May 2009 Archives

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.

As part of the SPIE Europe Optical Metrology Congress, Lothar Späth will be honoured with an SPIE Visionary Award in recognition of his crucial support for photonics in the historic optical centre of Jena. Späth was chairman of Jenoptik AG when it was established in 1991, and is credited with turning the East German optical engineering company into a world-class success.

The award will be presented during SPIE Europe's Optical Metrology Congress, which will take place on 14-18 June in Munich, Germany, as part of the World of Photonics Congress. More than 200 technical papers on optics and laser applications in metrology and conservation of art and archaeology will be presented at the event.

Taking centre stage will be Christopher Dainty, head of the applied optics group at the National University of Ireland, Galway, who will give a plenary talk on adaptive optics. Technical sessions will cover the latest solutions to practical problems in industrial design and production engineering, including recent advances in using optical technologies to preserve cultural heritage in art and architecture. Researchers will also describe how optical test and measurement techniques at the micro- and nanoscale are being applied right at the forefront of optical metrology.

Papers are organized into conferences on:
• Optical measurement systems for industrial inspection, including a session on metrology of advanced optics that will be held jointly with the EOS Conference on Manufacturing of Optical Components
• Modelling aspects in optical metrology
• O3A: optics for arts, architecture, and archaeology.

The symposium chairs are Wolfgang Osten of Universität Stuttgart, Germany; Malgorzata Kujawinska, Politechnika Warszawska, Poland; and Pietro Ferraro, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, Italy.

For registration and other information, visit:
www.world-of-photonics.net/en/photonics-congress/Registration/RegistrationLinks
www.world-of-photonics.net/en/photonics-congress/start/OrganizersConferences/EOM

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.

Gooch & Housego, a manufacturer of components for high-power lasers and fibre amplifiers, has launched a range of low-port-count, multimode pump combiners with a signal feedthrough fibre. This configuration is commonly referred to as a 2+1x1.

Fibre laser systems incorporating the 2+1x1 are becoming more common as diode pump powers increase. They are already established as the signal/pump combiner in high-power fibre amplifiers for CATV distribution.

The 2+1x1 is available as standard at centre wavelengths of 1064 nm and 1550 nm with both polarization maintaining and singlemode feedthrough fibres. The signal performance is essentially wavelength independent over the C band for 1550 nm devices and over a 60 nm range for the 1064 nm devices. Other options are available upon request including combiners with large-mode-area signal fibre.

The combiners are also available from AMS Technologies, which sells and markets Gooch & Housego products in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.

The new product line will be exhibited at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009 by AMS Technologies at booth B1.301, and also by Gooch & Housego at booth B1.310.

For more information visit www.ams.de and www.goochandhousego.com.

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.

Key players in the Bordeaux optics community will present the region's strengths and capabilities at LASER 2009.

Photonics is a strong and active field in the Bordeaux region of France, and the Route des Lasers competitiveness cluster will once again be at LASER to present the region's achievements and to promote the expertise of local companies and organizations.

• Mikan will be highlighting its new series of compact air-cooled ultrafast oscillators.

• Amplitude Systems will be showcasing Satsuma, a compact diode-pumped ultrafast fibre laser.

• EOLITE Systems will introduce its new OCTOPUS multi-fibre delivery laser and a 150W version of its BOREAS laser.

• CORDOUAN Technologies will present a new instrument for measuring the refractive index in suspensions, which can be used for applications such as the characterization of absorbent, dark or concentrated samples.

• Polyrise will introduce a new class of sol-gel-based varnishes for antireflective coatings.

In addition, visitors to the booth will be able to meet representatives from ALPhA (Aquitaine Lasers Photonics and Applications), the SEML Route des Lasers, the Bordeaux Region Development Agency and the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Route des Lasers cluster aims to foster a strong synergy between industry, research and universities. Led by the ALPhA association, it is one of three competitiveness clusters dedicated to optics and lasers. Its objectives are to become the world reference for innovation high-intensity lasers, to use technological skills as a driving force for economic development, and to support industrial development around a number of high-priority topics.

Visit booth C1-319 to find out more about Bordeaux's optics and photonics resources.

Bordeaux will be the venue for Invest in Photonics 2010, to be held in on 18th and 19th March 2010.

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.

The OptiCentric Cementing Station helps to avoid positioning errors in achromatic lens systems by providing a simplified cementing process. It's designed to avoid the need for cementing the lenses by hand, which requires a high level of mechanical skills and can lead to disappointing results if a cemtration error affects the imaging quality of the achromatic system.

In contrast to the traditional cementing process, the OptiCentric Cementing Station eliminates the need for precision sample fixtures. The fully automatic procedure also yields more reliable results because it no longer relies on the mechanical skills of the operator.

The system measures the centration error with an autocollimator system in reflection mode, which operates according to the ISO 10110-6 standard. With the help of the patented SmartAlign algorithm, the centration of each lens surface within the achromatic doublet is measured automatically, allowing the optimum shift for the upper lens to be calculated. A piezo-driven manipulator then adjusts the position of the upper lens within 1-2 seconds, achieving a residual centration error between both lenses in the doublet of typically less than 2 microns.

This procedure doesn't depend on the accuracy and stability of any mechanical fixtures, since both lenses are directly centred to each other and not to some third mechanical reference. The measurement precision is provided by a high-resolution CCD-based electronic autocollimator, while the sample rotation is achieved by an ultrahigh-precision air bearing.

A software-controlled motorized stage focuses the autocollimator to the centre of curvature of each surface, which allows the displacement or tilt of the lens to be measured. Once the lens pair has been loaded with cement by hand, the complete centring process, including UV curing, can be done automatically. In total the whole process of centring and curing takes no longer than a few seconds.

