INTERVIEW

Northrop exec detailsthe role of its directedenergy weapons unit

Scientists unveil anink-jet printer thatcuts paper as it prints

LASER DIODES

An insight into therange of applicationsfor integrating spheres

PRODUCT GUIDE

PHOTONICS FINDSUSES GALORE INDEFENCE SECTOR

DEFENCE SPECIAL

The European magazine for photonics professionals

March 2005 Issue 126

ISO 9001:2000 Certified

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I ssue 126 March 2005 Contents

Acquisition: DALSA buysimaging expert Coreco p5

Innovation at Intel: siliconlasers take a big step p14

Extracting oil: fibre-opticsensors provide help p17

Slice of the action: how totap the defence market p25

INTERVIEW

Northrop exec detailsthe role of its directed-energy weapons unit

Scientists unveil anink-jet printer thatcuts paper as it prints

LASER DIODES

An insight into therange of applicationsfor integrating spheres

PRODUCT GUIDE

PHOTONICS FINDSUSES GALORE INDEFENCE SECTOR

DEFENCE SPECIAL

The European magazine for photonics professionals

March 2005 Issue 126

For the latest news on optics and photonics don’t forget to visit optics.org

Cover (NorthropGrumman) The US Army’sTHEL beam director. p22

NEWS5 Business EU project targets white OLEDs • DALSA lines up

acquisition of Coreco for $72 m • Merck snaps up Covion

9 Editorial Welcome to our defence special issue

10 Analysis Defence special: how fibre sensors fared in 2004

TECHNOLOGY11 Applications Laser cuts paper in the printer • Optical

microphone aids MRI scans • Gas sensor reveals magma motion

14 R&D Silicon yields more secrets • Optics enters the single-cycle regime • Organic lasers enter the ultraviolet

15 Patents LED heavyweights Cree and Nichia reach a cross-licensing deal • Conoptix invents paper substrate for LCDs

FEATURES17 Fibre-optic sensors for sea-bed testing

Project Stingray, which aims to commercialize fibre-optic seismic sensors for mapping oil and gas reservoirs under the sea-bed, begins testing this month. James Tyrrell reports.

19 Chemical lasers come to the defence of the skiesAre high-power chemical lasers ready for the battlefield? Northrop Grumman thinks so – its new business unit will tackle the transition from lab to deployment. Oliver Graydon reports.

22 Laser technology prepares for 21st century warDirected energy systems are now beginning to show theircapabilities on the battle-field. Oliver Graydon profiles two examples: a land-mine neutralizer and a missile-killer.

25 How to tap the potential of the military marketThe UK’s Ministry of Defence can help SMEs and universities fund state-of-the-art research. Neil Whitehall, operations director at one of its technology centres, explains how.

29 Integrating spheres tackle many tasksIf you want to measure the flux of a lamp or LED, the reflectanceof a material, or the power of a laser beam, an integrating sphere is the perfect tool, reports Greg McKee.

PRODUCTS33 UV curing system • Violet laser diode • M2 measurement tool

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EU project targets white OLEDs

NEWSBUSINESS 5 EDITORIAL 9 ANALYSIS 10

5OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

OLEDS

A total of 24 organizations fromeight European countries are col-laborating in a 45-month, 720 mintegrated R&D project to advanceorganic LED (OLED) technologies.The partners bring knowledge oforganic electronics and materialsas well as lighting applications.

The goal of the High BrightnessOLEDs for ICT & Next GenerationLighting Applications project,known as OLLA, is to demonstratehigh-brightness white OLED lighttiles for use in general lighting appli-cations by 2008.

OLEDs are solid-state lightsources that could open up com-pletely new applications in large-area illumination. For example,the sources are flat, which meansthey could be made on flexible sub-strates. And their high efficiencymeans that OLEDs could also offersubstantial energy savings.

“In recent years, OLED technol-ogy has improved to the pointwhere it is now possible to envisionOLEDs as the next solid-state lightsource,” said OLLA’s project man-ager, Peter Visser of Philips.

For this to happen, however,

significant advances must still bemade in device efficiency, lifetime athigh brightness, high-throughputfabrication processes and the gen-eration of illumination-qualitywhite light. “That’s exactly whatwe will do in OLLA,” said Visser.“We will be aiming for a lifetime of10 000 h – which is 10 timeslonger than [that of] a standardincandescent bulb – and an effi-ciency of 50 lm per watt.”

The project’s remit covers sev-

eral important fields, includingfundamental understanding ofOLED materials and devices, elec-trical and optical properties,manufacturing principles and sys-tem integration. Several routes tomaking white light will be investi-gated. Application studies willcomplement the research efforts tomatch technology developmentwith consumer interests.

“A unique opportunity with theOLLA project is that small-

molecule devices and polymerLEDs are investigated side by side,”said Karsten Heuser of SiemensCT. “Both approaches will defi-nitely benefit from each other, andthis will bring OLED lighting for-ward to its realization.”

The project is partially funded bythe IST (Information Society Tech-nologies) portion of the EuropeanUnion’s 6th Framework Pro-gramme. “This EU project comple-ments other initiatives, such as theNext-Generation Lighting Initi-ative in the US and the Lighting21programme in Japan,” said Diet-rich Bertram of Philips Lighting,OLLA’s technical coordinator.

OLLA is one of the world’s largestjoint research projects on the devel-opment of white OLEDs. It incorpo-rates seven universities, sevenresearch institutes and 10 indus-trial partners including Aixtron,Covion, Osram Opto Semiconduc-tors, Philips and Siemens.

More details can be found atwww.olla-project.org.

Tim Whitaker is editor of LEDsmagazine.

A warm-white-coloured OLED research sample measuring 35 ×35 mm2.

Phili

ps

DALSA plans to acquire fellowCanadian firm Coreco for C$72 m(744 m). The move will combineDALSA’s expertise in producingCCD and CMOS image-sensor tech-nology with Coreco’s vision-pro-cessing and software know-how.

“Coreco has been looking toacquire a company or partner withsomeone that has sensor technol-ogy to help develop its smart cam-era business,” Patrick Myles,director of corporate communica-tions at DALSA, told OLE. “DALSAtargets growth of 30% a year, with10% through acquisitions of com-panies that have complementarytechnologies and operate in com-plementary markets.”

DALSA is also predicting thatthe deal will be accretive to earn-ings in 2005. “By combining thesetwo companies we will see annual-ized revenues in the range ofC$230 m per year,” said Myles.“That will add around C$30 monto what DALSA was producingon an annualized basis.”

Myles adds that DALSA is notlooking to reduce staffing levels atthis point. “From a staffing stand-point and from an R&D stand-point, we are not looking at anyreductions,” he said.

DALSA will continue to sell all ofCoreco’s products. “The customerlikes the fact that both DALSA cam-eras and Coreco image processors

have open architectures, and wedon’t see that changing,” explainedMyles. “At this point, we are keepingthe distribution and the way we sell

and market separate.”As Myles points out, there may

be opportunities for both compa-nies to collaborate in the longerterm to provide products combin-ing the best of what DALSA andCoreco have to offer.

