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    • Volume 45, Issue 7

    More content from Volume 45, Issue 7

    Because diffraction limits the resolution of conventional photolithography to roughly one-quarter of the wavelength of light used, alternate techniques such as nanoimprint lithography...
    July 1, 2009
    Th Quantum 01
    A highly sensitive and frequency tunable terahertz detector based on carbon nanotube quantum dots is the main ingredient for a near-field terahertz imaging system in which all...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of Giant Magellan Telescope—Carnegie Observatories)
    FIGURE 1. Seven 8.4 m disks will make up the 24 m of the Giant Magellan Telescope. The concave secondary focuses light through a central hole to instruments mounted on the back of the primary support, with a compensating lens correcting for aberrations.
    Three super-giant ground telescopes planned to begin operation in 2018 have apertures two to four times larger than today’s biggest optical instruments.
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
    FIGURE 1. Optical frequency upconversion of femtosecond pulses is performed via intermodal four-wave mixing from a large-mode-area microstructured fiber (left) and via the Cherenkov radiation from a small-mode-area microstructured fiber (right). Vertical arrows represent the pump wavelength; the insets represent the far-field images of the exiting light from the fibers.
    While routing femtosecond pulse energy to a broadband spectrum in optical fibers is important, many emerging nonsupercontinuum applications require selective routing of the pulse...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of MicroLight)
    FIGURE 1. The ML830 from MicroLight uses three 830 nm laser diodes to penetrate skin to a depth of about 2 in. A red LED guides the collimated output from the laser diodes; the beams diverge slightly as they are absorbed and/or pass through different tissue layers.
    While the benefits and detriments of sunlight have been known for decades, researchers are showing that electromagnetic radiation can be the key to safe and effective medical ...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of UCLA)
    The STEAM camera was used for real-time imaging of laser ablation (a), revealing multiple two-dimensional (2-D) real-time images with a temporal resolution of 163 ns and shutter speed of 440 ps (b). Changes in sample surface reflectivity due to the laser-induced mass ejection are evident after the excitation pulse hits the sample at 50 ns. The time-sequenced surface reflectivity shows that the time delay between the pulse excitation and the sudden decrease in the surface reflectivity correlates with the ablation process (c); depth profile measurements (d) indicate that the silicon-on-insulator layer was exposed.
    Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA; Los Angeles, CA) have developed a real-time camera using a serial time-encoded amplified imaging technique that...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of InfraScan)
    The Infrascanner system consists of a Windows Mobile PDA connected by a wireless Bluetooth link to a handheld sensor with disposable fiber optics cap.
    About two million Americans suffer concussions each year, and too often the result is severe neurological damage or death.
    July 1, 2009
    FIGURE 1. An organic photovoltaic cell design includes patterned ITO to increase efficiency. The ITO structure is created using picosecond UV pulses.
    New developments in commercial high-energy solid-state lasers (tens of millijoules per pulse, hundreds of hertz) support applications such as solar-cell patterning, flat-panel...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of the University of Cincinnati)
    Cross-section (left) and top views (right) of the display pixels are shown with no voltage applied (upper), confining the pigment to the cylindrical reservoir, and with an applied voltage (lower) that causes the pigment to disperse over the planar surface channel.
    Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Sun Chemical (both in Cincinnati, OH) have developed a lithographically fabricated electrofluidic display that uses visually brilliant...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of Nonlinear Control Strategies)
    Modeled and experimental output powers and wavelength shifts for a 1040-nm-emitting VECSEL agree closely.
    A laser-diode-simulation software package introduced by Nonlinear Control Strategies (NLCSTR; Tucson, AZ) is quite a bit more intricate than the laser-diode modeling software ...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of the Swinburne University of Technology)
    An optical-disc-recording setup allows recording in three spatial dimensions, as well as two polarizations and multiple wavelengths (top). Experimental results with three wavelengths show that 18 pixelated images can be written in the same disc area.
    The battle in data density for optical storage has seen a leap through multiple dimensions.
    July 1, 2009
    A study from the Energy and Resources Group and the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley,...
    July 1, 2009
    Th Photo Po 01
    For the latest in new products, see Photonics Products Online on our home page and at www.laserfocusworld.com/exclusives/highlights.html
    July 1, 2009
    An autocorrelation trace with a sech2 fitting results in a full-width-at-half-maximum pulse width of 233 fs for a modelocked pulse at a 1048.3 nm wavelength; the pulse was produced by a Yb:YAG ceramic laser.
    Doped ceramic is the gain material of the future for many forms of diode-pumped solid-state lasers: if fabricated correctly, a ceramic gain material can have the transparency ...
    July 1, 2009
    The European Space Agency has demonstrated that design detail and beam correction can enable high-power laser diodes to deliver efficient illumination with superior brightness...
    July 1, 2009
    (Courtesy of Hitachi)
    A common-path phase-shifting interferometer (top) is based on PCPs, which result in a compact, rigid, and stable instrument (bottom).
    Because its probe and reference beams follow the same path, a common-path interferometer can measure changes in optical phase while being mostly unaffected by ambient variations...
    July 1, 2009
    Th Manu 01
    G-S PLASTIC OPTICS specializes in the custom manufacture of precision polymer optics for use in imaging, scanning, detection, and illumination applications worldwide.
    July 1, 2009
    Did you know that 2009 is modern astronomy’s quadricentennial?
    July 1, 2009
    Despite the early successes of captchas, many academic researchers are itching to crack the technologies they use.
    July 1, 2009
    Th Letters 01
    I read with great interest Jeff Bairstow’s commentary regarding the iPhone.
    July 1, 2009
    Th New P 01
    The SpiceLED series contains devices able to withstand operating temperatures of up to 110°C.
    July 1, 2009