Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Imaging System

Edmund Optics® (EO) (Barrington, NJ) has introduced a new Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Imaging System from Lumedica, the OQ LabScope. The OCT Imaging System features a laser centered at 840nm, making it suitable for inspection at depths of up to 2.8mm in air and up to 2mm in tissue. It also features axial resolutions of 5µm and lateral resolutions of 15µm. Its small size, combined with an integrated computer and an intuitive graphical user interface, (GUI) makes it suitable for laboratory or field use. An optional workstation package is available, which includes a scanner stand with a vertical stage, a large monitor, and a wireless mouse/keyboard combination to interface with the system.

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Laser Detectors

Coherent, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) has extended its series of large area, high speed, PowerMax-Pro laser detectors to enable power measurement of continuous-wave laser beams of 3 kW, and 5 kW peak power with modulated laser beams. PowerMax-Pro detectors, first introduced in 2014 and based on Coherent’s proprietary thin film sensor technology, combine the broad wavelength sensitivity, dynamic range and laser damage resistance of a thermopile, with the response speed of a semiconductor photodiode.

Traditional thermopile detectors typically take at least sixty seconds to deliver a stable kilowatt power reading. PowerMax-Pro accomplishes this measurement within microseconds with no overshoot. Traditional thermopiles can reflect 10-15% of the incident laser light back towards the source. The PowerMax-Pro kW sensor traps >99% of the incident light inside the enclosure, eliminating this problem.

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Low Profile Light Pipe

VCC (San Diego, CA) has developed a rigid light pipe that delivers bright, focused light and eliminates glare and shadowing. The LPCR Series rigid light pipe features a low-profile Fresnel lens that offers a 160 degree viewing angle. The 0.171" (4.34mm) diameter LPCR Series extends light from the board to the desired surface. No physical connection between the light pipe and LED (SMT or through hole) is required.

For harsh, high-vibration applications, the LPCR Series is available with an optional retainer (RTN_150, RTN_250) to ensure secure and uniform placement of the light pipe to the panel. The LPCR Series is available in a range of standard lengths from 0125" (3.2mm) to 1.0" (25.4mm), as well as custom lengths. Made of optical grade polycarbonate 94V-0 clear material, the LPCR Series is compliant with RoHS and REACH requirements.

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Engineering Support for Embedded Imaging Systems

Critical Link, LLC (Syracuse, NY), which specializes in image sensor technology, system-on-chip (SoC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) designs, vision protocols, and signal processing, has announced its full engineering support services to enhance the company’s product development and manufacturing capabilities. Specializing in embedded systems and custom imaging platforms, the company’s engineering team designs, manufactures, and supports sensor board development, on-board processing, and a wide variety of interfaces/ protocols for industrial applications including test and measurement, medical/scientific instrumentation, factory automation, transportation, and defense. Critical Link’s imaging platforms incorporate CMOS/sCMOS, CCD, indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs), and other sensor technologies, including 1D and 2D arrays.

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Thermoelectric Modules

Laird (Earth City, MO) has developed a thermoelectric module (TEM) that accommodates a laser diode butterfly package. Primarily used to stabilize the temperature of sensitive optical components in telecom and photonics industries, the miniature OptoTEC Series is designed for applications that have lower cooling requirements of 10 watts or less. The OptoTEC Series combines a small geometric footprint of less than 13x13 mm with reliable and efficient heat pumping capacity.

The OptoTEC Series is used to keep the laser diode operating temperature stable at around 25+/-0.5 degree C. TEMs offer precise temperature control accuracy achieving ±0.01°C. The OptoTEC thermoelectric module dissipates heat generated by the active optical component, which is around 1 to 2 Watts.

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Hand Held Digital Magnifier

Vision Engineering (New Milford, CT) announced the launch of the Camβ, a portable, hand held magnifier that will take over from its predecessor, the CamZ. With more features at a lower price, Camβ can be used in the workshop, laboratory, production and analytical environments, or in the field.

Camβ provides magnification from 4x to 20x, stores up to 20,000 images and offers simple dimensioning by way of grids and cursors for X & Y. With a high resolution color display, easy button operation and image capture/download capability, Camβ is ideal for roaming inspection tasks, documenting faults and inspecting hard to reach, large or immobile subjects. Camβ is equipped with dual LED illumination (4 setting options), high contrast imaging and 30 frames video capture capabilities. A live-view video output via micro HDMI allows for display of images on a large screen suitable for training purposes and the device will operate for up to 6 hours between charges.

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Stackable CW & Pulsed Laser Diode Driver

Analog Modules, Inc. (Longwood, FL) announced the release of its Stackable CW & Pulsed Laser Diode Driver, Model 787. The Model 787 OEM laser diode driver is a highly efficient, current regulated, low ripple tri-phase laser diode driver designed to power pulsed and CW high current laser diode stacks. Proprietary technology allows AMI to offer a 50A, 5.0V driver with industry leading efficiency of 96% in a compact footprint. Multiple drivers can be stacked together to achieve output currents of 200A or higher. The driver includes open circuit, short circuit, over-temperature and under voltage lockout protection.

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Triple Spectrometer

McPherson (Chelmsford, MA) announced a new triple monochromator ideal for making Raman, photoluminescence and Thomson scattering measurements in a variety of ways. The triple configuration allows users to create a bandpass ‘notch’ of select wavelengths and disperse onto sensitive CCD or other array detector. The width and slope of the notches edges can be tailored for the user’s application. For ultimate throughput, McPherson also offers the triple monochromator with astigmatic optics for point to point imaging.

The McPherson triple monochromator uses exclusively reflective optics and is capable of working deep into the ultraviolet, below 190 nanometers if necessary. It is efficient. The triple can be equipped with many different diffraction gratings and works fast as f/5. For Raman applications the rejection edge can be set close as 4cm-1 from Rayleigh scatter.

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