Lasers & Laser Systems

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS' compact and retrofittable solution for processing laser diodes on the ATS 100 alignment turning station; TRUMPF's VCSELs and photodiodes; Edmund Optics’ TECHSPEC® UV Fused Silica Plano-Convex (PCX) Lenses MgF2 Coated feature precision specifications; Imperx' two new Cheetah cameras: the CXP-C1941 and the SFP-C1941; and more.

Nanoscale Device Points the Way to Future Wireless Communication Channels

In a paper published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, a team of Caltech engineers reports building a metasurface patterned with miniscule tunable antennas capable of reflecting an incoming beam of optical light to create many sidebands, or channels, of different optical frequencies. Read on to learn more.

New Upgrade Will Supercharge Atomic Vision of the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser

The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to begin on a high-energy upgrade that will further boost the performance of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Read on to learn more about it.

New Ultrafast Imaging Technique Provides Insight into Combustion Processes

A team of scientists has developed an ultrafast imaging technique, called femtosecond laser sheet-compressed ultrafast photography, that can compile videos of incredibly transient details. Read on to learn more about it.

Product Showcase

See what's in the product showcase, including VSD’s innovative SV-2000 Flex; Keysight Technologies' N7718C Optical Reference Transmitter; MKS Instruments' Newport™ TLS260B Tunable Light Sources; Analog Modules' Picosecond Pulsed Seed Laser Diode Driver, Model 766A; and more.

Aerospace & Defense Finalist: Laser-Generated Anti-Icing and Anti-Fogging Transparent Materials

AlchLight has invented and pioneered a non-coating laser surface processing (LSP) technology that turns regular transparent materials such as glass and polymers superhydrophobic. It's the Aerospace & Defense Finalist. Read on to learn more.

3 Imaging Technologies that Will Catch Your Eye

Watch this video to learn more about three new imaging technologies, including one on a new scientific technique that could significantly improve the reference frames for GPS navigation services. One on off-road autonomous driving tools with a focus on stealth for the military and agility for space and agriculture clients, and one on a novel approach for creating high-performance, ultrafast lasers on nanophotonic chips.

New High-Performance Ultrafast Lasers That Fit on a Fingertip

In a newly published paper in the journal Science, researcher Qiushi Guo demonstrated a novel approach for creating high-performance, ultrafast lasers on nanophotonic chips. His work centers on miniaturizing mode-lock lasers. Read on to learn more.

The Latest Advancements in Optics

Optics are used in a vast range of applications in virtually every sector of human endeavor, from scientific microscopes to medical diagnostic imaging, from automobile headlights to telescopes pointed at the stars. Read on to learn about their advances.

New Products

See the new products, including TRIOPTICS' expansion of its OptiCentric® 101 centration measurement system, a new type of laser-based immersion probe, LightSolver's breakthrough in quantum-inspired high-performance computing, Teledyne FLIR's next-generation embedded software for the ITAR-free Boson+ thermal camera module, IDS Imaging Development Systems' all essential camera components for the uEye ACP series, and much more.

Photonics-Based Wireless Link Breaks Speed Records for Data Transmission

The researchers anticipate that with multiplexing techniques (where more than one channel can be used) and more sensitive receivers, the data rate can be increased to 1 terabit per second, ushering in a new era of near-instantaneous global communication. Read on to learn more.

Ultra-Narrowband Optical Filters Pushing Boundaries from the UV to the LWIR

Developments in ultra-narrow manufacturing capabilities enable transformative, world-changing, technology. Read on to learn how boundaries are being pushed.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a new type of glass with unique and even contradictory properties, a novel approach for actively controlling Dutch-roll oscillations of an eVTOL aircraft by using existing outboard propellers to dampen oscillations, and the world’s first practical titanium-sapphire laser on a chip.

How a Single-Shot Imaging System Unveils a Polarized World

Think of all the information we get based on how an object interacts with wavelengths of light — also known as color. Color can tell us if food is safe to eat or if a piece of...

Better LIDAR in Autonomous Systems Starts with MEMS

The global market for automotive LIDAR is expected to grow from $332 million in 2022 to more than $4.5 billion by 2028. We interviewed Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO of Omnitron Sensors, Los Angeles, CA, to learn about a new MEMS scanning mirror that could accelerate the market adoption of LIDAR.

Portable Laser-Guided Robotic Metrology (PLGRM)

Innovators at the NASA Glenn Research Center have developed the PLGRM system, which allows an installed antenna to be characterized in an aircraft hangar. All PLGRM components can be packed onto pallets, shipped, and easily operated.

Advancements Make Laser-Based Imaging Simpler and Three-Dimensional

There are times when scientific progress comes in the form of discovering something completely new. Other times, progress boils down to doing something better, faster, or more easily. New research from the lab of Caltech’s Lihong Wang, the Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, is the latter. Read on to learn more.

Towards More Accurate 3D Object Detection for Robots and Self-Driving Cars

Researchers from Japan have developed DPPFA–Net, an innovative network that overcomes challenges related to occlusion and noise introduced by adverse weather.

Light-Based Tech to Navigate the Moon

RMIT University’s Arnan Mitchell and University of Adelaide’s Dr. Andy Boes led an international team to review lithium niobate’s capabilities and potential applications in the journal Science. The team is working to make navigation systems that help rovers drive on the Moon — where GPS is unable to work — later this decade.

Product of the Month

See the product of the month: 2Pi Optics' high-resolution fisheye sensor based on optical metalens technology.

Readers Select 2023 Products of the Year

See the products of the year: The Talaria TWO Module Ultra-Low Power Wi-Fi optimized solution for cloud-connected IP video IoT devices by InnoPhase IoT; Hexagon's Elements, simulation software to better understand the increasingly complex behavior of systems in modern products; and Nexa3D's highest throughput additive production system, the QLS 820.