Printed solar cells: FUJIFILM Dimatix (Santa Clara, CA), supplier of drop-on-demand inkjet printheads for industrial applications, announced that its cartridge-based Dimatix Materials Printer (DMP) has been used in the world’s first known demonstration of inkjet technology for manufacturing photovoltaic solar cells. “Demonstrating the use of inkjet printing technology as a fabrication tool for highly efficient solar cells and sensors with small area requirements is a major milestone,” said Rick Hess, president and CEO of Konarka Technologies (Lowell, MA), which innovated the development and commercialization of Power Plastic, a material that converts light to energy. “This essential breakthrough in the field of printed solar cells positions Konarka as an emerging leader in printed photovoltaics.”
Crystal funding: Crystal Systems, Inc. (CSI; Salem, MA) announced funding in the amount of $250,000 for its Extreme Intensity Ti:Sa Amplifier Crystals. The funding is provided by the French Institute De La Lumiere Extreme (ILE) project. The funding will be used to scaleup the heat exchange method process of crystal growth from its current size of 6 in. diameter to 8 in. diameter. Kurt Schmid, COO of CSI said, “This project aligns perfectly with our strategic goal of being the number one producers of large size and high quality Ti:sapphire crystals.We have designed upgrades to our furnace that will allow us to control the crystal growth variables tighter than we ever thought possible. These upgrades along with our crystal growth IP will allow us to produce 200 mm diameter crystals.”
Telecom acquisition: Xtera Communications (Dallas, TX and London, England) acquired Meriton Networks (Ottawa, ON, Canada). By adding Meriton’s metro optical networking portfolio, Xtera now offers network operators a new solution partner for end-to-end, next-generation optical networking solutions. Xtera is a privately-held company that supplies optical, Internet protocol performance and service solutions to terrestrial and sub-sea global service providers with development, sales and support offices around the world and has been strategically extending both its product portfolio and global reach to complement its existing core business with a number of previously announced acquisitions.
OLED display acquisition: Rohm and Haas Company (Philadelphia, PA) acquired Gracel Display (Seoul, South Korea), a developer and manufacturer of organic lightemitting diode (OLED materials. The transaction, worth approximately $40 million, gives Rohm and Haas controlling interest in Gracel and broadens Rohm and Haas’s growing Display Technologies business. Rohm and Haas manufactures TFT (thin film transistor) photoresists and related materials as part of its Display Chemicals group, and added Optical Display Films when it acquired Eastman Kodak’s Light Management Films business in June 2007. Rohm and Haas launched SKC Haas Display Films in December 2007, a new joint venture that develops and manufactures advanced films and filters for LCD and plasma displays.
Well-lit pancakes: Cree (Durham, NC), provider of LED solid-state lighting, announced that the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) franchise in Northern Virginia, owned and operated by Wilhelm Restaurant Group, has adopted Cree LED lighting products as the preferred lighting for all existing and future restaurants. Paul Belle, VP Wilhelm Restaurant Group, wanted to move away from conventional, incandescent lighting toward a more sustainable, energyefficient light. He was considering compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) but changed his mind after seeing Cree’s LED products. According to Belle, the IHOP employees prefer the LED lighting as it is very bright, easy on their eyes, and enhances the general appearance of the food.
15,000 spectrophotometers: Thermo Fisher Scientific (Wilmington, DE) announced that Drexel University is the 15,000th purchaser of the Thermo Scientific NanoDrop 1000 UV/VIS spectrophotometer. The instrument will be used in a microbial source tracking project at Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA). This instrument enables scientists to quantify biomolecules with the minimal consumption of sample (1 ÌL). As assays are continually being developed using smaller amounts of material, this instrument has provided the means of performing quality control steps that researchers would previously forgo due to the volumes required by traditional cuvette-based systems.
