Technical Digests

	The laser -- its past, present, and future Invented a half-century ago, the laser was first thought of as "a solution without a problem." However, the effectiveness of coherent light as a tool for sensing, materials processing, communication, science, and other uses was quickly realized. Over the years, lasers have become more efficient, powerful, and rugged, and have expanded their wavelength capabilities across the spectrum from the x-ray to the far-IR regions. In particular, lasers have become commercially widespread, filling niches that no one could have imagined fifty years ago. This e-digest highlights today's laser technology as well as what is to come.
	OCT: noninvasive imaging for many purposes Optical coherence tomography (OCT) takes advantage of the properties of coherent light to create 2D or 3D noninvasive images of turbid or otherwise semitransparent media. With resolution down to a micron and penetration depths of up to a few millimeters, this technique is widely used in the medical field, and is also finding use in industrial applications such as process control. This e-digest highlights a few of these applications as well as the technology behind OCT. Sponsored by Cambridge Technology
	Technical Digest - The Premier Choice for Low-Light Detection Overview: This unique collection of editorial articles were compiled together to provide you with a comprehensive perspective on PMTs. For decades, the PMT has been the premier choice for low-light detection. Engineers and researchers continue to develop PMT technology, both to improve the device’s characteristics and to tailor its usefulness to the ever-increasing number of photonics applications being developed. New photocathode materials, new dynode designs, and the advent of hybrid PMT/avalanche-diode structures are just some of the innovations that are expanding the PMT’s wavelength range, enabling multichannel outputs, and shortening response times.
	Technical Digest: Important advances in optics and photonics The optics and photonics industry is feeling the global economic recession, like almost every other industry in the world. But technical advances in ultrafast lasers and optical filtering offer such extraordinary advances for applications in manufacturing and all types of research requiring visual inspection, it’s easy to be optimistic about the future. Read this editorial digest to get in-depth information from the experts in the industry on the state of the optoelectronics market, advancements in semiconductor processing and improvements in optical filters and what that offers.