Refractive-index detector
The Optilab rEX is a refractive-index detector. It utilizes semiconductor photodiode technology and proprietary computer algorithms. The instrument’s temperature control can be programmed from 4ºC to 50ºC and is compatible with all HPLC systems. Features include dn/dc solvent measurement to determine absolute molecular weights and the measurement of the absolute refractive index of a solution.
Wyatt Technology, Santa Barbara, CA
Kinematic-mount component
The Spherolinder is a half-spherical, half-cylindrical object that replaces the spheres used in three-groove kinematic mounts. It offers improved load-carrying capacity, while retaining repeatability. A 1-in. version carries up to 2000 lb versus 20 lb for traditional 1-in. spheres. The mounts can be used to eliminate recalibration of heavy removable components, align instruments under dynamic loads, and safely mount optical instruments that are sensitive to warping.
G2 Engineering, Mountain View, CA
Polarization controller
The PolaMight is a multifunction polarization controller. Features include variable-speed polarization scrambling, manual polarization adjustment, polarization function generation, externally triggered polarization scrambling, and optional polarization stabilization. Each polarization control axis can be controlled manually via a user-selected voltage either through the front panel or the RS‑232 interface.
General Photonics, Chino, CA
Laser diodes
A new line of laser diodes is available in the 700-nm range. Fabry-Perot single-spatial-mode laser diodes of 730- to 770-nm wavelengths are available from 5 to 50 mW. They are supplied in free-space TO-type (TO-56, SOT-148, TO-3) and fiber-coupled (butterfly, DIL-14) packages. The diodes offer a linewidth smaller than 0.04 nm. Applications include medicine, spectroscopy, gas detection, sensors, measurement instruments and high-power laser seeding.
Frankfurt Laser, Friedrichsdorf, Germany
CO2 laser
A 10-W CO2 laser measures 13.5 × 2.8 × 3.85 in. and in its basic OEM version weighs 7.25 lb. It has an integrated RF supply and can be retrofitted into CO2 installations. It comes in four configurations: air- and water-cooled OEM versions, and air- and water-cooled Class IV versions that are self-contained and CDRH- and CE-compliant.
Universal Laser Systems, Scottsdale, AZ
Aspheric measurement
The AspheroMaster is an optical scanning-laser sensor providing 3-D surface and wavefront profiling at the required measurement uncertainty in the submicron range. It allows measurement of aspheric lenses for mobile phones, digital cameras, CD and DVD appliances, and contact lenses. It can measure up to 7° deviation from spherical with spot size down to a few microns.
Trioptics, Wedel, Germany
Support isolator
The I-2000 Stabilizer table-support isolator features a square cross section with smaller dimensions than circular constructions, at a height of 28 in. and side dimension of 10 in. It is designed for OEM applications such as semiconductor test and inspection and various types of interferometry as well as ultrafast laser research, microscopy, and optical manipulation.
Newport, Irvine, CA
Integrating spheres
A series of large integrating spheres is designed for total luminous flux or total spectral flux measurement. They come in diameters of 18, 39, and 76 in. Two hemispheres are mounted in a rugged frame and the interior surfaces are coated with a washable coating spray. Internal baffles keep nonintegrated light from reaching the detector port.
Optronic Laboratories, Orlando, FL
Biotechnology CCD camera
The MultiBlue Biotech CCD camera is designed for a variety of OEM biotechnology applications. The 12‑bit camera has 66-dB noise performance and includes a USB 2.0 interface. It has a video rate of 5 frames/s and has a broad set of features for applications including gene research, genomic and proteomic sequencing, and drug discovery.
PerkinElmer Optoelectronics, Fremont, CA
Beam profiler
The High Power NanoScan beam profiler analyzes industrial CO2 lasers producing a few kilowatts of power and Nd:YAG and other industrial lasers that produce a few hundred watts. The device can measure either CW or pulsed beams with kilohertz repetition rates at the beam focus. It detects wavelengths from UV to more than 20 μm and beam sizes from 20 μm to 20 mm.
Photon, San Jose, CA
Open-frame stage
The M-684 Plline xy-translation stage is a piezomotor-driven system for microscopy and other applications. It comes with a joystick and closed-loop velocity controller, and has a clear aperture of 66 × 66 mm and a travel range of 25 × 25 mm. It measures 150 × 150 mm, and can be operated in constant velocity or stepping mode.
Physik Instrumente, Auburn, MA
Multimode-fiber measurement
The Ultra Long Fiber Bandwidth option for the 2500 Optical Fiber Analysis System measures multimode-fiber bandwidth in lengths of greater than 17.6 km. It can measure at both 850 and 1300 nm and is fully compliant with international standards.
