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  • Volume 55, Issue 06
  • Volume 55, Issue 06

    FIGURE 1. LASER World of PHOTONICS takes place at the Messe München fairgrounds, outside of Munich.
    Lasers & Sources

    LASER World of PHOTONICS 2019: Inspiring

    June 7, 2019
    The depth and diversity of photonics technologies and products on display is an exciting reminder of the pivotal role of the world’s leading photonics tradeshow.
    Photo: Messe München
    Besucherstroeme
    Lasers & Sources

    LASER World of PHOTONICS 2019 exhibition to showcase latest in photonics

    June 5, 2019
    Here at Laser Focus World, we reached out to companies to learn ahead of time what photonics products and technologies they will be demonstrating on the exhibit floor.
    Conard 720
    Lasers & Sources

    Business Forum: Optical materials is no small business—An interview with Amy Eskilson

    June 1, 2019
    I have known Amy Eskilson since her days in marketing and business development at Thorlabs in the early 1990s, so I was delighted when she gave me the chance to ask questions ...
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    Home

    Swiss timepieces reach new heights with 3D glass microfabrication

    June 1, 2019
    Using FEMTOPRINT 3D glass microfabrication technology, structural, decorative, and illumination components are setting new standards for Swiss timepieces.
    The TuLIPSS hyperspectral imager schematic is detailed. (Image credit: Rice University)
    Optics

    Optical fiber-based TuLIPSS captures ‘snapshot’ hyperspectral images

    June 1, 2019
    Unlike point-by-point or line-by-line scanning spectrometers, a snapshot spectrometer gathers scene data from its fixed optical fiber input bundle that can be reconfigured at ...

    More content from Volume 55, Issue 06

    For a microcrystalline SiC thin-film thermal emitter in a cavity-coupled setup (a), a platinum heater ring (b) heats the suspended thermal emitter structure while minimizing conductive losses into the surrounding substrate. The suspended region stays hot while the temperature shifts to blue (cold) in the nonsuspended region of the substrate (c). (Image credit: Columbia University)
    Optics

    Thin-film-based optical cavity coupling enhances broadband thermal emission

    June 1, 2019
    A carefully designed optical cavity enhances the broadband thermal emission of the thin-film emitter, chosen for its unique coupling capability.
    FIGURE 1. Two basic connector concepts include a cylindrical connector (a) and a cone connector (b); mechanical reference areas are marked red and the impinging laser radiation is shown in green.
    Fiber Optics

    High-power fiber connectors keep it simple

    June 1, 2019
    New plug-and-play fiber connector provides switchable kilowatt output power.
    FIGURE 1. Shown is the temporal dependence of various laser-induced damage mechanisms for pulsed lasers.
    Lasers & Sources

    Resolving damage ambiguity and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) complications

    June 1, 2019
    The ISO 21254 LIDT specification itself is a broad guideline; further refinement helps to best correlate LIDT specifications to real performance.
    A nonperiodic pinhole-based photon sieve widens the display angle of a lensless digital dynamic holographic display produced by a liquid-crystal-based spatial light modulator (SLM). At top, a dynamic holographic display without the nonperiodic photon sieve has a narrow viewing angle. At bottom, a holographic display with the nonperiodic photon sieve, which diffracts light at a high angle, has a larger viewing angle. The pinhole array in the sieve is made nonperiodic to avoid creating periodic arrays of diffraction artifacts. The researchers note that the holographic objects to be displayed need to appear within the shaded regions to prevent clipping.
    Optics

    Pinhole-based ‘photon sieve’ widens viewing angle of dynamic holographic displays

    June 1, 2019
    Spatial-light-modulator-based holographic displays’ narrow viewing angles are widened by diffraction from pinholes.
    FIGURE 1. Glass marked and engraved for lab-on-chip devices (a) and stainless steel marked with permanent, high-contrast, high-resolution graphics (b) were both accomplished using an Origami ultrashort-pulsed laser. (Courtesy of Optek Systems)
    Lasers & Sources

