Photovoltaics investment: Startup AdvanceSis (Coventry, England) announced a multimillion dollar follow-on investment from its main shareholder, Seven Spires Investments, to develop applications in the photovoltaics (PV) sector. This new investment will fund the Company’s three-year business plan for expansion of its technology and business development resources in the U.K. and mainland Europe. AdvanceSis plans to address the major challenge in the PV sector: the high cost of power generation using today’s silicon technology. By combining its recent developments with advanced semiconductors, power electronics, and optical system capabilities, AdvanceSis believes it can make a substantial impact in bringing the cost of PV electricity to grid parity.
Optics Affiliates Showcase: The University of Arizona’s (Tucson, AZ) College of Optical Sciences announces its first annual Industrial Affiliate’s Showcase in Tucson on March 3, 2008. Approximately 50 Industrial Affiliate member companies will be offered the opportunity to set up a 10 x 10 foot exhibit in the primary meeting hall in order to showcase new technology, services, and opportunities directly with the College’s emerging optical engineering graduates and elite faculty. This is an exclusive showcase event and kicks off the Industrial Affiliate’s annual two-day workshop. To learn more about becoming a U of A Industrial Affiliate or participating in this event, go to www.optics.arizona.edu/Affiliates/ or contact Allison Huff Mac Pherson at [email protected].
Optical portfolio expansion: SCHOTT North America (San Jose, CA) expanded its line of advanced optics to include infrared (IR) materials. SCHOTT’s new IR material product line includes both zinc sulfide (ZnS) and IR chalcogenide glasses. “Increasingly, our customers are developing optic devices that use both visible light and IR optics,” said Johannes Hain, Executive VP of the Business Unit Advanced Materials of SCHOTT. “By adding IR material to our product portfolio, we will now be able to provide these customers with both the material and expertise they need to develop highly specialized optic systems with both visible light and IR capabilities.”
Polymer technology funded: Braggone (Oulu, Finland), an optoelectronics materials company, received multi-million dollar funding from TEKES (The National Technology Agency of Finland) to commercialize its polymer materials. Braggone’s proprietary material technology allows for custom tuning of the inorganic-organic polymer material properties to suit specific applications. These flexible yet stable materials coat or print onto substrates at greater efficiency, lower temperatures, and higher yields. Braggone’s current materials are applied in digital displays and cameras, advanced semiconductors, photovoltaic panels, LEDs, and memory for PCs and MP3 devices. The TEKES funding is specifically targeted for taking the materials production and sales from the lab to commercial scales. These materials are part of an intellectual property portfolio of 17 filed patents, four of which have already been granted.
LED awards go to OPTEK: TT electronics OPTEK Technology (Carrollton, TX), manufacturer of LED components and arrays, received two Innova Awards from LED Journal. OPTEK received first place in the categories of Best Technology and Industry Leadership for its 1 W LED package and visible LED lab, respectively. “OPTEK strives to contribute to the enhancement of technology in the LED lighting industry, and we developed our visible LED laboratory and the 1-watt LED package in an effort to do just that,” said Alan Bennett, VP of sales and marketing for OPTEK Technology. OPTEK’s visible LED lab houses the equipment necessary to provide the complete solution, from design evaluation through end product.
Imaging award for Photron: Photron Limited of Tokyo, Japan, and its subsidiaries Photron USA and Photron Europe, high-speed imaging system and image-analysis software manufacturer, was honored by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers. Photron’s APX-RS high-speed imager won the product excellence award by enabling technology in the study of particle image velocimetry, an optical method used to measure velocities and related properties in fluids. The Society noted that Photron’s APX-RS high-speed camera improved performance, offered superior results, and advanced their understanding of an unsteady phenomenon in a turbulent, high-speed fluid, in the course of the research conducted at Kyushu University. The engineering award was based on technical invention and scientific discovery.
