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    • Volume 44, Issue 2

    More content from Volume 44, Issue 2

    (Courtesy of Pascal Del’Haye, Olivier Arcizet)
    FIGURE 1. A row of glass microtoroids, each with a diameter of 75 µm, can be seen as the thin line in this picture of a silicon chip. The microtoroids are fabricated using standard semiconductor lithography techniques.
    It is fitting that the next step forward for optical frequency combs should occur at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, MD) have developed a novel technique for measuring the roughness of surfaces that is casting...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Most white-light light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are fabricated by coating phosphors onto blue LEDs; however, the patent situation related to phosphors is becoming more competitive...
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    A polarized-light microscope played a key role in a major turning point in stem-cell technology: the derivation of embryonic stem cells from reprogrammed monkey skin cells.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Hollow fibers with interior coatings of metals and dielectrics are commonly used for laser power delivery.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    FIGURE 1. Crucial bandwidth-limited components in a high-speed transmitter are the electronic multiplexer, the amplifier that boosts the drive current to the external modulator, and the modulator itself.
    A pair of breakthroughs brought high capacity to today’s fiber-optic systems-single-mode transmission at 1300 nm in the 1980s, and the combination of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers...
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    As noted in last month’s Laser Focus World article “Laser Marketplace 2008, Part I”, the laser market is strongly influenced by global economic trends.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of OptiScan)
    FIGURE 1. The OptiScan confocal endomicroscopy system was used to collect a single optical section of the human descending colon in vivo following intravenous administration of fluorescein sodium (left). The image (500 µm field of view) shows well-defined and ordered crypts projecting onto the surface of the colonic mucosa. A corresponding histology image was collected en face from a biopsy section of tissue 6 µm thick (right).
    Improvements in microlenses, laser sources, and—most important—communication between engineers and clinicians are yielding real-world in vivo imaging tools.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    FIGURE 1. The flow of the laser-writing process for the fabrication of micro-optical components starts with resist coating, laser exposure scan, and finally development. The inset illustrates the cross section of a lens array produced by the laser-writing process.
    At the core of the evolution in micro-optical manufacturing are the lithographic analog micro-optics fabrication techniques that provide robust design structures suitable for ...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of Boeing)
    The aircraft that carries the Advanced Tactical Laser flies near Kirtland Air Force Base before the laser was installed; note the laser turret at bottom.
    This year the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) will finally get off the ground carrying a six-ton chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) weapon module, for tests against ground targets...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of John Hill/Large Binocular Telescope Observatory)
    FIGURE 1. Measurement of large optics, such as this 8 m primary mirror for the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (see http://lbtwww.arcetri.astro.it/) require metrology systems that can function despite vibration, turbulence, and other challenges.
    Meter-scale optical elements present a set of unique challenges, not just in fabrication but also to ensure conformance to specification. Dynamic interferometry offers speed and...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy Daniel Gauthier)
    A sound wave in standard optical fiber may offer a novel approach to optical data storage in telecommunications networks. Counterpropagating pulses-one carrying data-in standard optical fiber interact through stimulated Brillouin scattering to create an acoustic wave in the fiber that carries the data (A & B). The process can be effectively reversed to retrieve the data pulses, as shown.
    As optical networks become more ubiquitous and data-transfer rates increase, there is one component that is ever more conspicuous by its absence—optical memory.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of Joseph Kovac/MIT)
    MIT researchers have developed a system for sorting cells that involves single-cell-size microwells in a silicone layer bonded to a microscope slide. Cells observed to have properties of interest are levitated out of their traps using the pressure of a beam of targeted light from a low-cost laser. A flowing fluid then sweeps the selected cells off to a separate reservoir.
    Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge, MA) are patenting a microscope-compatible device that combines microfluidics and laser optics in a potentially...
