ILX Lightwave gets grant to develop high-accuracy optical-power measurement

July 16, 2009

ILX Lightwave Corporation (Bozeman, MT) announced that it has received a grant from the Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Technology for the development of high-accuracy optical-power measurement of high-power laser diodes. The $108,000 grant will be used to extend ILX's integrating-sphere optical-measurement technology to high power.

"Current high-power optical-measurement technology is based on either thermal power meters which offer accuracy but slow response times; or integrating spheres which offer fast response but lower accuracy," said ILX Lightwave's president, Larry Johnson. "This funding will enable ILX to develop instruments capable of providing both speed and accuracy in measuring the output of high power laser diodes."

ILX Lightwave's products include a variety of integrating-sphere-based optical-measurement heads that can measure optical powers of up to 30 W. The company notes that its products are used by Fortune 500 corporations, national research laboratories, and government and educational institutions.

About the Author

John Wallace

Senior Technical Editor (1998-2022)

John Wallace was with Laser Focus World for nearly 25 years, retiring in late June 2022. He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and physics at Rutgers University and a master's in optical engineering at the University of Rochester. Before becoming an editor, John worked as an engineer at RCA, Exxon, Eastman Kodak, and GCA Corporation.