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    • Volume 54, Issue 06

    More content from Volume 54, Issue 06

    (Photo credit: Tyson Eakman, with additional interferometric telescopes by Andres Olivares, MRO Interferometer)
    A photograph of the 10-telescope MRO Interferometer facility, with drawings of the telescopes superimposed, is shown.
    Several photonic advances are dramatically improving long-baseline optical/infrared interferometry.
    June 1, 2018
    (Courtesy of Texas A&M University)
    Optogenetics tools developed by researchers including (L-R) Yubin Zhou, Ji Jing, Guolin Ma, Nhung Nguyen, and Lian He of Texas A&M’s Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences & Technology (Houston, TX) build on CRISPR to enable real-time control of gene expression.
    Understanding gene function during cell growth, differentiation, metabolism, and homeostasis calls for tools able to control target gene expression in real time.
    June 1, 2018
    (Courtesy of Espros)
    Time-of-flight imaging adds a crucial depth value to facial recognition, ensuring that an actual 3D face is being identified rather than a flat 2D photo or video.
    Gathering time-of-flight (distance) data can ensure that an actual 3D face of a person is being recognized.
    June 1, 2018
    (Courtesy of MIT)
    As seen in a scanning electron microscope image, a large array of gradually varying H-shaped PbTe “meta-atoms,” which are spaced 2.5 µm apart on a CaF2 substrate in a pattern that repeats every 20 µm, mimics a blazed-grating beam deflector for use in the 5 µm wavelength mid-IR region (a); a close-up of the array shows that the nanostructures have low aspect ratios, making them easier to fabricate (b).
    High-efficiency, low-aspect-ratio all-dielectric nanofeatures lead to precision mid-IR lenses and beam deflectors.
    June 1, 2018
    (Courtesy of NIST)
    Each of these two NIST radiation pressure power meters (RPPMs) consists of a metal housing within which is a mirror connected to a vertical balance. From this angle, the mirrors appear slightly yellow (left) and pink (right).
    Tests with a 50 kW U.S. Army laser confirm that the RPPM works at very high powers without coming close to overheating.
    June 1, 2018
    Pulsed laser light is focused into krypton gas to produce metastable krypton—which is itself useful for sum-frequency generation in the vacuum UV.
    June 1, 2018
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    Ultrafast-laser-written free-space photonic wire bonds connect III-V laser diodes on one chip with silicon photonics on another chip with an insertion loss of 0.4 dB.
    June 1, 2018
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    Photonics are now integrated into existing silicon-chip designs using modern, rather than outdated, CMOS processes.
    June 1, 2018
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    A 5D gimbal positioning system provides engineers and manufacturers a solution for laser processing and additive manufacturing of complex, 3D nonplanar substrates.
    June 1, 2018
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    A molybdenum-oxide-based colloidal nanocrystalline smart window stores energy that can be used to power electronic devices.
    June 1, 2018
    Conard Holton2
    New tools for scientists exploring the universe include advanced telescopes and detectors, deformable mirrors, fiber-optic beam transport, and integrated photonics devices.
    June 1, 2018
    1304qa Chang New
    Metrics can help one evaluate a company and provide ideas on how photonics companies can improve to stay competitive.
    June 1, 2018
    (Image credits: [a] H. Y. Fu et al., Appl. Opt., 47, 15, 2835–2839 (2008); [b] A. Anuskiewicz et al., Opt. Express, 20, 21, 23320–23330 (2012); [c] J. H. Osório et al., Appl. Opt., 53, 17, 3668–3672 (2014); and [d, e] Unicamp)
    Photonic-crystal optical fibers (a), microstructured fibers with a triangular lattice of holes (b), and side-hole photonic-crystal fibers (c) used as pressure sensors are significantly more complex than an embedded-core capillary fiber design (d and e) that can be fabricated using standard drawn-fiber techniques.
    Embedded-core capillary fibers are a less-complex pressure-sensing alternative to microstructured/photonic-crystal fiber designs.
    June 1, 2018