The acquisition will effectivelysee Coreco becoming a discretedivision of DALSA. The deal isexpected to complete in April thisyear, after which DALSA’s businesswill comprise three divisions: semi-conductors, digital imaging andDALSA Coreco. The Coreco armwill be headed by Keith Reuben,current president of Coreco.

DALSA has just reported recordquarterly revenue figures (see p7).

DALSA lines up acquisition of Coreco for C$72mACQUISITIONS

DALSA’s expertise in producing CCD andCMOS chips complements Coreco’svision-processing portfolio.

DAL

SA

Merck snaps up Covion

NEWSBUSINESS

ACQUISITIONS

6 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

German liquid-crystal specialistMerck KGaA has purchased theOLED materials and polymer elec-tronics businesses of Avecia, UK,for 750 m in cash. The deal isexpected to be completed duringthe first quarter of 2005.

The acquisition includes Frank-furt-based Covion Organic Semi-conductors (which Avecia owned)and Avecia’s polymer R&D facilityin Manchester, UK. Both facilities,which employed a total of about100 staff, will now be integratedinto Merck’s liquid-crystal divi-sion. Merck also has its own poly-mer electronics laboratory in

Chilworth, UK.“We see this acquisition as an

opportunity to explore alternativetechnologies [to LCDs] for thefuture, which is a prudent step forany market leader,” said Merck’schairman Bernhard Scheuble.

Covion is one of the leading sup-pliers of organic light-emitting mat-erials for use in next-generationdisplays, and made sales of 78 m in2004. Its materials are used byPhilips in polymer displays that areentering portable electronics, suchas shavers and music players.

This is Merck’s second acquisi-tion in the area in the past few

months. In December 2004, it pur-chased an OLED R&D project calledLumitec from German glass special-ist Schott. The purchase includedunlimited exclusive licenses for thebusiness-related patents and assetsof the project.

The Lumitec project involved 20staff working on ITO-coated glasssubstrates. As part of the project,Schott had developed small- tomedium-area OLED prototypes forapplications such as touch panelsfor ovens, interior lighting in carsand LCD backlights. The projecthas now been integrated intoMerck’s liquid-crystal division.

OLED materials produced by Covion (left) are used by Philips in portable devices such as shavers (right).

Covi

on

Phili

ps

DARPA, the US Defense AdvancedResearch Agency, has launched aninitiative called EPIC to developCMOS-produced electonic andphotonic integrated circuits by theend of 2008.

“EPIC is an ambitious four-yearprogramme to demonstrate denseintegration of nanophotonics andelectronics on a silicon chip in aCMOS-compatible process,” pro-

gramme manager Jagdeep Shahfrom DARPA’s Microsystems Tech-nology Office explained at Janu-ary’s Photonics West 2005 show.“We want to bring devices intoCMOS foundry production.”

DARPA feels that integration atthe chip level will address key mili-tary design criteria such as size,weight and power. However, theagency also recognizes that chipsmay have commercial applicationsin communications, sensors andradiofrequency photonics.

According to Shah, three majorchallenges must be met. First, high-

speed, high-performance nanopho-tonic devices must be fabricated in aCMOS-compatible process. Next,nanophotonic devices have to beintegrated with electronics onto thesame silicon chip. After that, miss-ing functions such as a laser, ampli-fier and wavelength converter mustbe developed.

The programme kicked off inDecember 2004 and involves firmssuch as BAE Systems, Luxtera andTranslucent, along with academicpartners UCLA, MIT, CalTech,Brown University and the Univer-sity of Michigan.

DARPA focuses onCMOS-compatiblesilicon photonics

SILICON PHOTONICS

EV E N T S

The Society for Information Display(SID) is extending its 2005technical symposium from a three-day to a four-day event. Thesymposium will take place on24–27 May as part of SID’s annualmeeting and exhibition. The eventorganizers added the extra day afterseeing a 35% attendance jumpcompared with 2004 figures. Arecord high of 434 papers havebeen accepted for presentation atthis year’s symposium.

AC Q U I S I T I O N S

Berliner Glas is acquiring a majorityshare of fellow German firm PrinzOptics in a deal that becomeseffective as of 1 July 2005. Berlinersays that Prinz will continue tooperate under the same name andat the same location in Stromberg,Germany. Prinz Optics specializes inoptical coatings produced using asol-gel immersion method.

AC Q U I S I T I O N S

PerkinElmer, US, has acquiredElcos of Germany, a maker ofcustom LED products forbiomedical and industrialapplications, for an undisclosedsum. Elcos generated a revenue of$11.3 m (78.55 m) in 2004, withmore than 60% of this total comingfrom health-science applicationssuch as blood-glucose monitoring.

OP T I C S

JDS Uniphase, US, has beenawarded a contract to supplyelectro-optic modulators for theNational Ignition Facility currentlybeing built at the LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory, US.The custom-designed lithium-niobate modulators will be used forprecise pulse shaping.

LI C E N S I N G

OFS, the maker of optical fibre, haslicensed its patents on air-cladmicrostructured fibres and fibregratings to Koheras of Denmark.Koheras will use the IP to developfibre lasers for industrial applications.

IN BRIEF

NEWSBUSINESS

7OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

L A S E R S

Newport has reported fourth-quarter sales of$102.2 m (778.2 m), in line with its previouslyannounced guidance range of $100–103 m.Robert Deuster, CEO of Newport, said thesefigures were “an encouraging indication of ourcustomers’ positive response to the combinationof Newport and Spectra-Physics”. Taking intoaccount charges associated with its acquisition ofSpectra-Physics, Newport reported a quarterlyoperating loss of $67.5 m. However, the firmexpects to record an operating income in therange of $2–4 m for its first quarter of 2005.

TE L E C O M S

Bookham has reported a second-quarter revenueof $45.8 m, a increase on the previous quarter’srevenue of $43.6 m. The company also posted aquarterly net loss of $41.1 m. As of 1 January2005, Bookham held $77.8 m in cash, cashequivalents, short-term investments and restrictedcash. It added that its major cost-cutting move

from its UK assembly site to Shenzhen in China isproceeding according to plan.

L A S E R S

Coherent has announced sales of $126 m and anet income of $5.4 m for its first fiscal quarter of2005. Sales and net income for the previousquarter were $133.2 m and $9.8 m respectively.Quarterly sales of $25.1 m at Lambda Physikrepresented a 45% increase year-on-year and a5% increase over the previous quarter.

IM AG I N G

DALSA of Canada has released record revenueand net income figures of C$47.9 m (729.8 m)and C$6.3 m respectively for the fourth quarter of2004. Revenue for fiscal 2004 was up 23.3%year-on-year to reach C$168.6 m, while netincome increased 70.3% year-on-year toC$19.8 m. “I am confident that we can continue togrow our business profitably in 2005,” concludedDALSA’s CEO Savvas Chamberlain.