The instrument software provides records and statistics of the centration results, user definable thresholds for centration tolerances, and simple go/no go signals for the final result.

The Cementing Station is an add-on to the TRIOPTICS OptiCentric System for centration error measurement, and can be easily adapted to existing OptiCentric MOT instruments. It can also be ordered as a turnkey standalone system.

For further information see www.trioptics.com.

Visit TRIOPTICS at LASER World of PHOTONICS Hall 2 booth 309.

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org

Even with the global economy in trouble, LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009 is on course to be a thriving and profitable meeting for the photonics community.

"LASER World of PHOTONICS is going very well, and despite the difficult economic situation will be larger in 2009 than it was in 2007," commented Angela Praeg of show organizers Messe Munchen. "For the first time, the tradeshow will be using a fourth exhibition hall, and more exhibitors are expected to participate than last time. That is extremely positive, particularly at a time when some industries are experiencing falls in revenue of 20, 30 or even 50%. It shows that optical technologies offer a route out of the crisis for companies through innovation, new products and manufacturing methods."

The tradeshow is presenting three main focal points: Biophotonics and Life Sciences; Lasers in the Manufacturing of Photovoltaics; and Illumination. There will also be a new conference held within the framework of the World of PHOTONICS Congress. The event, entitled Manufacturing of Optical Components, is being organized by the European Optical Society.

"This year the Application Panels from the World of Photonics Congress will be taking place in the tradeshow forums," noted Praeg. "These free events build a bridge between science and industry, and are a further step towards integrating technological advances with real applications. For this reason, we will be setting up three forums in the tradeshow halls rather than the one forum that we have had in previous years."

A look at the exhibitor database reveals growth in the number of participants from a number of countries, including Germany. For the first time, the Netherlands and Scotland will each have their own national pavilion at the trade show, while exhibitor numbers from China have been boosted by the decision of the Wuhan Optical Valley to participate in a pavilion for the first time.

"In many exhibition areas there will be companies that have never before had a booth at the tradeshow," said Praeg. "New exhibitors include Eata Equipaggiamenti, Orotiq, Microtech, and Prima Electronics from Italy; Piezomotor from Sweden; Ciposa Automation and Swisstec from Switzerland; and Retec-Automark Markier-und Befestigungssysteme from Germany."

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org

SOLASYS, a European research programme that's developing laser-processing systems for next-generation solar cells and modules, will present its initial results at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009.

Coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (Aachen, Germany), SOLASYS comprises a consortium of 10 companies and research institutes. The project is worth €6 million, of which €3.5 million is covered by an EU subsidy.

SOLASYS aims to lower manufacturing costs and increase solar-cell efficiency by both improving current production processes and developing new ones. Five specific processes are involved: high-speed drilling of microscopically small holes, ablation of thin layers without damage to the substrate, laser soldering for cell interconnection, laser isolation of the front and rear sides, as well as laser-based selective doping.

Laser drilling is one example of how SOLASYS will lower costs for the manufacturing of silicon solar cells. The "metal wrap through" concept (MWT) involves transferring the metal contacts from the front of the cell to the back using drilled micron-scale holes. This requires the drilling of 100 holes in less than a second. The aim of this method is to increase cell efficiency by reducing shading from contacts on the front side of the panel, and to simplify cell contacting, since both electrical terminals are on the rear side.

In the future, the connection of several cells to form a single module will also be performed using lasers. Laser soldering permits precise control of the soldering temperatures and hence specific process optimization. If the temperature at the solar cell deviates from the set value, the laser output can be adjusted accordingly, which enables a high-quality solder joint and low thermal stress.

Initial results will be presented at the joint Fraunhofer stand in Hall C2 at the LASER 2009 trade fair. For more information, please visit the project website: www.solasys.eu.

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org

Ibsen Photonics (Farum, Denmark), a supplier of holographic phase masks, transmission diffraction gratings and spectrometer modules based on diffraction gratings, offers high-power transmission gratings for 1064 nm, 800 nm and custom wavelengths.

Fused-silica transmission gratings offer a power-handling capability claimed to be an order of magnitude higher than any other grating technology, including conventional gold-coated reflection gratings. Applications for these gratings include pulse compression, spectral beam-combining and other high-power applications, which can be either CW or extremely short pulses.

"Our fused-silica grating technology is perfectly suited to high-power applications, where users have been hitting the energy ceiling of grating types available up until now," said product manager Kristian Buchwald. "Our high-power gratings are comprised of 100% low-OH fused silica, plus standard high-power dielectric AR coatings. This combination is unbeatable for power- and energy-handling capability."

The company's grating technology is leveraged in Ibsen's optical spectrometer modules for sensor interrogation systems and DWDM telecoms networks. In addition, Ibsen is pursuing partnerships in other industries to expand its high-resolution spectrometer platform based on pure fused silica holographic diffraction gratings.

Ibsen will be presenting its product portfolio at LASER 2009, booth 429 in Hall B2.

By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org

Breault Research Organization (BRO) of Tucson, AZ, has released a new version of its Advanced Systems Analysis Program (ASAP). The ASAP 2009 V1R1 release adds "significant capability" to the software, which is widely used for virtual prototyping of optical systems and devices.

Applications for ASAP include automotive, architectural and speciality illumination design, simulation of laser systems and other coherent devices, stray light analysis of telescopes and space-based imaging systems, display modelling, complete biomedical system modelling, micro-optical device modelling, and others.

"ASAP 2009 represents the most feature-rich release in the history of the software and includes an enhancement to distributed processing that marks a paradigm shift in the way engineers and designers will use optical software to improve productivity, evaluate creative ideas, reduce product time to market, and roll-out products representing leaps in innovation," enthused CEO Kevin Garcia.

BRO will be exhibiting ASAP at LASER 2009. Visit booth 152 in Hall B2.