Photonics/Optics

Optics

Advanced optics technologies are essential to design engineers developing systems in manufacturing. Here are the latest technical briefs, products, and applications for design engineers working with optics technology.

Stories

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

High-Power Terahertz Laser for Sensing and Imaging

A terahertz laser was developed with high constant power, tight beam pattern, and broad electric frequency tuning for a wide range of applications in chemical sensing and imaging. The optimized...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Shaping Light with a Dynamically Tunable Smart Lens

The importance of optical image quality and the trend toward thinner smart-phones have pushed manufacturers to increase the number of cameras in order to provide cellphones with better zoom,...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Topological Control Capabilities for 5G Communications

A new research focusing on topological control capabilities in an integrated acoustic-electronic system at technologically relevant frequencies could pave the way for additional research on...

Briefs: Materials

A Laser-Based Volumetric Additive Manufacturing Method to 3D Print Glass

Traditional glassmaking techniques can be costly and slow, and 3D printing glass often results in rough textures, making them unsuitable for smooth lenses. Using a new...

NASA Spinoff: Photonics/Optics

Next-Generation High-Performance Lasers

NASA’ Deep Space Network (DSN), a sort of GPS system for space, relies on atomic clocks for extreme accuracy. Any modern navigation system must accurately time radio signals to triangulate a location....

Question of the Week: Photonics/Optics

Will inserting lenses inside blood vessels become a practical tool for diagnosing disease?

Researchers have developed a camera-like imaging device that can be inserted into blood vessels to provide high-quality 3D images to help scientists better understand the causes of heart attack and heart disease progression and could lead to improved...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Photonic Quantum Computer Made in Germany

Everyone is talking about quantum computers. By interconnecting as many qubits (two-state quantum systems) as possible, massive amounts of data can be processed more easily, quickly and securely in...

INSIDER: Data Acquisition

Sapphire Fiber Could Enable Cleaner Energy and Air-Travel

Researchers at Oxford University have used a sapphire optical fiber – a thread of industrially grown sapphire less than half a millimeter thick – that can withstand temperatures...

Special Reports: Materials

Advanced Materials & Coatings - May 2022

Breakthroughs in plastics, composites, metals, and other materials technologies are enabling exciting new applications in industries ranging from aerospace to automotive to medical. Read more in this...

Application Briefs: Materials

Challenges of Coating Aspheric Lenses

Aspheric lenses let optical system designers improve resolution, reduce the number of lens elements required, and increase system light throughput. Their complex, non-spherical surfaces correct for more...

Application Briefs: Nanotechnology

Manufacturing Wafer-Level Optics Using UV Adhesives and Polymers

Micro-optics and nanostructures are key technologies for the latest optoelectronic components in smartphones, smart glasses and vehicles. Some examples used in consumer...

Articles: Electronics & Computers

Understanding Cryocooled Infrared System Reliability

Where the ability to detect mid-wave infrared (MWIR) radiation is mission critical, readiness and the importance of long, maintenance-free infrared (IR) system operation is vital. In...

Products: Robotics, Automation & Control

New on the Market: May 2022

Dual Locking C14 IEC Connector The SG03DC from MEGA Electronics, New Brunswick, NJ, contains side locking tabs similar to the Raritan Securelock. It will mate with any standard nonlocking C13 Outlet along with...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

3D System Prints Structures of Submicrometer Accuracy

3D printers working in the millimeter range and larger are increasingly used in industrial production processes. Many applications, however, require precise printing on the micrometer scale...

Briefs: Imaging

Tiny Optical Elements Could Replace Traditional Refractive Lenses

Researchers have developed tiny optical elements from metal nanoparticles and a polymer that could replace traditional refractive lenses to realize portable imaging systems and...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

New Optical Component Used to Create AR/VR Headsets and Eyewear

Consumers are looking for augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics that...

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Nanocomposite Material Protects Against Intense Light

Optical limiting — a manner of telecom switching without the use of electronics — is an all-optical method that could improve the speed and capacity of Internet communications. A...

Briefs: Transportation

New Family of Glass for Lens Applications

A new composition of germanosili-cate glass created by adding zinc oxide has properties good for lens applications. The new family of zinc germanosilicate glass has a high refractive index comparable to...

Technology Leaders: Photonics/Optics

Determining Dynamic Object Tracking Accuracy

There is already a wide body of work in which assessments of various motion capture systems have produced a wide range of different results. These studies produce useful and relevant results for...

Briefs: Communications

Terahertz Energy Focused by Credit Card-Sized Device to Generate High-Resolution Images

Researchers have created a device that enables them to electronically steer and focus a beam of terahertz electromagnetic energy with extreme precision....

Products: Photonics/Optics

New Products

Plasma Deposition Process Alluxa, Inc. (Santa Rosa, CA) recently introduced its next-generation SIRRUS™ plasma physical vapor deposition (PVD) platform offering full spectral coverage from ultraviolet (200 μm) to infrared...

Briefs: Photonics/Optics

Optical Signal Amplifying Technique

Optical Signals can be retrieved from inherent background noise using Talbot effect to amplify them.

Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping

Flexible Imaging Device

3D micro-printing was used to develop this small, flexible scope for looking inside blood vessels.

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

Lunar Flashlight to Search for Water on the Moon

When thirsty residents of a permanent community on the Moon take a swig of fresh water brought in from the lunar south pole, they’ll be enjoying the benefits of a 30-pound spacecraft known...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

NIST Creates Strobe Light to Test 5G Resonators

Inside every cellphone is a tiny mechanical heart, beating several billion times a second. These micromechanical resonators play an essential role in cellphone communication. Buffeted by the...

INSIDER: Photonics/Optics

New Products

Two-Axis Laser Scan Head Aerotech Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA) has released the AGV-XPO, a high-dynamic, two-axis laser scan head that combines low-inertia, high-efficiency motors with ultra-high resolution position feedback and...