Precision optics scholarship: The Optical Society of America (OSA) Foundation is pleased to honor the work of Harvey Pollicove by supporting the Harvey M. Pollicove Memorial Scholarship, awarded to a student who is pursuing a degree in the field of precision optics manufacturing. The first scholarship will be given this fall. Pollicove began his career in 1964 as a lens grinder at Eastman Kodak Company. He remained in manufacturing, eventually leading the team that created the first high-volume manufacturing processes for both plastic and glass molded aspheric optics. He went on to become co-founder and director of the Center for Optics Manufacturing (COM) at the University of Rochester. To learn more about the Pollicove Scholarship Program and application requirements, or to contribute toward its endowment, please contact [email protected].
Laser portfolio expansion: Aculight Corporation (Bothell, WA) expanded its Perseus family of eye-safe, high-power, pulsed fiber lasers to include the most compact, efficient, low-cost model to date—Perseus-TS. Perseus-TS provides users with the same high-performance output as other Perseus lasers, but has been optimized for integration into laser detection and ranging (LADAR) systems. Robert Afzal, Aculight VP of research and development said, “Perseus-TS was designed from the ground up as an integral solution for LADAR and other OEM systems, rather than operating as a stand-alone unit. The result is a lower-profile, more efficient, and lower-cost laser suitable for high-volume deployment.”
New catalogs: The Hellma (Plainview, NY) BESTCELLERS 2008 Catalog contains the latest information on its spectroscopy cells, immersion probes, secondary standards, microplates, and other accessories. Other catalogs available include Hellma Laser Optics, Cathodeon Light sources, and Zeiss Miniature Monolithic Spectrometers.
Agilent Technologies’ online interactive test & measurement catalog is now available, allowing email sending with links to specific catalog pages, bookmarking pages for future reference, and saving the catalog to your desktop or CD for off-line viewing; see it at nxtbook.tm.agilent.com/nxtbooks/agilent-emg/tmcatalog0809/.
New distribution channels: DILAS (Mainz, Germany) will begin distributing m2K (Freiburg, Germany) single-emitter diode lasers. Founded in 2001 and acquired by ROFIN-SINAR in 2007, m2K develops and manufactures semiconductor lasers based on III-V compounds.
Distribution and sales agency Market Tech (Scotts Valley, CA) will be representing the German laser specialist Omicron in North America.
Laser manufacturer Intense (Glasgow, Scotland) signed a distribution agreement with A&P
Instruments (China) to have A&P distribute Intense’s entire line of high-power laser diodes to customers in China.
Aspectrics (Pleasanton, CA) concluded an exclusive agreement with Qwest Scientific Group, the California-based distributor of chromatographs and spectrometers, for Qwest to distribute Aspectrics’ biodiesel analyzers across the western U.S. and expand its sales team with seven Qwest representatives.
People in the news: Uni-Pixel (The Woodlands, TX), developer of flat-panel color display technology called time multiplexed optical shutter (TMOS), announced that Robert Petcavich has joined the Company as VP in charge of the development and production of its Opcuity Active Layer films.
Michael Cyros, president of Allied Vision Technologies (Newburyport, MA) was elected 2008 President of the Automated Imaging Association (AIA; Ann Arbor, MI).
Northrop Grumman (Apopka, FL) appointed Gordon R. Stewart as VP of Laser Systems with responsibility for the company’s Apopka site operations. Stewart will be located in Apopka and have executive responsibility for all laser systems programs within the company’s new Rolling Meadows, IL-based Land Forces Division.
PRIMA North America (Champlin, MN), manufacturer of industrial laser systems, appointed Peter G. Thompson to the position of technical director for Laserdyne Systems. Thompson’s duties will include technical support for Laserdyne customers worldwide with emphasis on Europe and Asia.
Nemoptic (Magny les Hameaux, France), an e-paper display company, appointed Philippe Méchanick as CFO to increase the competitive cost advantage of Nemoptic’s e-paper displays and optimize the international financial management of its production and sales.
Optics and systems manufacturer LightPath (Orlando, FL) appointed Jim Gaynor as president & CEO and as a director of the Board.