L A S E R S

First fiscal-quarter net sales and net income wereboth up on last year’s total at German laser makerRofin-Sinar. Net sales were $91.4 m, up 29% year-on-year, while net income increased 64% to$8.5 m. Rofin says that net sales in North Americadoubled to reach a new quarterly record of$28.4 m, thanks partly to Rofin’s acquisitions ofPRC and Lee Laser. “Our goals for the next fiscalquarters include continuing our expansion in Asiawith the formation of a Chinese subsidiary,” saidRofin’s interim CEO Gunther Braun.

IM AG I N G

Net earnings for the 12 months ended 31December 2004 rose 60% to a record $71.5 m atFLIR Systems. Revenue for 2004 was $482.7 m,an increase of 55% from the $312 m generated in2003. Revenue from the company’s imagingdivision increased by 65% while revenue from thethermography division increased by 37%compared to the prior year.

FINANCIAL FOCUS

If you have an opinion on any of the stories in this month’s issue of OLE, please e-mail the editor, Oliver Graydon (oliver.graydon@iop.org).

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Special issue welcome

NEWSEDITORIAL

DEFENCE SPECIAL

9OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

When I was first approached with the idea ofputting together a special issue of OLEdedicated to the applications of photonics inthe military world, I was hesitant. Wouldinformation be forthcoming? Would I be ableto find enough topics to write about? Wouldreaders be interested?

I’m delighted to say that my first two fearshave turned out to be unfounded and thatquite the opposite is true. As for my thirdconcern, only you can judge, but if the level ofactivity at SPIE’s recent European event inLondon on defence and photonics (OLEDecember 2004, p6) is anything to go by, I can sleep easy.

It is clear that, following the decline in thetelecoms industry, many firms in the opticssector are searching for new marketopportunities. While many have chosen totarget the biomedical area, another lessobvious option is the defence sector.

There are several reasons why this sector isappealing. For starters, the need to equipmilitary forces with the latest technology andfind smart ways to combat terrorism meansthat there are many opportunities out therefor innovative firms that are pushing thelimits of performance.

Secondly, over the past few years, defenceagencies in both the US and Europe havebecome increasingly keen to outsource theirresearch and development. For example, theUS Department of Defense’s $2.1 bn(71.6 bn) airborne laser project involvesmore than 30 firms.

What’s more, the commercial spin-offs andintellectual property from developing militarytechnology can be lucrative in their ownright. For example, the drive to enhance theefficiency of laser diodes in order to make acompact, yet powerful, laser weapon has clearbenefits for making better diode-pumpedsources. More robust optical coatings orcrystals with higher damage-thresholds couldalso benefit the wider world of photonics.

Lastly, military markets tend to favourdomestic suppliers. While this can befrustrating for foreign firms, it provides small,technology-rich firms in the US and Europewith isolation from competition in the Far East.

I hope that you enjoy this month’s specialissue, and please contact me if you would liketo see another on the same topic next year.

Oliver Graydon, editorE-mail: oliver.graydon@iop.org

“Spin-offsfrom themilitarymarket canbenefit thecommercialworld.”Oliver Graydon

NEWSANALYSIS

10 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Fibre sensors: 2004 in reviewDEFENCE SPECIAL

The fibre-optic sensor marketbecame increasingly active in 2004as suppliers of optical componentsto the once heavily hyped telecom-munications sector began shiftingtheir focus to sensors instead.Although technological develop-ments made few headlines last year,a steady flow of improvements hasundoubtedly enhanced the futurecommercial prospects of fibre sen-sors. Notable developments in thepast 12 months include:● Stocker Yale, New Hampshire,US, unveiled a new speciality fibrefor sensing applications. Thanks toa 155 µm-thick polyimide coating,the singlemode fibre can with-stand an extreme range of temper-atures (–65 to 300 °C) that wouldcause a conventional acrylate-coated fibre to fail. ● Insensys, Southampton, UK,began volume manufacturing ofits low-cost fibre-sensor inter-rogator unit. In an attempt tomake sensor networks moreaffordable, the firm came up witha new read-out scheme. Insteadof capitalizing on a conventionalwavelength-division multiplex-ing design in which each sensorrequires its own wavelength,Insensys pioneered the use oftime-division multiplexing. As aresult, a single wavelength fromone laser of fixed wavelength canbe used to interrogate multiple-fibre sensors. ● Oluma, California, US, reducedthe cost of manufacturing side-polished fibre by employing itspatented batch-processing tech-nology. The firm now markets

fibre-optic sensors based on thetechnology for applications in oilexploration, biochemical sensing,telecommunications, and mili-tary and industrial markets.

Military sectorMilitary and security applicationscontinue to dominate the fibre-optic sensor market. The threeprincipal uses are currently: fibre-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) for navi-gation purposes; sensors forin-service monitoring of struc-tures; and acoustic sensing. In allthree areas, significant develop-ments occurred in 2004.● Navigation: The US Army certi-fied the deployment of a FOG-based vehicle-navigation system(KVH Industries’ TACNAV light).Another development saw BAESystems validating the effective-ness of FOGs in tests aboard theF-16 Fighting Falcon aeroplane.● In-service monitoring: David-son Instruments of Texas devel-oped an all-optical shipboardsensing-system for use in futureUS Navy ships, aircraft andweapons systems. In addition,Optim of Massachusetts unveileda fibre-optic borescope that com-bines remote visual inspectionwith ultrasonic and eddy-currentnondestructive testing. It will beused by the US Air Force.● Acoustic sensing: NorthropGrumman and the US Navy con-tinued their research into fibre-

optic acoustic-sensor arrays. EDOCorporation is also working withthe Navy to develop passive sonartechnology for use on submarines.

Civilian sectorOutside of military and securityapplications, fibre sensors started tomake inroads into a wide range ofindustries – from medicine to indus-trial process control. Again, severaldevelopments were significant: ● Biomedicine: The use of opticaltechnology in biomedicine con-tinued to increase in 2004. In onecase, Los Angeles-based LernerMedical Devices received US Foodand Drug Administration clear-ance for a phototherapy systemthat treats various skin condi-tions. The system consists of alight source, a flexible light guide,a fibre-optic brush and a spothandpiece.

Another interesting develop-ment came when scientists fromthe University of South Florida pro-duced a rapid fibre-optic biosensorassay for the detection of Salmonellain spent irrigation water. The teamdesigned the system to integratedirectly into water lines in the pro-cessing facilities of sprout farms.

