Contents: March 2008 edition

07 Mar 2008

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BACK CHAT ICFO sees rapid expansion of Spain's photonics industry

The Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona is undergoing a significant expansion. Silvia Carrasco tells OLE what ICFO can offer companies and gives a snapshot of Spain's thriving photonics industry.

TECHNOLOGY TUTORIAL

Iterative steps ensure successful LED lighting

White LED technology is evolving rapidly. Pat Goodman and Christos Sarakinos discuss the iterative process that all developers should follow when designing a lighting system.

MARKET REPORT

Price and performance key to laser projectors

Low-cost lasers are being developed for the display market at previously unheard of price/performance ratios. Matthew Brennesholtz of Insight Media looks at the device specifications for various projection applications and the key players in the market.

CMOS MODELLING

Faster modelling speeds CMOS sensors to market

Computer models of what happens when light hits the pixels of a CMOS image sensor are so complex that each simulation can take days to run. Tim Hayes hears how recent advances in software and hardware can speed up the process by a factor of twenty or even more.

ASK THE EXPERT

Optical trapping moves towards microfluidics

Optical trapping is a rapidly advancing and versatile field. Kishan Dholakia speaks to Marie Freebody about the breakthroughs so far and his expectations for the future.

OPTICAL MANUFACTURING

Finding hidden value in high precision manufacturing

There are several common misconceptions surrounding high-precision manufacturing. Jacqueline Hewett speaks to John Stack and David Erickson of Zygo to get a clear picture of what is involved and the benefits of adopting this approach.

SLAB LASERS

Flexible slab laser gives industry an alternative

A laser that produces high-quality light in a variety of beam shapes could be adapted to suit a range of applications. Marie Freebody speaks to Keming Du of EdgeWave to find out more about its slab laser technology and the areas that could benefit from the design.