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    When John Ellis, president of Optics for Hire (Arlington, MA) read a New York Times story on a U.S. diplomat delivering flashlights to Africans in need, he knew he wanted to help...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    When nanorods containing folic acid are exposed to near-IR laser light, they heat up and induce blebs in the membranes of an adjacent cancer cell. Images left and center show the nanorods (red spots) before and after irradiation, respectively. The resulting opening of the membrane (red) can be seen (right), as well as an elevation in intracellular calcium ions that leads to production of the blebs.
    An interdisciplinary team from Purdue University has shown that a combination of laser technology and nanotechnology that it originally developed for medical imaging also has ...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Hughes Photo, courtesy of AIP Niels Bohr Library)
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    Irnee D’Haenens (right), a physicist who assisted Ted Maiman (left) in making the first laser at Hughes Research Laboratory (Malibu, CA) in 1960, died Dec. 24, 2007; he was 73...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
    Two-photon polymerization is used to create embedded structures within a three-dimensional photonic-crystal lattice structure. A final acid and ozone etching steps removes the polymer and silica colloids, and leaves complex structures (a), straight vertical cylinders (b), vertical “y” splitters (c), and planar cavities (d) within the cystal. Scale bars are 3 µm in length and the colloidal sphere diameters are around 725 nm in diameter.
    Photonic-bandgap materials such as photonic crystals are important for their ability to manipulate photons.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of Cornell University)
    Polysilicon racetrack resonators are coupled to single-crystal silicon waveguides in a unique vertical integration process that is working toward the demonstration of three-dimensional CMOS-compatible optical networks.
    Although many silicon photonic components have been developed toward the goal of on-chip optical networks, progress has largely been based on silicon-on-insulator components in...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    The Web site includes an “Optical illusions Gallery” filled with experiments, and lesson plans, a “Future Scientists” section that contains a wide array of hands-on experiments...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    (Courtesy of Stefan Karsch)
    An optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system based on the ATLAS system at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany produces pulses with energy between 150 and 250 mJ and pulsewidth of approximately 5 fs (inset).
    In a stunning display of the power of a pulse amplification method called optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA), researchers have demonstrated sub-10 fs ultrabroadband...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    MRV Communications and Source Photonics (Chatsworth, CA; a wholly owned subsidiary of MRV, formerly Luminent) announced that a registration statement has been filed with the U...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Bandwidth Semiconductor (Hudson, NH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Spire (Bedford, MA), is now Spire Semiconductor.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    The University of Nevada, Reno’s (UNR; Reno, NV) Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center has opened its newest exhibit entitled “Perceptual Relativity”-an interactive exhibit...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Laser and laser solutions provider Rofin-Sinar Technologies (RSTI; Plymouth, MI, and Hamburg, Germany) signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Nufern (East Granby...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Speed and capacity of communications networks will be very much on the minds of attendees at this month’s OFC/NFOEC conference in San Diego, CA.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    While surfing the Web recently in search of a new television set for my rather small den, I couldn’t help but notice that Radio Shack’s Web site had some 37 LCD televisions for...
    Feb. 1, 2008
    Conard Holton2
    If a machine-vision system can help, then a machine-vision system integrator may be the answer.
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    Q: We are a team of three capable photonics engineers. Is it too late to jump on the solar-energy bandwagon?
    Feb. 1, 2008
    This new column explores somewhat confrontational and controversial technological and business issues in photonics, presenting opinions and commentary from industry experts who...
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is fast becoming the most successful optics technology to date in the field of disease diagnostics.
    Feb. 1, 2008
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    The piA2400 Gigabit Ethernet camera runs at 12 frames/s at a resolution of 2456 × 2048, based on Sony’s ICX625 CCD sensor with a global electronic shutter.
    Feb. 1, 2008
    FIGURE 1. Vehicles equipped with near-infrared night-vision systems powered by LEDs deliver high-resolution images of hazards in the road that drivers could not see with standard headlights.
    Optoelectronics technology is equipping cars with "active" safety features that work as hard as drivers to prevent accidents.
    Jan. 30, 2008