Photon Kinetics, Beaverton, OR
Voice coil actuator
Fiber-marking system
The Fiber Tower Q-switched fiber-laser marking system includes a Q‑switched fiber laser, scan head, PCI control board, and graphical-based programming software configured for any application. It has wall-plug efficiencies of around 20% and uses air-cooling. The design can be modified to meet production needs.
Precision Technology Group, Lake Mary, FL
Custom optics
A line of high-precision laser optics for OEM applications is available. The optics have ≤ λ/20 PV, 10/5 scratch/dig surface quality, and parallelism or wedge tolerances ≤ 3 arcsec. They are available in CaF2, MgF2, UV-grade fused silica, ZnSe, ZnS, and other materials. Windows, mirrors, beamsplitters, and prisms from customer specifications are available.
Spectra Dynamics, Mount Kisco, NY
Fusion splicers
Linear CCD arrays
The Dual Garry 3000 is a linear CCD-array detector incorporating two 3000-element CCD detectors spaced 13 mm apart. The new detector allows measurement of two spectra with a single imaging spectrograph. It has an internal control mode for output to an oscilloscope. It can be used for multiple laser beam experiments such as photon echoes generated by fs laser pulses.
Ames Photonics, Hurst, TX
Light source
The D2W-100 is a fiberoptic light source that collects the combined flux of deuterium and tungsten sources into a fiber. Output control is achieved by varying the intensity of the tungsten source, turning the individual sources on and off and by introducing up to four different filters into the optical path. Local control is via a keypad and an LCD and remotely via a RS-232 connection to PC or Palm with included software.
Applied Analytics, Maynard, MA
Machine-vision system
The IVS51M is a Windows-based, image-processing system with a built-in programmable logic control (PLC), optional touch-screen LCD interface, two-camera capability, and Ethernet connection. It includes automatic lighting control, camera inclination, lens distortion correction, and optimum focus display. Applications include package inspection, manufacturing lines and factory automation.
Audio Video Supply, San Diego, CA
Focusable laser module
The Model 150C-5-650 cross-hair laser module is designed for positioning and alignment tasks such as x-ray applications, printed circuit boards, machine-vision systems, lab instrumentation, and robotic control and security. The module is a direct replacement for a HeNe laser, with a 4.5-mW output power at 650 nm.
BEA Lasers, Elk Grove, IL
Beam profiler
The new high-power NanoScan measures focused laser beams up to 1 kW for CO2 lasers at 10.6 µm. Nd:YAG lasers at 1064 nm and other shorter wavelength lasers can be measured to lower powers in the hundreds of watts. Measurements include beam diameter, shape, and power distribution at the work surface. The beam profiler gives early warning of problems with lasers, focusing optics, and delivery systems.
BFi OPTiLAS, Milton Keynes, England
OEM laser
The pulsed, eye-safe 1535-nm Cobolt Tango laser is designed for OEM applications. A new version of the laser fits in a standard TO3-can package for OEM integration. The laser design is based on proprietary microchip technology using passively Q‑switched Erbium-doped glass. The laser provides peak power up to 2 kW, pulses of 3 to 5 ns, TEM00 spatial mode, low energy consumption, and compact size.
Cobolt, Stockholm, Sweden
Color vision sensor
The In-Sight 5400C color vision and the In-Sight 5401 high-resolution model have been added to the 5000 Series of industrial-grade vision sensors. The 5400C is designed for color inspection tasks. The 5401 provides 1024 × 768 resolution for gauging applications in the automotive industry and for general assembly applications.
Cognex, Natick, MA
Image-acquisition board
The new X64-AN Quad image-acquisition board interfaces with up to four independent analog cameras for high-speed multiple-view machine-vision applications. The PCI-X compatible board is part of the X64 Series of frame grabbers. The board is designed to allow OEMs and system integrators to develop real-time applications when the acquisition of multiple views is required.
Coreco Imaging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Line-scan camera
The new Piranha1-12k line-scan camera has 12288 pixels, 8 taps, a 24‑kHz line rate, and a data rate totaling 320 MHz. The camera is designed for industrial inspection in applications such as print and web inspection. Features include flat-field correction, programmable line rate, exposure time, gain, and diagnostics through its CameraLink interface.
