 to 65 mm with operating speeds of 7200, 9000, or 10,800 rpm. Spectral temperature stability is typically less than 0.3% from 20°C to 100°C. Filter segments and spectral performance are according to customer specification.
Unaxis Balzers, Balzers,
Liechtenstein
www.optics.unaxis.com
Shutter
The Uniblitz BDS25 shutter incorporates two electromagnetic actuators, one that opens and locks the shutter blades until a pulse to the second closes them, making the system bistable. It comes in an unhoused OEM version that is electronically programmed to fire specific exposures at certain time intervals.
Vincent Associates, Rochester, NY
www.uniblitz.com
Red laser
The Mini Red laser has a laser head measuring 3 × 10 mm for incorporation into small devices like remote controls, laser displays, and guidance, pointing, and alignment applications. It uses a 635/650-nm laser diode and has auto power control to maintain constant output. Power ranges from less than 1 to 3 mW.
Wen Tai Enterprise Co.,
Taipei, Taiwan
www.a-wentai.com
Lens-testing system
The OS200 modular lens-testing system can be configured to test a wide range of lenses and telescopes. It includes a 12-bit CCD camera with standard 640 × 480 resolution and optional 1024 × 768, a rotary stage that handles centered loads up to 10 kg, and an xyz stage assembly that allows adjustments to 1 in.
Wells Research and Development, Lincoln, MA
www.wellsresearch.com
Megapixel camera
The TM-1420CL AccuPiXEL camera has 1.4 megapixels. It is based on a 1/2-in. Sony image sensor and can capture 30 frames/s at full resolution of 1392 × 1040. The interline transfer CCD permits full vertical and horizontal resolution with shutters speeds up to 1/16,000 s. It can be reset asynchronously by external pulse control.
Jai PulNiX, Sunnyvale, CA
www.jaipulnix.com
InGaAs detector
The new 2D-OMA V:320 is a two-dimensional InGaAs focal-plane-array (FPA) camera with sensitivity of up to 1.7 µm. The detector uses a 320 × 256 format array with 30 × 30-µm pixels and is cooled to -100°C using liquid nitrogen. The camera produces more than 50 full frames per second using a 5-megapixel/s readout. It is designed for low-light IR imaging applications.
Princeton Instruments/
Acton, Trenton, NJ
www.piacton.com
Raman spectrometer
The Inspector Raman is a handheld Raman spectrometer used for reaction monitoring, material identification and nanotechnology applications. The battery-operated unit weighs less than 5 lb and is powered for five hours of continuous operation. Data can be retrieved remotely using Blue Tooth technology and viewed on a small laptop with NuSpec software. A NuScope attachment is used for Raman microscope applications.
DeltaNu, Laramie, WY
www.deltanu.com
MPD measurement system
The MPX-2 is designed to measure mode power distribution (MPD), encircled flux, and mode transfer function (MTF) in graded-index multimode fibers at a wavelength of 1300 nm. The system takes real-time, direct measurements of the power distribution in the multimode fiber under test and uses industry standard connectors.
Arden Photonics Limited,Birmingham, England
www.ardenphotonics.com
20-W UV laser
The new AVIA 355-20 solid-state Q-switched laser provides 20 W of 355 nm UV output at 100 kHz. The frequency-tripled, vanadate laser uses a proprietary end-pump architecture to deliver a beam quality M2 of less than 1.3. The entire resonator configuration is packaged in a single, sealed module and the optics are rigidly soldered using PermAlign technology.
Coherent, Santa Clara, CA
www.Coherent.com
Free-trial software
Free-trial software can be downloaded with the latest release of Checker version 1.3. Checker is a sensor that detects the presence of parts and parts features and recognizes patterns. It eliminates the wiring and mounting complexities of multiple photoelectric sensors. The all-in-one, IP67 design is suited for all industry environments.
Cognex, Natick, MA
www.cognex.com
Fiberoptic cleaning kit
A compact kit with supplies for cleaning fiberoptic connector end faces includes FIS Connector Cleaner, assorted swabs, Kim Wipes, alcohol pads, and compressed air. The kit is also available with a 200× microscope. A replacement consumables package is available to facilitate restocking.
Fiber Instrument Sales, Oriskany, NY
www.fiberinstrumentsales.com
Photo integrated circuits
The S9684 Series of photo integrated circuits (ICs) utilize a dual-element silicon PIN photodiode. They have been developed for design into laser-beam detection applications such as print start timers for laser printers, digital copiers, and fax machines. The S9684 has a 20-time gain while the S9684-01 has a 6-time gain. The surface-mount package measures 3 mm (D) × 1.3 mm (H) × 4 mm (W).
Hamamatsu, Bridgewater, NJ
www.hamamatsu.com
Visible laser diodes
New 1-W laser diodes operate at 670 or 690 nm with a slope efficiency of 1 W/A and have a 200-µm emitting aperture. Packages include C-mount, 9 mm, TO-3, and high heat load. Optional fiber pigtails are also available.
High Power Devices,
North Brunswick, NJ
www.hpdinc.com