Conventional Salmonella test kitsare laboratory-based, labour-intensive and time-consuming.However, the fibre sensors canmonitor spent irrigation water insitu and in real-time. Because ofthe ongoing threat of terrorism,

there is a high demand for sensorsthat can detect chemical or biolog-ical agents that pose a health threatin water. Other similar applicationsare likely to follow soon. ● Liquid monitoring: Researchersfrom Sharif University of Tech-nology in Iran developed a fibre-optic sensor that detects liquidlevels. The sensor uses light-basedintensity modulation and couldhave applications in food produc-tion and other industrial andchemical processes.● Temperature sensing: In orderto improve the reliability of theelectric generators used in nuclearpower stations, optical-frequency-domain reflectometry (OFDR)appears promising. In 2004, LunaTechnologies – a developer of opti-cal test equipment – collaboratedwith GE Industrial Systems to testan OFDR-based distributed sensorfor the monitoring of tempera-tures inside a large-scale 13 200 Velectric motor.● Hydrogen detection: The abilityof fibre sensors to monitor hydro-gen could also prove to be a usefulaid for developers of fuel-cell tech-nology, which is attracting hugeinvestment from the automotiveindustry. Various schemes forhydrogen detection made progressin 2004. For example, Boeing andIntelligent Optical Systems ofCalifornia developed a hydrogenleak-detection system. In addition,DCH Technology teamed up withthe US Department of Energy’sNational Renewable Energy Lab-oratory to develop a fibre with ametal-oxide coating that reactswith hydrogen.

Robert Thomas is principal at SRIConsulting Business Intelligence, abusiness and technology research

consultancy spin-offfrom StanfordResearch Institute. Seewww.sric-bi.com or e-mail rthomas@sric-bi.com.

On the right path: Humvees and other military vehicles often rely on fibre-optic gyronavigation units, such as KVH’s TACNAV Light, to guide them to targets.

Fibre-optic sensors areproving popular in themilitary sector, but arestruggling to be cost-effective in other areas.Robert Thomasdescribes the progressmade in the past year.

KVH

Ind

ustr

ies

Laser cuts paper in the printer

TECHNOLOGYAPPLICATIONS 11 R&D 14 PATENTS 15

11OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

By Jacqueline HewettAn inkjet printer that uses a built-in laser to cut out images as itprints could soon be heading forthe market, according to scientistsfrom the CEA in France. Present-ing the idea to a packed conferencehall at Photonics West 2005, SanJose, US, in January, Olivier Achersaid the printer could make any-thing from business cards andaddress labels to tear-off slips andtrimmed photos.

“With the boom in digital pho-tography, people are now printingphotos at home,” Acher told theaudience. “This printer wouldallow them to print their photo toan exact size or even cut out anoutline of a person or an object.”

Carbon dioxide lasers are a well-established technology when itcomes to cutting reams of paper.But, according to Acher, there is noway to scale this technology downto a price and speed suitable fordesktop applications.

The French team decided to usea near-infrared diode laser as itoffered a cost-effective solution,but there was a catch. “Laserdiodes are not very good at cutting

white paper,” explained Acher.“Conventional paper absorbs lessthan 5% of the light over the450–1400 nm range.” To over-come this problem, Acher’s teamhas developed an invisible ink thatpenetrates deep into the paper andabsorbs the light from the diode.

Acher’s idea integrates the diodelaser and an extra ink cartridgecontaining the invisible ink into a

conventional inkjet printer. Thedocument is printed normally, fol-lowed by the invisible ink wherecuts are required.

Using a 1 W 840 nm diode, stan-dard paper can be cut at speeds ofup to 75 cm/min with a 30 µmspot. To create perforations insteadof cuts, the laser speed is simplyincreased. Crucially, Acher saysthe laser only interacts with the

invisible ink and leaves no trace ofburning on the paper.

Having demonstrated the idea,Acher and co-workers are nowhoping to commercialize it. “Weare looking for a licensing partnerin the printing industry,” Achertold OLE. “We are also on the look-out for a high-power single-emitter diode laser-maker to helpus assess different powers.”

Optical microphone aids MRI scansMEDICAL IMAGING

By James TyrrellAn optical microphone is beingdeveloped in Japan that may meanpatients inside magnetic reso-nance imaging (MRI) scannerscould soon be able to speak tophysicians controlling the scan.

Conventional microphones,which convert sound waves intoelectrical signals, cannot be usedinside a scanner because of itsstrong magnetic field. They alsotend to contain metal parts thatwould corrupt the MRI image.

To get around this problem,Masashi Ohkawa and his col-leagues from the Niigata Univer-

sity have built a metal-free micro-phone that converts sound infor-mation into a light signal. Theteam unveiled its idea during Pho-tonics West 2005.

At the heart of the design is asquare (7 ×7 mm) Si-SiO2 dia-phragm that is 27 µm thick andcontains a polymer optical wave-guide embedded into its surface.

To turn the microphone on, thescientists focus a linearly polarizedbeam of red (633 nm) light from aHe-Ne laser into one end of thewaveguide. Light travels throughthe waveguide from one side of thediaphragm to the other, before

passing through a polarizer andstriking a detector.

Incident sound waves cause thediaphragm to flex, consequentlydistorting the waveguide andchanging its refractive index viathe elasto-optic effect. The indexchange modulates the phase of thelight beam, effectively encoding itwith the sound wave. This is thenseen as a variation in light inten-sity at the detector.

Although the prototype micro-phone can pick up sound pres-sures ranging from 5 to 25 Pa(1 kHz), its sensitivity needs to beimproved. Small output voltages

(less than 1 µV) at the detectormean the scientists currently haveto use a lock-in amplifier to over-come the low signal-to-noise ratio,which is said to be impractical for acommercial device.

On closer inspection, Okhawaand team discovered that thediaphragm was buckling underthermal stress, making the micro-phone inefficient. However, Ohk-awa says there is a solution. “In thenext step, we will use a siliconnitride diaphragm layer,” he toldOLE. “This should help to reducethe thermal stress and improve thesensitivity of the microphone.”

The printer can produce easy-to-tear perforations as well as clean cuts by varying the laser’s cutting speed.

TECHNOLOGYAPPLICATIONS

12 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

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Gas sensor reveals magma motionENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING

Laser-based instruments couldsoon become a convenient tool towarn scientists of impending vol-canic eruptions. Researchers inItaly have built an optical system formonitoring volcanic gases and havejust reported the results of their firstfield tests (Optics Express 12 6515).

Livio Gianfrani and colleaguesfrom the Seconda Universita diNapoli constructed a portable spec-trometer designed around a 2 µmdiode laser and used it to perform insitu measurements of carbon diox-ide gas emissions from the nearbySolfatara crater.

“Analysis of the ratio of 13CO2

to 12CO2 is of the utmost impor-tance in geochemical monitoringof active volcanic areas,” researchleader Livio Gianfrani told OLE. “Asmall change in the ratio – of theorder of one part per million – canbe due to magma movementstowards the surface.”

Currently, the isotope ratios ofvolcanic gases are measured by col-lecting gas samples and sendingthem to a laboratory for mass spec-trometry measurements. Althoughthis method is highly sensitive andreliable, the process means thatresults are not typically availableuntil a few weeks later or longer.

“On the other hand, diode-laserspectroscopy is ideally suited to

making accurate in situ measure-ments,” said Gianfrani. “If simpleabsorption detection schemes areadopted, such as wavelength mod-ulation spectroscopy, it may be pos-sible to implement portable andreliable systems capable of continu-ous and unattended operation overtime periods from days to weeks.”