Dalsa, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Intelligent cameras
The PPT Impact Camera Systems each incorporate a high-speed microprocessor, 128 MB of solid-state memory, Ethernet and serial interfaces, and a real-time operating system. The Impact C20’s high-speed CPU supports a number of cameras with resolutions from 640 × 480 at 60 frames/s to 1600 × 1200 at 12 frames/s. The Impact T10 incorporates a 640 × 480 camera and weighs less than 1 lb.
Edmund Industrial Optics, Barrington, NJ
OTDR
The latest version of the OptiFiber Certifying OTDR includes an OTDR port quality check, trace overlay, and 250×/400× magnification setup. The automated port quality check warns the user when the OTDR port is dirty or contaminated. The magnification setup operates with a toggle switch between the 250× and 400× settings. The trace overlay feature allows the user to see multiple OTDR traces simultaneously.
Fluke Networks, Everett, WA
Photometer
The GJ18 system consists of an X1-1 Optometer and one or more interchangeable GJ19 series detector heads. The hand-held X1-1 optometer features a high-contrast four-line LCD with detector ID. Other features include autoranging from 0.1 pA to 200 µA, run/stop dose function, selectable integration time from 20 ms to 1 s, on/off backlighting, computer control power via USB interface, hard case, and DLL file.
Gigahertz-Optik, Newburyport, MA
Web site with e-store
A new Web site features over 250 pages of technical information on IR coatings, materials, optical-design data as well as an online e-store with hundreds of in-stock items. A “Knowledge Center” will answer FAQs and provide in-depth technical articles, optical-design notes, optical materials information, IR lens selection, and a general optical reference guide.
Janos Technology, Townshend, VT
Vibration-free platforms
Terahertz laser module
The new Quanta Tera terahertz laser module is now available. The module includes the Quanta OEM and quantum-cascade laser in the nitrogen dewar, which supplies the terahertz waves. Peak performance is in the milliwatt range. The module has been initially tested at the 86-µm wavelength.
Laser Components, Hudson, NH
Goniospectro photometer
The new goniospectrophotometer measurement system enables automatic measurement of spectral patterns from light sources in 3-D space. It combines the GS-940 goniometer system offering full-spectrum acquisition with the GS-series spectroradiometer. It also measures heat patterns created by the filament.
Light Tec, Hyères, France
Delta Sigma ADC
The LTC2447 is a variable-speed/resolution, 24-bit Delta Sigma ADC that uses multiplexing architecture to directly digitize multiple ratiometric sensors. Four different inputs, coupled with four differential reference inputs allow measurements of multiple RTDs, bridges and pressure sensors. A fifth differential reference can be shared by any or all inputs. A 4-kHz multiplexing rate combined with the patented No Latency Delta Sigma architecture allows all eight channels to be scanned in 2 ms.
Linear Technology, Milpitas, CA
Laser module
The LU0975M040 uncooled laser module provides up to 4-W output power from a multimode fiber. The laser is offered in a low-profile, 14-pin butterfly package coupled with a 100/125-µm multimode fiber with an NA of 0.22. The fiber is terminated with a standard 2.5-mm diameter ceramic ferrule. Applications include industrial fiber lasers and EDFAs.
Lumics, Berlin, Germany
Image sensor
The MT9V022 DigitalClarity high-speed, wide-VGA image sensor uses proprietary True SNAP (Shutter Node Active Pixel) global-shutter technology. Intended for the automotive sector, the sensor has a global shutter (simultaneous total-pixel exposure system), enhanced NIR sensitivity, and high dynamic range. It offers 60 frames/s at full resolution or up to 200 frames/s at lower resolutions.
Micron Technology, Boise, ID
Laser lenses
New Performax CO2 laser lenses are designed for power applications up to 3500 W. They have an absorption rating of 0.20%. They are HeNe-beam compatible, allowing safe setup and operation. The lenses are available for most CO2 laser cutting systems.
Mater Laser, Anoka, MN
Micro machine lenses
Micro Machine Lenses (MMLs) are compact, low-mass lenses, based on telecentric optical design, for machine-vision alignment, image gauging, and surface inspection. Stable LED light sources are available in a variety of sizes and intensities with optional remote-control operation. Fiberoptic light guides and peripherals are available, as well as custom design and manufacturing services.
Moritex Europe, Cambridge, England
Nanolithography pen
The Nscriptor System has been upgraded to include Active Pen Array. This capability builds on Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN), a process of writing nanoscale patterns of molecular “ink” onto a sample substrate via a coated SPM tip. Active Pen technology transforms the Nscriptor system into a multipen plotter for the nanoscale. Each probe is addressable and can move individually in the z direction while scanning and writing.
NanoInk, Chicago, IL