Smart Fabrics 2012 | Laser Focus World

More in Home

New Suite of Femtosecond Lasers Lowers Costs and Complexity of Microscopy

New Suite of Femtosecond Lasers Lowers Costs and Complexity of Microscopy

Large-field cryogenic objective mirror has nearly diffraction-limited performance

Metasurface optic for Gaussian beams accepts a nonplanar input beam

Nanoparticle-embedded stretchy optical fibers monitor body temperature

Frequency-comb Sources: One microresonator-based soliton comb replaces multiple WDM lasers

A fast, low-cost, highly sensitive diffuse optical imaging system acquires optical transmission images dorsally to provide objective, quantitative analysis for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis and monitoring.

Spectroscopy/Optical Imaging: Fourier-transform analysis helps optical method improve RA detection

Several rotationally symmetric cavities are etched into a silicon wafer for glassblowing of 0.9-mm-diameter (left) and 1.8 mm (right) axicons.

Optical Fabrication: Glassblowing technique creates arrays of axicon lenses

Shown are tuning curves for three quantum dots positioned on the waveguide at the locations shown in the inset, to achieve identical emission (a). High-resolution Fabry-Perot interferometer measurements show all three quantum dots simultaneously from an output coupler with identical emission wavelength (b).

Quantum Sources: Squeezed quantum dots create coherent streams of quantum-ready photons

FIGURE 1. In the scalable setting of a spatial photonic Ising machine, binary spins are encoded in the phase of a laser beam (green) by spatial modulation. Tailoring of the beam’s amplitude fixes spin-spin interaction. To find the ground-state spin configuration, the machine recurrently evolves according to a feedback signal from the camera plane. By design, maximizing the intensity in a target region (blue square) corresponds to a spin state with minimum energy.

Photonics Modeling: Optical Ising machines solve complex engineering, science, and even business problems

FIGURE 1. The tip of a 30,000-core optical fiber bundle is shown next to an Australian 5 cent coin for scale (left) and a zoomed-in image (right) reveals a small region of the fiber bundle facet (dashed red box in left). Each core is roughly 2 µm in diameter and separated from its neighbors by an average of 3.3 µm.

Fiber-optic Components: Fiber-optic bundles provide 3D stereo imaging

FIGURE 1. Broad clinical applications of photobiomodulation therapy aim at reducing pain and inflammation while promoting healing and regeneration.

Phototherapy: Photobiomodulation therapy—easy to do, but difficult to get right

FIGURE 1. Two laser resonators are depicted here: a linear resonator with output coupling at an end mirror, and a unidirectional ring laser.

Laser Design: Understanding and optimizing laser resonator designs: An overview

FIGURE 1. A diagram of rigid-body motions shows the six possible degrees of freedom. For rotationally symmetric parts, the axis of symmetry is assumed to be along the Z axis.

Aspheres: Removing alignment errors from measurements of spherical, aspheric, and freeform optics

FIGURE 1. This 905 nm four-channel surface-mount laser provides >480 W peak power.

Lasers for Lidar: Monolithic multichannel laser moves automotive lidar toward practical use

FIGURE 1. The mode of operation of a DCFC for extraction of fluorescence emission is shown.

Optical Coherence Tomography/Fluorescence Imaging: Fiber assembly enables efficient multimodal endoscopy

The Thorlabs acquisition of Coda Devices will include Coda’s portable Raman spectroscopy products, such as this analyzer that can detect heroin and fentanyl inside clear baggies, protecting the lives of first responders who can avoid direct contact with unknown substances.

Thorlabs ramps Raman spectroscopy expertise through Coda Devices acquisition