    Ultrafast lasers hit the spot in medical device manufacturing

    June 1, 2019
    Advances in optical fibers and laser cavity engineering have dramatically improved the beam characteristics and efficiency of ultrafast lasers used for manufacturing medical devices...
    Lasers & Sources

    Nonlinear effects channel high-peak-power laser beams through turbulent air

    June 1, 2019
    For nonlinear high-peak-power beam propagation in which the beam size is smaller than the inner scale size of the turbulence or the transverse coherence length, the beam remains...
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    Test & Measurement

    Menlo fiber-optic timing system advances relativistic geodesy

    June 1, 2019
    An ultrastable erbium-doped fiber laser oscillator delivers femtosecond-accurate timing signals over dispersion-compensated fiber to enable global time-based coordinate reference...
    FIGURE 1. Field of view (FOV) values can be compared for different VR headset displays; some other devices (not shown) include Google Daydream (100° FOV), Oculus Go (101°), HTC Vive Pro (110°), Samsung Odyssey (110°), Dell Visor (110°), and Lenovo Explorer (110°).
    Optics

    Optics replicate human vision in AR/VR display testing

    June 1, 2019
    Methods to measure augmented and virtual reality display quality must simulate the size, position, and field of view of the human eye to test the true visual experience of the...
    A car engine piston off the production line of a large auto manufacturer is shown; the piston has been treated with a femtosecond laser for enhanced engine performance.
    Lasers & Sources

    Femtosecond lasers: From inception to industrial applications

    June 1, 2019
    Chirped-pulse amplification produces very energetic, very short ultrafast laser pulses; its use is benefiting numerous industries.
    FIGURE 1. Shown is an example of diffuse reflection, where the diffuse reflected intensity I is a function of the incident light direction L and the surface normal n; albedo is the fraction of the incident sunlight reflected by the surface.
    Lasers & Sources

    Photometric stereo techniques analyze reflections to improve image contrast

    June 1, 2019
    By combining images obtained with varying directional illumination and analyzing the reflections, photometric stereo is an effective computational imaging technique to enhance...
    FIGURE 1. Sandia National Laboratories’ Ihab El-Kady (right) and Charles Reinke developed software based on group theory to automate design for optical metamaterials.
    Optics & Design

    Free-license software removes trial and error in metamaterial design

    June 1, 2019
    Mirage software aims to reduce an often months-long trial-and-error design process for complex metamaterials to only hours—with a more predictable and functional end-user result...
    The new broadband multilayer dielectric (MLD) grating reaches >98.5% spectrally integrated diffraction efficiency for a bandwidth consistent with 30 fs short pulses; this performance is much better than for gold-coated dielectric ridge (GDCR) gratings. (Image credit: LLNL)
    Fiber Optics

    New gratings for grating compressors have 500X lower absorption

    June 1, 2019
    Researchers have fabricated 1480 lines/mm gratings with an efficiency exceeding 97% over a 56 nm bandwidth and with a center wavelength of 810 nm.
    A fluorescence-based system leverages CRISPR technology to enable quick detection of Ebola virus in small blood samples; the CRISPR reagent is introduced into the detection reservoir of the programmable, automated microfluidic device via lifting-gate micropumps.
    Fiber Optics

    Optical device leverages CRISPR-Cas13a technology for early Ebola detection

    June 1, 2019
    A rapid, point-of-care, fluorescence-based microfluidics screening device aims to decrease Ebola’s spread, and enable infected individuals to get treatment earlier.
    FIGURE 1. Coupling of a light source into an optical fiber can be less efficient, as with an incandescent lamp, or more efficient, as with a bright spot on a Ce:YAG crystal.
    Optics

    Lighting up innovative optical fiber applications

    June 1, 2019
    A new type of light source is needed for the small-diameter fiber-based illumination systems that are enabling leading-edge biomedical applications.
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    Lasers & Sources

    Two big LASER shows and a whole lot more

    June 1, 2019
    Editor in chief John Lewis celebrates recaps LASER World of PHOTONICS China, previews LASER World of PHOTONICS Munich, and introduces Laser Focus World’s June 2019 issue, which...