New Products

Solid-state laser

The SLM-series of lasers feature single-­frequency radiation from a seeded, ­actively Q-switched Nd:YVO4 ­oscillator with a pulse repetition rate of 10 kHz. Other features include pulse duration of 12 ns with the spectral line width limited to 50 MHz, M2 of less than 1.2, E less than 0.5 mJ, and Fourier-­limited bandwidth. The laser can be used as a pump source for non­linear processes including parametric light generation.
GWU Lasertechnik Vertriebsges, Erftstadt, Germany
www.gwu-group.de/laser

Aspheric cylinder lenses

Molded cylinder lenses with aspheric profiles in a wide variety of glasses are now available with local ­radius of curvature from 1.5 mm and upward and lens dimensions of up to 30 mm2. Applications include slow-axis collimation for diode ­lasers and barcode scanners.
Kaleido Technology, Farum, Denmark
www.kaleido-technology.com

Beam expander

The Zoom Beam Expander has been designed specifically for varying the beam diameter of CO2 ­lasers. The zinc selenide optical elements have multiplayer antireflection coatings with maximum ­sufficiency of 10.6 µm. Magnification is variable from 2× to 8× by ­rotating the input end adjustment knurl (expanding knurl). Beam collimation is controlled using the output end knurl (focus knurl). Both knurls can be locked to prevent drift.
Wavelength Technology, Singapore
www.wavelength-tech.com

Composite laser structures

Composite structures for ­solid-state ­laser amplifiers and oscillators are based on a proprietary epoxy-free bonding technology, Chemically Activated Direct Bonding (CADB). CADB results in optical paths that are 100% optically transparent with negligible scattering and absorptive losses at the interfaces. The structures can be fabricated into geometries such as rod end caps, slabs, and discs, and form factors from 1 to 100 mm.
Precision Photonics, Boulder, CO
www.precisionphotonics.com

Spectral radiometer

The RAD9000 spectral radiometer handles mid-wave and long-wave infrared. It consists of an electro-optics module with interchangeable ­detector radiometry modules. A radiometric reference module and a reference-control module are available. It has absolute radiometric accuracy better than 5%, spectral resolution of less than 2%, and thermal sensitivity better than 40 mK.
Santa Barbara Infrared, Santa Barbara, CA
www.sbir.com

Halogen source

The DCR IV halogen light source integrates a 150-W halogen source, an RS232 control interface, and an Equalizer light-feedback module. It has a current-limiting DC-regulated power source, interchangeable lamp units, soft-start lamp-saver circuitry, solid-state dimmer control, a stackable design, and front-panel equalizer controls.
Schott North America, Auburn, NY
www.us.schott.com

Fluorescence filters

Brightline Zero fluorescence filter sets have “zero-pixel-shift” set-to-set image registration for making multicolor composite images. They are designed for applications such as collocalizaton fluorescence measurements, fluorescence-resonant-energy transfer, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and comparative genomic hybridization. They are made with dense hard-coating technology and have no adhesives in the optical path.
Semrock, Rochester, NY
www.semrock.com

Digital line-scan cameras

The Linear Digital Video Linescan Cameras work with any of the company’s standard linear arrays, from 800 to 1700 nm, and the extended wavelength arrays from 1100 to 2200 nm. They are available with a 25- or 50-µm pitch in several array geometries with pixel counts of 256, 512, or 1024.
Sensors Unlimited, Princeton, NJ
www.sensorsinc.com

LED-driver ICs

The HV9921/22 family of 3-pin, switch-mode LED-driver ICs has a ­MOSFET or power switch integrated to the chip. Regulated LED current is internally fixed at 20 mA for the 9921 and 50 mA for the 9922. The ICs have an operating range of 20 to 450 VDC, allowing for universal AC input operation of 85- to 265-V AC.
Supertex, Sunnyvale, CA
www.supertex.com

Laser engraver

The 10-W VersaLaser is a ­computer-controlled CO2 laser engraving and cutting system that operates like a printer from Windows-based programs. It has a 16 × 12-in. engraving table. It can cut and engrave wood, paper, fabric, rubber, and plastics, and etch on glass, ceramic, and metal.
Universal Laser Systems, Scottsdale, AZ
www.versalaser.com

Color camera

The CV-M7+ is a digital, 2/3-in., color, megapixel, progressive-scan, CCD machine-vision camera. It includes a Sony ICX285AQ imager, and has 1392 × 1040 resolution, 6.45-µm-square pixels, and extended IR sensitivity. It uses sample-and-hold and correlated double sampling to achieve double-speed readout. It has 10-bit A/D output, and is also available in LVDS with 8-bit video output.
Jai PulNiX, Sunnyvale, CA
www.jaipulnix.com

