October 2006

No speed limit yet, say researchers at Berlin's HHI, as they transmit data at 2.56 Tbit/s through a single fiber.

Trumpf has met the challenge of welding shiny copper sheet by using multi-kilowatt disk lasers. The company has also reported positive financial results for 2005-6.

Featuring news from Luxtera, JMAR Technologies, Olympus, Ocean Optics, Finisar, Exfo, Ultratech, Nanometrics, Time Warner Cable, Siemens, BFI OPtilas, e2v Technologies, Flir Systems, SPI Lasers and others.

A European high-power laser fusion facility costing Euro 800 million is one of 35 large-scale research proposals that have been recommended to the European Commission for their science roadmap.

Newport drives forward in booming solid state laser sector with acquisition set to turn over up to $7 million next year.

September's figures for the Top 10 most-read stories on optics.org reveal that a few old favourites have staying power but it is mainly fresh material that has caught your eye.

Cell phones, monitors and televisions could all benefit from a switchable display that offers 2D or 3D viewing.

Hollow waveguides that eliminate alignment issues could be deployed on satellites in the future.

Scientists have manipulated light - such as sunlight - to combine the photons' energy with particular wavelengths. Previously only possible with high-energy density laser light, the process could pave the way for more efficient solar cells.

New types of optical and electrical coatings will make TVs, mobile screens and flexible displays brighter and less power hungry.

A new method for measuring the refractive index of micrometre-sized particles has been developed at Australia's University of Queensland.

Optical endoscopy may soon be possible in delicate and difficult-to-access areas, thanks to a new single fiber technique.

Laser manufacturer Exitech has been put into administration following cash flow difficulties.

Hot on the heels of hosting the football World Cup, a novel projection technique from Germany gives the highest resolution ever live images, and seems to take viewers closer than ever before to a live event.

Despite the supposed growth of its core display and semiconductor markets, Micronic Laser Systems reports weak trading figures for 2006, especially in the third quarter.

A new mass spectrometry technique could enable biologists to analyse dynamic processes in cells, where many features of interest are smaller than the resolution limit of optical microscopes.

NTT demonstrates "world's highest" optical transmission capacity - equivalent to 140 digital high definition movies delivered in one second.

Gathered in Barcelona this week for the 2006 International Symposium on EUV Lithography, several key industry representatives highlighted developments in areas critical to EUV development and commercialization.

A laser-based technique for rapid - and multiple - protein identification promises a multi-functional optical biosensor with particular applications in disease diagnosis.

Including news from In-Stat, AMI Semiconductor, Flir Systems, Asylum Research, Avantes, Ledtech Electronics, Fabrinet, BAE Systems, Perkin Elmer, Zygo and others.

Deal strengthens JDSU's position with ROADM - reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer - technologies. JDSU also drops all pending litigation against Metconnex.

Collaboration aims to produce next generation of quality laser-produced plasma - for extreme UV sources.

Omron in Japan is developing an optical component which they say can reduce the thickness of a mobile phone's backlight by 40%.

Test demonstration delivers multi-kilowatt output “illuminator” laser. Combines power performance with high beam quality at 5,000 pulses per second.

Canadian researchers have for the first time exploited laser light as a catalyst to control chemical reactions.

Including news from Osram Opto Semiconductors, Selex Communications, Liquid Metal, Biolase Technology, Dialog Imaging Systems, Dassault Systèmes, ADE, KLA-Tencor, Quintessence Photonics, Luxtera, Melles Griot, CVI Laser, Photon and others.

Scientists at Berlin's Max Born Institute have devised a new type of pump laser for X-ray lasers that produces a continuous, repetitive regime at 100Hz and energies exceeding 1J.

Partners to co-research and develop liquid lenses; Varioptic launches improved autofocus model; mass production commences in China.

A cross-disciplinary UK consortium wins funding to develop a laser detection system that could be used to discover hidden fields of oil and natural gas.

Midaz Lasers, a new spin off from Imperial College London, is joining the race to provide high-power DPSS lasers to the booming part-marking sector.

German firm comes up with a lens weighing 256 kg to satisfy a wildlife photographer.

Thanks to a set of unique properties, diffractive optical elements have the potential to transform light into almost any desired distribution. Joshika Akhil gives the low-down on the technology that can benefit laser marking, material processing, heat treatment, sensing, non-contact testing and optical metrology, to name just a few applications.

There is a lot more to making an optical filter than meets the eye. Dominik Goessi looks at the role of in situ monitoring in the production process and reviews the technology.

Start-up company MOXtronics has recently produced the first coloured ZnO-based LEDs. Although the efficiency of these LEDs is not high, improvements are rapid and the emitters have the potential to outperform their GaN rivals.

Hand-held device supports laser processing up to 4kW - but without complex CNC or robot programming.

An optical manipulation and analysis platform that can fit onto a fingernail could signal a significant change in the field of microfluidics.

Scanning the lens of a human eye with infrared laser light can reveal the earliest signs of Alzheimer's disease in a matter of seconds, according to US start-up Neuroptix.

German scientists have developed an optical technique that for the first time allows the effects of skin aging to be monitored non-invasively and in real time.

SemiLEDs, a company developing novel light emitters based on a copper alloy substrate, has ordered a high-volume production machine from Aixtron.

Laser-based micromanipulation provides high-purity biological specimens for research and diagnostics.

Including news from Verizon, Strategies Unlimited, Toshiba, Sabeus, CVI Laser, Northrop Grumman, Zygo, Cascade Technologies and others.

ProLite diode laser delivers 714 W of CW output.

Significant financial support and technology transfer will benefit industry in three target sectors: devices & networks, instruments, and high-power photonics.

Photodetectors based on single polymer nanowires could form building blocks for nanophotonic devices.

Photonics21 set to participate in European Information Society Technologies event in Helsinki in November. Also a general meeting of the group is set for November-December.

Extremely sensitive photon detectors have enabled researchers to transmit an encrypted quantum key over a record-breaking distance of 184.6 km.

Subjects as diverse as automatic optimization of optical systems, the likely arrival of nanoelectronics at a "super-human" component density and the design of optics for a near-sun solar orbiter were discussed at a recent conference in London.

Microencapsulation is a simple and effective way of mass producing arrays of tiny spherical lenses say experts in Asia.