The mid-infrared region of the optoelectronic spectrum is heating up, with new innovations in sources, detectors, optical fibers, and a possible new Mid-Infrared Medical Systems (MIMeS) Center. Because the mid-infrared wavelength region represents the "fingerprint" region for spectral analysis of a variety of molecules, chemicals, and explosives, new optical components and transmitting optical fibers are key to expanded military, security, and biological/industrial applications. Here is a sampling of the latest news related to mid-infrared photonics:
1. MIRTHE has received a grant proposal from the NSF for a new Mid-Infrared Medical Systems (MIMeS) Center; industrial participants are required and an upcoming meeting is scheduled to begin the grant process:
MIRTHE receives proposal for NSF Center for Mid-IR Medical Systems (MIMeS)
2. NRL research has demonstrated infrared light modulation with graphene that could make an impact on the development of high-speed phase and amplitude modulators from mid-infrared to terahertz (THz) wavelengths. "The realization of a tunable graphene polarizer has the potential to greatly enhance current infrared polarization modulation devices that are crucial to molecular sensing and identification, also playing a key role in infrared free space communications," said Joseph Tischler, NRL research physicist:
NRL Scientists Demonstrate Infrared Light Modulation With Graphene
3. A new chalcogenide-based, nonlinear singlemode optical fiber from IRflex Corporation is fabricated from arsenic sulfide glass with a broad transmission range from 1.5 to 6 microns:
Nonlinear optical fiber transmits single-mode infrared radiation
4. Less than seven months after launch, Earth-watcher satellite Proba-V is ready to provide global vegetation data for operational and scientific use. Less than a cubic meter in volume, the satellite carries an instrument that collects light in the blue, red, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavebands to distinguish between different types of land cover and plant species, including crops:
Global Vegetation Data From Proba-V Ready For Use
5. Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced the Delta Ray Isotope Ratio Infrared Spectrometer at the American Geophysical Union 46th Fall Meeting in San Francisco, December 9-13:
Isotope Ratio Infrared Spectrometer Offers Field-Transportable, Robust CO2 Analysis