Step-down controller

The LT3900 current-mode, high-voltage step-down controller operates without an auxiliary DC/DC regulator for startup. An integrated regulator provides IC power directly from an input supply of 4 to 60 V. The device regulates output voltages from 1.23 to 36 V at load currents up to 10 A.
Linear Technology, Milpitas, CA
www.linear.com

Laser goggles

Built to fit over prescription eyewear and offer a wide field of view, FlexSeal goggles provide protection against Nd:YAG/CO­2 and Nd:YAG lasers. The body of the ­goggles is made from soft silicone, and an adjustable headband allows for comfort and secure fit. The eyewear meets European Standard EN207.
Pro-Lite Technology, Milton Keynes, England
www.pro-lite.uk.com

Fizeau interferometer

The FizCam 1500 is a dynamic Fizeau interferometer system. It uses a single camera and high-speed optical phase sensor, making it insensitive to vibration and air turbulence. The system enables full wavefront measurements in as little as 30 millionths of a second. It has magnification imaging of 16× optical/digital zoom, wavelengths from 638 nm to 1.06 mm and aperture options from 100 to 600 mm.
4D Technology, Tucson, AZ
www.4dtechnology.com

Oscilloscopes

The DSO3000 Series includes four portable, digital-storage oscilloscopes (DSO) with bandwidths of 60, 100, 150 and 200 MHz. They have two channels, a 5.7-in. color display, 1 Gsa/s maximum sample rate, and 4k of memory per channel. The series is suited for communications, computing, government, aerospace and defense, as well as consumer applications.
Agilent Technologies, Palo Alto, CA
www.agilent.com

PCI digitizer

The ATS460 family of 14 bit PCI waveform digitizers can sample two simul­taneous analog inputs at rates of up to 125 mega samples/s on each channel. It has 8 megasamples of on-board memory and can synchronize up to 8 digitizers to create a 16 channel 125 MS/s simultaneous sampling system. HyperDisP-powered API ­Panel software is included.
AlazarTech, Montreal, Canada
www.alazartech.com

Frame grabber

The new EYE/ASYNC PCI Express frame-grabber board has four simultaneous asynchronous input channels and a high-speed PCI Express bus interface. The Quadro mode feature allows simultaneous digitization of up to four camera signals with images stored in memory as four separate monochrome images in 8-bit-per-pixel format.
American Eltec, Las Vegas, NV
www.americaneltec.com

Motor controller

A microcontroller-based motor controller supplies up to 180 A per channel at 12 to 40 V. Multiple command input modes allow radio-control receivers or analog devices such as industrial or gaming joysticks. Computers and micro­controllers interface via the serial port. The controller measures 7 × 5.5 × 1.5 in. and weighs 3.4 lb.
AmpFlow, Belmont, CA
www.ampflow.com

Handheld thermal/visible-imaging camera

The new M4 camera is a handheld instrument similar in size and shape to a mobile telephone, and weighs less than 300 g. Designed to ­identify thermal properties, it includes a ­thermal-imaging camera, a visible-imaging camera, a laser locator, and ­thermal and visible channel displays. It has 8 Gbit of on-board image-data ­storage and up to 300 s of voice annotation per image pair.
Armstrong Optical, Northants, England
www.armstrongoptical.co.uk

Miniature laser-diode sockets

The 3M Textool miniature laser-diode discrete socket series is a test and burn-in socket for laser-diode ­devices. The sockets are compact for maximum based density and accommodate most TO package formats with pin-circle options of 0.79 or 0.1 in.
BFi OPTiLAS, Milton Keynes, England
www.bfioptilas.com

Microchannel-plate-selection guide

A long-life microchannel-plate-selection guide includes MCP products ranging from 4- to 150-mm ­diameter, available in pore sizes from 2 to 25 µm. Patent-pending mounting-pad microchannel plate technology nearly eliminates warping and cracking. The guide is available free of charge via the company Web site.
Burle Electro-Optics, Sturbridge, MA
www.burle.com

InGaAs spectrometer

The BTC251E-SU is a TE-cooled ­linear InGaAs spectrometer. It uses a 512-­element thermoelectric-cooled (TEC) and temperature-­regulated linear ­InGaAs array, optimized high-throughput spectrograph, fiber-­coupled light input, built-in 16-bit digitizer, and USB and RS 232 interfaces. Standard and high-resolution versions are available.
B&W Tek, Newark, DE
www.bwtek.com

Vision sensor

The In-Sight 5403 vision sensor captures full-frame, 1600 × 1200-pixel images at up to 15 frames per second for detailed inspection of fast-moving objects. The 2-megapixel sensor provides accuracy for gauging, alignment, and inspection of fine defects on very small parts.
Cognex, Natick, MA
www.cognex.com

