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JDSU targets flow cytometry applications
A visit to the JDSU booth this morning revealed that the optical components giant is leveraging its expertise in solid-state laser diodes to address biomedical, industrial and semiconductor applications. New for Photonics West is a blue-emitting laser that offers better reliability and stability than argon-ion laser sources for biomedical applications such as flow cytometry.
Inside the box — which is about a third the size of modules based on established laser architectures - is a standard 976 nm telecom laser diode. A fiber Bragg grating is used to narrow the spectral emission, and the output is then fiber-coupled to a frequency-doubler containing a lithium niobate crystal. The current device emits blue light at 488 nm, which is the most important wavelength for flow cytometry aapplications, while JDSU is also planning to introduce systems operating at other wavelengths.
According to Len Marabella, director of marketing for JDSU’s Commercial Lasers division, the fibre-coupled design avoids the need for careful alignment and so reduces the complexity of instrument design. Using standard laser diodes also enable the company to exploit high-volume manufacturing processes and ensures long-term reliability, with JDSU’s current telecom lasers having a lifetime in excess of 100,000 hours.
The FCD488 product is a continuous wave laser with power outputs of 10 and 20 mW — well below the laser diode’s rated maximum of 500 mW — and is available in both free-space and fiber-delivered configurations.
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