Vibration catalog: Technical Manufacturing Corporation’s (TMC; Peabody, MA) 2008 General Catalog is now available and presents its vibration isolation systems including its most recent offerings in PZT technology. Featured is the STACIS 2100 active piezoelectric vibration cancellation system for sensitive instruments in noisy environments. Among the new introductions are Electro-Damp PZT, a low-cost, compact, piezoelectric active isolator designed to be mounted inside precision semiconductor tools and TableTop PZT and FloorPlatform PZT, versions of Electro-Damp PZT configured for bench-top and floor-mounted instruments. To request a catalog, please visit www.techmfg.com/company/catalog_request.html.
Motion-control brochure: Motioncontrol and positioning company Aerotech (Pittsburgh, PA) is offering its completely updated and redesigned brochure titled Automation Solutions for Laser Processing, Medical Device Manufacturing, and Life Sciences. The brochure features its latest advanced systems and components used in laser processing and medical applications, including the LaserTurn 1, 2, and 5, as well as systems for laser cutting, welding, ablation, and marking. It also includes an expanded line of motion systems and components specifically designed for the medical industry, including those for stent, guidewire, catheter, cannulae, hypotube, and endoscope manufacturing, hermetic seam welding, contact lens manufacturing, DNA and proteomics research, and much more.
People in the news: Henri Rajbenbach, European Commission (EC) scientific project manager, was presented the 2008 SPIE (Bellingham, WA) Europe Recognition Award in honor of his service and dedication to the European photonics community, including his advocacy for creating a pan-European platform for photonics research.
SPIE’s highest award, the Gold Medal of the Society, was presented to M. J. Soileau, VP of the University of Central Florida (UCF; Orlando, FL) Office of Research and Commercialization and founding director of CREOL--The College of Optics and Photonics at UCF.
Edmund Optics (EO; Barrington, NJ) appointed Maria Light director of sales for North, Central, and South America .
Fiber laser and amplifier manufacturer IPG Photonics Corporation (Oxford, MA) strengthened its capabilities in the areas of merchant diode sales, sales to the government, and low- and mid-power fiber laser sales with the appointments of Jim Stathis as director of diode sales, Mike O’Connor as director of government and special applications, and Milton Vardakis as business development manager for materials processing.
Arasor (Mountain View, CA), developer and marketer of telecommunications and consumer optoelectronic solutions, announced that the general manager of its consumer optics division William Mackenzie will become CEO on 1 June 2008, enabling Arasor’s founder, current CEO, and executive chairman Simon Cao to focus on global strategic initiatives.
PLC acquisitions continue: Enablence Technologies (Ottawa, ON, Canada), a supplier of planar lightwave circuit (PLC)-based components for the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), metro, and long haul telecommunication markets, signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Wave7 Optics (Alpharetta, GA) for $10.5 million and 2,078,385 common shares of Enablence.Wave7 Optics is a provider of FTTH systems. “This is an exciting acquisition for Enablence as Wave7 Optics is a recognized global leader in the FTTH systems market with a customer base of over a hundred FTTH service providers,” said Arvind Chhatbar, Enablence CEO.
OSA awards: The Optical Society of America (OSA;Washington, DC) announced many of its 2008 awards recipients including Peter Knight, Frederic Ives Medal/Ja rus W. Quinn Endowment; Eric Mazur, Esther Hoffman Beller Medal; Peter W. Milonni, Max Born Award; Bahaa Saleh, Distinguished Service Award; Ursula Keller, Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize; Kam Yin Lau, Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award; Adolf W. Lohmann, Emmett N. Leith Medal; Richard P.Van Duyne, Ellis R. Lippincott Award; L. Cary Gunn, Adolph Lomb Medal; Michael S. Feld, William F. Meggers Award; Barry L. Shoop, OSA Leadership Award-New Focus/Bookham Prize; Kanti Jain, David Richardson Medal; B rian A.Wandell, Edgar D. Tillyer Award; Robert R. Alfano, Charles Hard Townes Award; Robert W. Tkach, John Tyndall Award; Jonathan P. Heritage and Andrew M. Weiner, R.W.Wood Prize.