Ring light

A ring light is designed for machine vision and microscopy. It uses 45 ­super-bright LEDs for uniform light in 40-, 60-, and 72-mm sizes. A matrix circuit design maximizes reliability by isolating failures to individual LEDs. The light also can be used as a ­diffuse-area front light.
Control Dynamics Systems, Ahmedabad, India
e-mail: qutbi_digital@eth.net

Metal matrix composite

Aluminum silicon carbide (AlSiC) is a metal matrix composite suited for optoelectronic housings and lids. A tailored coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) allows compatibility with various electronic devices and assemblies. Unlike traditional housing materials, the isotropic CTE value of AlSiC can be adjusted for specific applications by modifying the Al-metal/SiC-particulate ratio.
CPS, Chartley, MA
www.alsic.com

Borescopes

The “Slim” and “Hardy” models of the Hawkeye Borescopes have been upgraded. New features include a patented endoGRINS lens system that lowers chromatic dispersion, a new objective lens with a wider field of view, an improved mirror adaptor for seeing around corners, improved scratch resistant mirror technology in the 90° mirror adaptor, and improved multilayered, broadband antireflection coatings on the objective lenses for truer color reproduction.
Gradient Lens, Rochester, NY
www.gradientlens.com

Si photodiode

The S9702 silicon (Si) photodiode is designed with a three-­channel (RGB) photodiode in a compact ­surface-mount package. Its ­spectral response range is close to that of the human eye and it is suited for ­color-­detection applications such as portable/­mobile equipment, RGB-LCD backlight monitors, and light-source detectors.
Hamamatsu, Bridgewater, NJ
www.usa.hamamatsu.com

Laser series

The cavity-dumped, modelocked NOVA laser series is designed for high-speed materials processing. The pico­NOVA has a wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse energy up to 1 µJ, peak power of 100 kW, and pulse duration of 7 ps. The femtoNOVA provides wavelengths of 800 to 900 nm and 1030 to 1045 nm, pulse energy up to 0.5 µJ, peak power of 1 MW, and a pulse duration of 300 fs. Both models have TTL triggerable repetition rates of up to 1 MHz.
High Q Laser, Hohenems, Austria
www.highQlaser.at

Fiberoptic detector

The HFD3023 line of fiberoptic detectors are designed for use in short-distance 850-nm fiberoptic systems. They convert fiberoptic signals to TTL (transistor-transistor logic) digital outputs, enabling a direct interface to TTL circuitry. Other features include an industry-standard footprint, single 5-V DC supply requirement, and a hermetic TO46 package.
Honeywell, Freeport, IL
www.honeywell.com

Excimer laser

The OPTex Pro-T is a compact, entry-level excimer laser. It is available at two deep-UV wavelengths: 193 and 248 nm. The air-cooled lasers provide pulse energies up to 2 mJ, with a linewidth of less than 5 pm, pulse repetition rates up to 200 Hz, and a burst mode up to 500 Hz. An integrated ­nitrogen purge suppresses oxygen ­absorption and eliminates dust contamination.
Lambda Physik, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
www.lambdaphysik.com

Dual-axis averager

The Mercury 3000Si dual-axis averager comprises two 8.4-mm-tall Mercury encoder sensors, a SmartSignal dual-interpolator module, and a rotary glass scale. The system eliminates eccentricity errors via an advanced signal-averaging algorithm. Processing and programmable interpolation to ×1024 occur within the unit’s FPGA. The system is designed for rotary ­tables and actuators, and laser-beam-steering applications.
MicroE Systems, Natick, MA
www.microesys.com

Ceramic reflectors

Ceramic reflectors are being manufactured with Sintox AL, a high-purity (99.7% Al203) material. They are suited for solid-state laser applications and Intense Pulse Light (IPL) systems used for skin treatment and hair removal. Sintox AL has reflectance properties of better than 96% over the 500- to 2000-nm wavelengths and provides highly diffuse reflectance by reflecting and refracting light back into the cavity.
Morgan Advanced Ceramics, Fairfield, NJ
www.morganadvancedceramics.com

Video-microscope system

The MS804 Scopeman is a CCD micro­scope system that uses proprietary honeycomb CCD camera technology. Multiexposure, high-intensity LED lighting and specialized software allow for simple acquisition to deliver images with 1280 × 960-pixel resolution. Other features include a new digital zoom, 16× to 200× zoom lenses, x, y, and z stages, camera mounts and a variety of imaging peripherals.
Moritex Europe, Cambridge, England
www.moritex.com

Waveguide-optics modeling software

OptiBPM Version 7.0 allows the computer-aided design of integrated and fiberoptics-guided wave problems. The beam-propagation method (BPM) simulates the passage of light through any waveguiding medium. Features include tolerance analysis, optimization, complex layout enhancements, script-enabled CAD environment, and access to a new central waveguide-design online portal.
Light Tec, Hyeres, France
www.lighttec.fr