The Naples team performed thegas measurements between Julyand October 2004, and currentlyreport an accuracy of better than0.05% in their ratio results. The

set-up is built on a 60 ×60 cmbreadboard and consists of aroom-temperature-operated DFBlaser diode emitting 3 mW at2.008 µm, a pair of gas cells (thesample and a reference) and anInGaAs photodiode detector. Theequipment is controlled by a laptopcomputer and housed in a ther-mally insulating protective box.

According to Gianfrani, one ofthe big challenges was making asystem that was robust enough tostand up to the harsh conditions

encountered at the crater. “A vol-canic site can be one of the worstenvironments on our planet,” saidGianfrani. “Instrumentation canbe exposed to acid gases, largetemperature fluctuations andhigh humidity.”

For example, at the BoccaGrande vent on Solfatara, the tem-perature of gases can reach 150 °Cand gases such as hydrogen sul-phide (H2S) and methane (CH4)are present in addition to CO2 andwater vapour.

The gases are collected by a flaskor a 20 m-long Teflon tube thatdirectly feeds into the spectrometersample chamber. A laser thenscans the sample 30 times to probethe gas for its 13CO2 and 12CO2

absorption lines. A set of 10 meas-urements takes about 50 min.

The team is now thinking ofways to improve its set-up. “We areimplementing a new version of thespectrometer based on a new diodelaser in conjunction with a longoptical absorption path-lengthtechnique. This will increase thedetection sensitivity,” said Gian-frani. “We plan to perform isotoperatio measurements in atmos-pheric CO2 at molecular densitiesmuch lower than those observed involcanic gases, without any kind ofsample treatment.”

Feeling the heat: the spectrometer can survive the harsh conditions at the crater.

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Patterned silica ups SERS signals

TECHNOLOGYAPPLICATIONS

13OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Mesophotonics, UK, has unveiled apatterned substrate which it saysenhances the signal produced bysurface-enhanced Raman spec-troscopy (SERS) by a factor of a mil-lion. This extra sensitivity opens thedoor to applications ranging frommedical diagnostics and drug dis-covery to environmental monitor-ing and forensics.

“SERS has never had broad-ranging applications because thetechnique is difficult to use andinconsistent,” John Lincoln ofMesophotonics told OLE. “We thinkwe can make it highly reproducibleso that it works every time.”

The foundation underpinningthese bold statements is the firm’ssemiconductor background andunderstanding of photonic crys-tals. Using its knowledge, Meso-photonics has found a way totightly control the Raman amplifi-cation process and consistentlyproduce enhanced Raman signals.

Launched at Photonics West inJanuary, the initial Klarite productconsists of a 5 ×5 mm piece of sil-ica wafer mounted on a standard3 inch glass slide. The silica is pat-terned with a series of holes usinga lithography process before it is

covered with a thin layer of gold.Initial products are available forRaman excitation wavelengths of633 nm and 785 nm.

“We have released the initialproduct on 3 inch glass slides sothat it is entirely compatible withexisting Raman microscopes,” saidLincoln. “But you don’t have toplace them on a glass slide. Youcould cover a whole 4 inch siliconwafer with these devices – they can

be as big as you want.”An excitation power of 5 mW is

sufficient for a 10 sec signal acqui-sition. According to Lincoln, thismeans that measurements cannow be carried out in real-time andare far more sensitive than before.

These benefits are attractive to arange of applications. “For exam-ple, cell-level and medical diagnos-tics to distinguish between bacterialand viral infections,” explained Lin-

coln. “You can also use it for foren-sics. This could be anything fromfinding counterfeit whiskey orcocaine. There is a lot of work goingon to use Raman to detect illegaldrugs and here, sensitivity is key.”

He adds that the technique couldalso be used for drug discovery andamino-assay studies as well as envi-ronmental applications, includingchecking for water impurities suchas Cryptosporidium.

The array of holes, which forms a photonic crystal, controls the surface plasmons that govern the SERS amplification.

SPECTROSCOPY

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Physicists at Stanford University inthe US have produced the shortestever laser pulse at optical frequen-cies. The pulse lasted just 1.6 fs,which corresponds to just 0.8 ofan optical cycle for pulses with acentral wavelength of 650 nm(Phys. Rev. Lett. 94 033904).

Stephen Harris and his col-leagues started by shining YAGand Ti:sapphire laser beams into a

cell containing deuterium gas.This produced a set of “sidebands”at wavelengths between 2.94 µmin the infrared and 195 nm in theultraviolet. A liquid-crystal phasemodulator was used to change thephase of seven of these sidebands,which were then focused onto acell containing xenon gas.

When the phases of all sevensidebands were the same, theexperiment produced a train ofpulses with durations of 1.6 fs, sep-arated by 11 fs. Since the durationis extremely short, the pulse con-tained wavelengths between 410

and 1560 nm – a range of1.9 octaves. The peak power was1 MW. By changing the relativephases of the sidebands it was alsopossible to produce pulses with dif-ferent time profiles.

“Our light source is unique andmay allow the observation of newphysical processes,” said leadauthor Miro Shverdin. “Moreover,shorter pulses could allow fasterprocesses, such as ultrafast molec-ular dynamics, to be observed.”

Belle Dumé is science writer atPhysicsWeb.

Silicon yields more secrets

TECHNOLOGYR&D

SILICON PHOTONICS

14 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

It’s been a month to remember insilicon photonics with two groupsreleasing news of advances.

Hot on the heels of announcingan all-silicon laser chip (OLE Febru-ary 2005 p14), a team from Intel inthe US and Israel has unveiled acontinuous-wave Raman siliconlaser (Nature 433 725).

Researchers from the Universityof California at Los Angeles, whoannounced the first silicon Ramanlaser in October 2004 (OLE Dec-ember 2004 p5), have now dem-onstrated a directly modulatedversion emitting peak powers ofaround 3 W at 1698 nm (OpticsExpress 13 796).

Intel’s laser is based on a low-loss s-shaped silicon-on-insulatorrib waveguide. The difference isthat Intel has overcome the maindrawback of its original designwhere the laser could only operatefor about 100 ns.

“The biggest challenge wasidentifying that two-photon-absorption induced free carrierabsorption was stopping the gain,”Mario Paniccia, director of Intel’sPhotonics Technology Lab, toldOLE. “We now embed a reverse-biased pin diode into the wave-guide. When a voltage is applied tothe pin, it acts like a vacuum andremoves the excess electrons fromthe path of the light allowing con-tinuous lasing from silicon.”

The new waveguide is optically

pumped by an amplified externalcavity diode laser emitting 3 W at1550 nm, and the lasing thresholdreduces with increasing reverse-bias voltage. Intel reports thresh-olds of 280 and 180 mW withbiases of 5 and 25 V respectively.

The Intel laser emits at 1686 nmand a lensed fibre is used to couplethe emission out of the waveguide.According to Paniccia, the laserhas operated at room temperaturethroughout testing without anysignificant degradation.

