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    • Volume 37, Issue 10

    More content from Volume 37, Issue 10

    (Photo courtesy of Nagaoka U. of Technology)
    Th 74289
    In edge enhancement, the edges of objects (or, commonly, areas of rapid intensity change) within an image are made to stand out. It is an image-processing technique commonly used...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    FIGURE 1. This intensifier has a photocathode that emits electrons when struck by photons, as well as a multichannel plate that multiplies the electrons and a fluorescent screen that emits photons when struck by electrons.
    Image intensifiers coupled to charge-coupled devices have become the workhorses of scientific imaging.
    Oct. 1, 2001
    FIGURE 1. A passive optical network transmits signals in both directions over a point-to-multipoint fiber network. The FSAN standard allows up to 32 subscriber terminals at distances to 20 km from the optical line terminal.
    Passive optical networks (PONs) have attracted attention for their potential to drive down the cost of distributing signals via optical fibers. They divide the signal from a single...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Schott Lithotec opens calcium fluoride crystal production plant; Davin Optronics buys Coherent optronics business; Vertex sold to Union Miniere...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Th 74305
    In a dense wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) system the desire to tighten the channel spacing continues because it is one approach to increase bandwidth. High-capacity performance...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    SEMI to give keynote address at Marketplace Seminar; Liquid medium acts as optical diode; Photochromic polymer modulates phase; Bottom illumination doubles efficiency of RCE photodetect...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    In five out of seven humans tested in a recent experiment, scientists at the University of Illinois demonstrated the correlation between hemodynamic signals obtained with frequency-domain near-IR spectroscopy and functional MRI. The arrow in the image indicates the location of the optical center. The yellow color corresponds to the highest area of correlation.
    Researchers at the University of Illinois (UI; Champaign, IL) are exploring the use of frequency-domain near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) as a noninvasive diagnostic tool to study...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Papyron to enter the flexible display market; Leica and Matsushita collaborate on digital cameras; eMagin's colors deepen...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    FIGURE 1. In a chaotic-shift keying scheme, the output of a tunable distributed Bragg reflector laser is fed back via a nonlinear spectral filter and time delay, causing a chaotic shift in wavelength. The chaos is modulated by the input signal, which varies the delay between time intervals T0 (511.5 µs) and T1 (543.2 µs). This modulation is then picked up by a receiver matched to T0, and the error signal (where the signal and receiver are unsynchronized) shows the location of the nonmatching bits (ones).
    Researchers have been making progress toward practical optical encryption systems that exploit laser dynamics. In two recent papers, researchers in France and Japan have shown...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Thermo Electron proceeds to take Spectra-Physics private; Tunable laser revenues forecasted to surpass $1 billion; QC Optics agrees to merge with KLA-Tencor...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    (Photo courtesy of S. Kawata/Nature)
    Th 75001
    Osaka University (Osaka, Japan) researchers recently sculpted a bull roughly the size of a single red blood cell (10 µm long by 7 µm high) using two infrared laser beams and a...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    (Photo courtesy of NEC Research Institute)
    An X-cube containing four cemented rooftop prisms is at the heart of a 4 x 4 optical star-coupler module.
    Rather than relying on separate mounts to keep everything aligned, space-filling solid optics are bonded together to form a single, mechanically stable component. This sort of...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    FIGURE 1. Ability to control substrate rotation on two axes while evaporating biaxial materials has enabled production of proof-of-concept thin films exhibiting birefringence as well as sensitivity to angles of circular polarization.
    Based on their previous work in birefringent thin-film technology, researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand have demonstrated circularly polarized sources, filters...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    FIGURE 1. The Lexus adaptive cruise control scans the roadway in a beam 4.4° high by 16° wide (top). The system maintains speed when no vehicles are within a prescribed range (bottom left), but if laser scanning detects a slower vehicle ahead, the system decelerates to attain the set vehicle distance (bottom right).
    In the automobile industry, optoelectronics is leading the way in the quest for safety and convenience. At auto shows this year in Detroit, MI, and Chicago, IL, car makers showcased...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Th 74247
    Microstepper by International Light, Newburyport, MA; Fiberoptic panels by Lumitex, Strongsville, OH; Cutting laser by PRC Laser, Landing, NJ; Multivideo display processor by ...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    (Photo courtesy of Agilent Technologies)
    The gigahertz transverse electromagnetic cell provides a controlled environment for testing electromagnetic interference emissions of small form-factor pluggable optical transceivers in both ideal and simulated real-world environments.
    In an era when optical communications system designers are being pressured to move toward lower cost, higher capacity, and scalability, increasing the number of signals that can...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    TSUKUBA—The AIST Laboratory for Advanced Optical Technology and six collaborating companies—Sharp, TDK, Minolta, Pioneer, Pulsetek, and JVC—have jointly discovered...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    (Photo courtesy of Lucent Technologies Bell Labs)
    FIGURE 1. Deborah Sivco (left) of Applied Optoelectronics Inc. and Claire Gmachl of Bell Labs cooperated as primary researchers to develop heterogeneous quantum cascade lasers with two-wavelength operation.
    Quantum cascade (QC) lasers have recently gained ground in the commercial world with the licensing of the technology by Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (AOI; Sugar Land, TX) from...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    TOKYO—Researchers at the Communications Research Laboratory, along with Prof. Kenichi Kitayama of Osaka University (Osaka), have succeeded in terabit-capacity multiplexing...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    As this is written, it is only a few days after the tragic events of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Together with the rest of our colleagues in the optoelectronics community, the...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Th 74349
    OSAKA—A group at the Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering has developed a multiple-photon fluorescent microscope that can be used to observe live cells in real...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Chinese optical-transport market headed for $2 billion; ITT Industries and 3M pursue fiber-to-the-desk connectivity; ONI Systems announces multimillion-dollar contract with Equant...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    It's a time-honored tradition in the journalistic world: the one-on-one interview, preferably face-to-face, but failing that, by telephone. Unfortunately, modern technology makes...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    1304qa Chang New
    I have a new business idea that's somewhat related to my job. How do I find out from potential customers what the market potential is, without getting into trouble with my company...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    A listing of industry events covering November 2001 to February 2002.
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Th 74310
    While human eyes, hands, and brains make up quite a sophisticated neurological network that enables us to inspect and sort objects, we fall short in two areas: we are relatively...
    Oct. 1, 2001
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    Throughout the recent decline of nearly all markets in the high-tech sector, the optical communications market appeared to be hit particularly hard because a dramatic slowdown...
    Oct. 1, 2001
    Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, named by President George W. Bush to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has testified before congress in support of the laser defense program.
    President George W. Bush added a vocal supporter of advanced laser weapons to his inner circle in August when he named Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers to be the chairman of the...
    Oct. 1, 2001