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21 May 2007
Featuring news from QPC, Sofradir, Fianium, Corning, Cambridge Display Technology, Ionatron, Novalux, OCP and others.
• QPC Lasers, US, reported total revenues of $1.1 million for Q1 2007, a 317% increase over Q1 2006. Product revenue was $653,000, a 178% increase over Q1 2006 and a 19% increase over Q4 2006. The company attributed the increase to the introduction of its direct-diode laser modules and strong orders for medical and defense applications, many from new customers. Continued growth is predicted for the remainder of the year.
• A study of the European market for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) states that the market earned revenues of $124.2 million in 2006 and estimates this to reach $701.5 million in 2013, driven by the attraction of low-power displays for portable consumer devices, mobile phones and media players. Asia Pacific is the dominant region for display applications, but the research and technological development in the European region has enabled companies based there to maintain footholds in the global market. The report from Frost & Sullivan, titled “European Organic Light Emitting Diodes Market”, also outlines the hurdles inhibiting the development of OLED lights, including luminance efficiency and material lifetime.
• Sofradir, France, a manufacturer of infrared detectors, has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the Network Centric Systems business of Raytheon to supply second generation mercury cadmium telluride Dewar detector cooler assemblies to the US Army. The first deliveries are expected to be made later in 2007. Last year Sofradir made the US market a priority and reinforced its presence there.
• Fianium, UK, has opened a Hong Kong subsidiary, Fianium-Asia, to support sales and marketing of their high-power ultrafast laser systems in China, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore. Fianium-Asia will also have an application laboratory for material processing, metrology and bio-medical applications. Dr. Luksun Li has been named managing director of the new subsidiary.
• Corning’s Eagle XG glass substrates have won an Advanced Display of the Year award and the Display Component of the Year award from the Society for Information Display. Eagle XG is claimed to be the first liquid-crystal display substrate to contain no added heavy metals and to be free of halides.
• Cambridge Display Technology, UK, reported total revenues for Q1 2007 of $3 million, compared with $1 million for the same period last year. Gross profit increased from $0.7 million in Q1 2006 to $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2007.The increase was attributed to the impact of license and development agreements for the company’s polymer light emitting diode displays signed during 2006, and the acquisition of Next Sierra.
• The Acton LS 785 Raman spectrograph from Princeton Instruments is claimed to provide 99.4% transmission over a working spectral range of 700 nm to 1000 nm, and 5 wavenumber resolution or better. The grating may be rotated via a micrometer and locked to provide appropriate spectral coverage for use with the 650 nm to 830 nm lasers typically employed in NIR Raman spectroscopy.
• Directed energy weapons developer Ionatron reported revenues for Q1 2007 of $2.1 million, down from $5.1 million for the same period last year primarily due to the completion of certain government contracts. The company highlighted new contracts from the US Navy and the establishment of a new unit, based in St. Louis, Missouri, pursuing military and aerospace applications for ultrashort pulsed lasers.
• LumaSense Technologies, US, a supplier of sensors instrumentation, has acquired the thermal imaging and temperature measurement company Mikron Infrared, US. The acquisition expands LumaSense’s presence in clean technology, energy and medical markets, and represents the fourth acquisition the company has made since 2005.
• Expansion of the Allied Vision Technologies production and warehousing facility at its Stadtroda, Germany, headquarters has begun, and is due to be completed by November 2007. The company states that it will double the facility’s production and storage capacity for its industrial digital cameras, in response to demand from new distributors in Asia and the creation of a US subsidiary.
• Novalux, US, will demonstrate its new lighting and display products during the Society for Information Display conference in Long Beach, California. They include the first laser LCD-TV back light unit (BLU), along with developments in laser architectural tube lighting and laser high-definition projection TV (HDTV). See also Unaxis Optics makes 'strategic' investment in Novalux previously on optics.org.
• Linos, manufacturer of optical systems, and Varioptic, developer of liquid lenses, have announced a distribution agreement. Linos will distribute Varioptic’s Arctic liquid lenses and lens modules in Germany and through its subsidiaries in France, the United Kingdom and the USA. It will also provide training and support to customers. Linos and Varioptic intend to produce eight developer’s kits aimed at supporting customers in all stages of product development.
• Optical Communication Products, US, announced results for Q2 2007 that reflected what the company called a period of transition in its fiber-optic communication markets. Revenue was $16.4 million, down 10.6% on the equivalent period in 2006 and down 3.7% compared with Q1 2007. A net loss for the quarter of $17.1 million was recorded, compared with a net income of $2.1 million in Q2 2006. The company indicated that industry-wide price erosion and softening of the fiber-to-the-home market in Japan had contributed to the results.
People
• Jennifer Richardson has been appointed vice president of engineering by RedShift Systems, US, developer of optical thermal imaging technology. Richardson has experience with thermal imaging in military, industrial and commercial applications for Lockheed Martin and Inframetrics, among others.
• II-VI, US, developer of synthetic crystals and optical components, has named Francis Kramer as chief executive officer. Kramer has spent more than two decades at II-VI and will continue to serve as president of the company. The previous CEO, Carl Johnson, will serve as chairman of the board.
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