The team from California hasalso addressed criticisms voicedafter its announcement in October.“The criticism had to do with thefact that Raman lasers are purelyoptical devices, compared withelectrically powered lasers that canbe electronically switched,” saidresearcher Bahram Jalali.

“We have answered this criti-cism,” Jalali continued. “We show

that the silicon Raman laser doeshave an electronic interface andcan be modulated directly to carrydata. It has the same modulationproperties as diodes used in tele-coms equipment.”

Jalali’s laser uses a silicon chip ina fibre-loop cavity. The chip con-tains a 2 cm long waveguide plus ap–n junction diode.

An intracavity-switching tech-nique allows Jalali to modulate thelaser’s output. “The linear depen-dence of free-carrier density ondiode forward current providesdirect electronic modulation ofthe intracavity gain,” he said.“The laser will be turned off whenthe loss induced by the diode cur-rent exceeds the gain per roundtrip in the cavity.”

According to Jalali, data rates of10 Gbit/s are possible. “We haveshown 30 dB (1:1000) modula-tion depth,” he told OLE.

New research has brought fully integrated monolithic photonic chips a step closer.

Optics enters thesingle-cycle regime

ULTRASHORT PULSES

X-R AY L A S E R S

Researchers in Germany andAustria have unveiled a compact X-ray laser which they say puts alaboratory source of higher-energyX-ray beams within reach. The unitemits highly collimated, spatiallycoherent X-rays at around 1 nm andphoton energies up to 1.3 keV. Theauthors say this is around 10 timesthe energy produced by previouscompact sources. The set-upfeatures a multistage Ti:sapphirelaser that generates near-infraredpulses of less than 15 fs. Thesepulses are then spectrallybroadened and compressed bychirped mirrors. The deviceproduces X-rays when the linearlypolarized pulses ionize a jet ofhelium (Nature 433 596).

PH O T O N I C C RYS TA L S

Researchers in Canada and the UShave fabricated woodpile-type, 3Dphotonic crystals using phase-mask-based lithography. Thescientists make theirmicrostructured materials withtetragonal or cubic symmetries byexposing the photoresist tointerference patterns generated bytwo phase masks. By takingadvantage of the standard tools ofthe electronic industry, the authorshope that their work could lead tothe mass-production of 3D photoniccrystals for applications such asintegrated optical circuits (Appl.Phys. Lett. 86 071117-1).

LI Q U I D-C RYS TA L L A S E R S

European scientists havedemonstrated quasicontinuoustuning of a dye-doped cholestericliquid-crystal (CLC) laser. Themirrorless device contains a glasscell in which six dyes are combinedto nearly cover the wavelengthrange from ultraviolet (370 nm) tored (680 nm). Optically pumped,the team tunes its CLC laser bymoving the cell to the left or rightwith respect to the excitation source– a pulsed (4 ns, 1–10 Hz) 337 nmnitrogen laser (Appl. Phys. Lett. 86051107-1).

JOURNAL WATCH

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TECHNOLOGYR&D/PATENTS

15OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

ACQUISITIONSDiodem sells portfolio to Biolaseand drops infringement claimsBiolase, the maker of dental lasers, has acquiredthe IP portfolio of fellow US firm Diodem for $3 m(72.27 m) in cash and $4.5 m in common stock.As a result of the acquisition, Diodem will drop itspatent infringement claims against Biolase.

The portfolio consists of eight US andinternational patents, four which were assertedagainst Biolase. “This transaction protects andsolidifies our core technology,” said Robert Grant,president of Biolase. “It clears the way for strategiclicensing opportunities for Biolase both in the USand internationally.”

LICENSINGLED heavyweights Cree and Nichiareach a cross-licensing dealCree of the US and Nichia of Japan have agreed tocross-license their patents relating to white LEDtechnology. The deal is said to complement anagreement signed between the two companieswhen they settled litigation against each other inNovember 2002. The detailed terms of theagreement were not disclosed.

“Nichia has developed pioneering technology in

the field of LED-based white lighting and this givesCree access to this technology,” said Cree’spresident Chuck Swoboda. “The agreementrecognizes the strength of Cree’s IP and reinforcesboth firms’ leadership in solid-state lighting.”

APPLICATIONSFarlight designs an LED lightingsystem for airport-runway useFarlight LLC in the US has filed a patentapplication (WO 2005/011329) for an LED-basedairfield-lighting system. According to Farlight, itsdirectional in-pavement system is suitable for usein runways and taxiways, including the centrelineand touchdown zone.

The system contains a power controller, a lightmodule and a thermoelectric cooler. The lightmodule uses several high-flux LEDs and anon-imaging light transformer that collects andredistributes light from the LEDs in apredetermined pattern. The cooler helps to controlthe LED’s flux, colour and intensity distribution.

Conoptix invents a way to makeLCDs on a paper substrateInventors at Swedish firm Conoptix are trying topatent a reflective LCD based on a paper

substrate. Because the surface of paper is a lotrougher than that of other substrates such as glassor plastic, the authors ran into problems usingindium-tin-oxide electrodes. To overcome this, thesubstrate is coated with a polymer.

The authors say that this polymeric coating alsoprevents liquid crystal from diffusing into thepaper, and contaminants diffusing into the liquidcrystal. They add that it would be possible to makepaper-based LCDs cost-effectively in high volumes.“It will be possible to have LCDs on disposableproducts, such as packaging,” said the inventorsin application WO 2005/004094. “It will also beeasier to manufacture an LCD as an integral partof other products.”

BAE designs widely tunable OPOfor countermeasure applicationsDefence giant BAE Systems has applied to patent alaser system capable of producing a tunable outputof between 5 and 20 µm. Detailed in applicationWO 2005/003845, the company says that thesewavelengths are useful for countermeasureapplications as well as for detecting pollutants andchemical-warfare agents in the atmosphere. Thesystem is based on a cadmium-germanium-arsenide optical parametric oscillator (OPO).

PATENTS

To search for recently published applications, visit http://pctgazette.wipo.int and http://ep.espacenet.com.

Researchers in Germany claim tohave made the first organic semi-conductor laser that emits pulsedUV light. The team from the Tech-nical University of Braunschweigsays that the development couldultimately lead to a new excitationsource for cost-effective biofluores-cent monitoring (Advanced Mater-ials 17 31). The news comes justsix months after the team reportedan organic laser that operates inthe blue region.

The UV laser is optically pumpedand consists of a distributed feed-back structure containing a light-emitting layer of spiro molecules –a class of materials found in OLEDdisplays. It emits pulses of lightwith a power of up to 6.8 W andoperates at a wavelength as shortas 377.7 nm. The organic materialwas supplied by Covion Organic

Semiconductors of Frankfurt, aleading supplier of OLED materialsthat has just been purchased byMerck in a 750 m deal (see p6).

The laser is made by depositing a350 nm-thick layer of the spiromaterial on top of a silicon sub-strate that features a series ofetched parallel grooves (a grating).By varying the pitch of the gratingbetween 200 and 225 nm it is pos-sible to make lasers with an emis-sion of anything between 377.7and 395 nm. The team believesthat even shorter wavelengthscould be achievable in the future.

“Emission wavelengths down to300 nm should be possible, pro-vided that there is a suitable stablematerial,” commented ThomasRiedl, head of the Braunschweigresearch team. “The problem withhigher photon energies [shorter

wavelengths] will be the onset ofphotochemical reactions in theorganic material.”

According to Riedl, the widegain-bandwidth of an organiclaser gives a big advantage over gasand diode lasers, which usuallyhave a fixed wavelength of oper-ation or limited tuning capabilities.

“Our organic UV laser provideswavelength tunability over 18 nmand is perfectly suited to selectivelyexcite a sample. Such a large tun-ing range in this spectral region isnot possible with UV laser diodes.”

Although in initial experimentsthe laser has been optically pumpedby pulses from a nitrogen laser at337 nm, the researchers are cur-rently striving to construct an elec-trically driven version. “We nowhave a project, funded by the Ger-man government, with the aim ofdemonstrating electrically pumpedorganic lasers within the next twoyears,” Riedl told OLE. “The pre-requisites are there in principle. Allof the organic materials used tobuild our lasers bring the ability totransport charges and emit lightupon charge injection. It works forOLEDs, so why not for lasers?”

Organic lasers enter the ultravioletSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

The Braunschweig team (from left toright: Daniel Schneider, Thomas Riedl,Patrick Görrn and Torsten Rabe) posewith the organic laser experiment.

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making light work for you

OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

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16

Project Stingray, which aims to commercialize fibre-optic seismic sensors for mapping oiland gas reservoirs under the sea-bed, begins testing this month. James Tyrrell reports.

Fibre-optic sensorsfor sea-bed testing

SEISMIC SENSING

17OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Extracting hydrocarbons from deep below theocean floor is an expensive operation forwhich small improvements in reservoir man-agement can mean large cost-savings. UKfirm QinetiQ thinks its fibre-optic technologycould bring big benefits to the industry and,working together with US seismic equipmentspecialist Input/Output (I/O), the company ishoping to bring a seismic sensor to market.

QinetiQ’s concept has captured the inter-est of oil and gas majors BP, ChevronTexaco,ConocoPhillips and Shell, who have comeonboard to fund the prototype assembly andtesting. With phase-one testing beginningthis month, the joint-industry programmeknown as “Project Stingray” could lead tothe deployment of the world’s first fibre-opticsea-bed monitoring system.

Conventionally, electrically powered sen-sors are used to scan the sea-bed, but as Qine-tiQ’s fibre-optic business group-managerMichael Gill explained, these have a majordisadvantage. “Electronic components andseawater don’t mix very well,” he told OLE.“Stingray uses fibre optics for both the sen-sors and the means of capturing the data,with an interrogator system on the dry end.”

Over the past decade, QinetiQ’s seabornefibre-optic technology has been refined fordefence applications such as underwaterand surface target-detection. As a result, thefirm has developed a good understanding ofhow the sensors and architecture behave.Gill feels that it is the culmination of thisknowledge, in combination with the fallingcost of telecoms-type optoelectronic compo-nents, that makes now the right time tocommercialize the system.

QinetiQ’s seismic sensors consist of opticalhydrophones and accelerometers that mapthe ocean floor by measuring the pressureand shear components of underwatershockwaves. An acoustic source is fired in apattern around the sensor array to produceshocks that are reflected by the strata. It isthe timing and the strength of these reflec-tions that provides the clue as to what liesbeneath the seabed.

“Basically, what is happening [in our sen-sors] is that a coil of fibre is distorted by theseismic signal,” Gill explained. “We are cap-turing the phase change that this distortioncreates in a pulse of laser light.” The lightpulse, provided by a fibre laser on the surface,reflects back from each detector within thesensor array in turn, through a modulationand demodulation scheme. An interrogatorunit then examines the phase change to cre-ate a seismic map of the ocean floor.

The sensors themselves are based on astrand of high-numerical-aperture silicafibre with a diameter of 80 µm, while stan-dard 125 µm singlemode fibre transmitsdata to the surface. In theory, a complete sys-tem can be tens or even hundreds of kilome-tres long, with an array containingthousands of sensors. Ultimately, cablescould be laid into the seabed by a remotelyoperated vehicle of the type commonly usedfor deploying transatlantic telephone cables.

Phase-one testing is planned for thismonth and the Stingray team is busy build-ing its array at QinetiQ’s Windrith site in theUK. QinetiQ is working closely with I/O – itsalliance partner on the project – which issupplying some of the hardware that will beused for testing, such as the recording unit.

“We will deploy a prototype hybrid arrayon the sea-bed just off the south coast of Eng-land,” revealed Gill. “What we are doing isbenchmarking our system and our sensorswith the I/O sensors – a MEMS-based systemwhich is pretty much acknowledged as state-of-the-art technology.” For the phase-onetesting, the array will be positioned at depthsof up to 18 m. It measures 2 km in lengthwith 20 detector stations spaced at 50 mintervals. In total, around 8.5 km of fibre isused for the data transmission and sensing.

Featuring I/O’s proven design of cable andpressure housing, the phase-one sensing sta-tions are actually much larger than the

With oil and gas firms extracting just 30–35% of a field’s hydrocarbon reserves, fibre-optic seismicsensors could play a key role in generating the extra information companies need to maximize production.

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envisaged final product. However, if the coresensor design works well, the team will shrinkeverything down to a much smaller sizebefore beginning phase two of the develop-ment programme. Currently, the accelerome-ters are 40 mm in diameter and 40 mm high,while the hydrophones are housed in 30mm-diameter cylinders of about 50 mm in length.

With phase one of the project focusing onbenchmarking, phase two is about scaling-up and on-site testing and is scheduled tostart in the summer, running for 14–15

months. “The idea is to demonstrate that anear-engineering-product level of designdeployed on a real reservoir can provide theright quality and detail of data,” said Gill.“[When] we prove that the system architec-ture works, and the interrogator systemworks and can be linked in to provide theright kind of data, we hope to move forwardwith the four sponsors to a second phase inwhich we will build a much larger array.”

When in place, such an array could bringimmediate benefits. “The high-quality data

can be interpreted to show where the hydro-carbons are in the reservoir at any giventime,” Gill said. “If you repeat the survey fairlyfrequently, you can track movement and planthe reservoir extraction programme to maxi-mize the rate of extraction from the reservoir.”

Typically, the extraction from an oil or gasfield is only around 30–35% of the actualhydrocarbon in the reservoir. If it were possi-ble to improve that figure by just a few percent,the returns would be significant. “You can dothat in a number of ways, but by getting a bet-ter image throughout the exploitation of thereservoir, you can cut out some of the uncer-tainties in the reservoir model,” explained Gill.“You can put injection wells in the right placeand you can drill less dry wells.”

Having recognized the potential of itsfibre-optic technology to transform seismicsensing, QinetiQ has already captured thebasic intellectual property behind ProjectStingray. “The advantages of fibre are thatyou can increase the reliability, longevity andsimplicity of the system and reduce the cost,while still deriving the right kind of qualitydata,” said Gill. “With fibre-optics, you canreduce the size, weight and cost of the sea-bed component by a significant amount.”These are comments that the oil industry hasbeen heard to echo.

“Most [seismic monitoring] systems sharea similar design based on ocean-bottomcables and geophone sensors, which can becostly both to deploy and to maintain,” com-mented Tim Jackson from BP. “We thinkfibre-optic systems could provide the costbreakthrough required to accelerate theadoption of permanent reservoir-monitor-ing systems in the marine environment.” ■■

SEISMIC SENSING

18 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

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Chemical lasers come tothe defence of the skies

DEFENCE SPECIAL: INTERVIEW

19OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

At the beginning of last month, NorthropGrumman, the giant US defence contractor,announced that it was creating a new busi-ness unit, called Directed Energy Systems, toturn multikilowatt and megawatt lasers intoa military reality. Art Stephenson, 62-year-old former director of NASA’s Marshall SpaceFlight Center, has since been named as theunit’s vice-president. Oliver Graydon spoke toStephenson about the role of the businessunit and the challenges in using lasers todefend the skies.

OG: Why set up the Directed EnergySystems unit, and why now?AS: We’ve had some significant events[occur] over the past 12 months that werethe culmination of a lot of work over manyyears. These included “first light” on the air-borne laser; the first power-up of a new phos-phate laser called the strategic illuminatorlaser, and a new power level on the jointhigh-power solid-state laser [see box]. Coin-cidentally, all of these achievements hap-pened on the same day, November 10, 2004.

Over the past year we had been thinkingthat it was time to focus our efforts and bringthings together. We’ve been developing thishigh-power expertise for more than 30 yearsand have a lot of technology in the labora-tory and test range, but nothing that hasactually been used for real military purposes.We think that it is now time for that to hap-pen with chemical lasers. Last year we

demonstrated shooting down a salvo ofthree mortars. Prior to that, over the pastfour years, we have demonstrated the shoot-ing down of various rockets and artillery.

There has recently been a heightenedinterest in directed-energy systems from themilitary and we just felt that now was theright time for these systems to start findingtheir way from the laboratory into the field.

What are likely to be the firstapplications of high-power lasers?We have been funded for years with theunderstanding that some day directed-energy weapons would find their way intodefence applications. We’ve got very gooddata and test results that show that [thesedevices] are now ready. It’s really up to thedecision makers how this technology is used.We’re interested in getting some high-powerchemical lasers out there. We think that oncethey are used, people will discover that theyare very effective. It remains to be seen whatthe first deployments will be.

Tell me about the structure of thenew unit.The unit not only develops chemical lasers,there is also a large amount of effort concen-trated on solid-state lasers. These solid-statedevices are not yet ready to put in the field,but we think that its a question of when, notif. Two of Northrop’s subsidiaries, CuttingEdge Optronics and Synoptics, are part of

Are high-power chemical lasers ready for the battlefield? Northrop Grumman thinks so – itsnew business unit will tackle the transition from lab to deployment. Oliver Graydon reports.

The airborne laser (ABL): Amegawatt-class chemical oxygeniodine laser (COIL) that will bedeployed on a modified Boeing747. The US Missile DefenseAgency plans to use the ABL toshoot down incoming enemyballistic missiles shortly after theyhave launched. The ABL project isstill under development but isalready over budget and running

behind its initial schedule.Joint high-power solid-statelaser (JHPSSL): A US defenceprogramme to develop a solid-state laser with an output power of25 kW by the end of 2004. Threecompeting groups, from NorthropGrumman, Raytheon and LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory, aredeveloping prototypes. Testing isexpected to take place soon. If all

goes well, the successful designwill be scaled up to the 100 kWmark.Strategic illuminator laser(SILL): A US defence programmeawarded to Northrop to construct a4 kW solid-state pulsed laser forilluminating and tracking targetsprior to their destruction by eitherthe ABL or MTHEL, for example. Arugged, flight-qualifiable prototype

is to be built and demonstrated by2006.Tactical high-energy laser(THEL): A ground-based high-power chemical laser for shootingdown artillery. In tests, thedeuterium fluoride laser hasdestroyed around 50 airbornetargets. A mobile version formounting on a vehicle is also indevelopment.

Military lasers in development at Northrop Grumman

The face of military lasers at Northrop Grumman.Art Stephenson has recently been appointed vice-president of the company’s new Directed EnergySystems business unit.

▲▲

DEFENCE SPECIAL: INTERVIEW

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the new Directed Energy Systems unit. Syn-optics makes crystals and key materials forsolid-state lasers, while Cutting Edge is devel-oping high-power diode-array pumps. Theplan is to bring the two firms closer togetherwith our space technology division and othersectors that are developing lasers.

The number of people working in lasersacross the entire corporation [NorthropGrumman] is around 1500. They are not all apart of the new unit, but about half of themare associated with the programmes and tech-nology for which I am directly responsible.

Geographically, Directed Energy Systemsis spread around quite a bit. We’re located inSpace Park at Redondo Beach, California,US, as well as at Edwards Air Force base,Whitesands testing ground and out at thetwo subsidiaries [Cutting Edge Optronicsand Synoptics].

What about criticism that chemicallasers are not practical?The chemicals are not that hard to workwith. We strongly object when people saythat the chemicals are too dangerous or thelogistics are too difficult. We regularly trans-port chemicals all over this country on thehighways that we all drive on – it’s no moredangerous than sending a gasoline tankertruck down the road. There are lots of mythsout there about chemical lasers and they arejust not true. People fear the possibility of adirect hit on a refueller, but the consequenceswould be no worse than a hit on a fullyfuelled Humvee vehicle.

Why don’t you forget about chemicallasers and go straight to solid-statelasers?Some people have advocated that approach,but we believe that even if you really acceler-ate the research, high-power solid-state lasersare still at least six years away. If you keepgoing at the current pace then they are nineyears away. If you want to use a high-power[hundreds of kilowatts] laser in the next fewyears then it’s going to be a chemical one.

We can also use the deployment of chemi-cal lasers to learn a lot about beam trackingand targeting systems. That knowledge will

One of the airborne laser’s six chemical oxygeniodine laser (COIL) modules that Northrop isbuilding. The combined output power of all sixCOILs will give a megawatt-class output beam.

“High-power solid-state lasers arestill years away.”Art Stevenson

be useful and can be directly transferred tosolid-state lasers later on.

Are there technical barriers thatneed to be overcome beforechemical lasers can be deployed?We don’t see any remaining technology bar-riers that will prevent a system being used ina combat situation. It’s a matter of packag-ing the technology that we have in a waythat’s transportable. We’re ready to build asystem and we think that we can have some-thing that is appropriately packaged in13–18 months.

What’s the current status of high-power solid-state laser development?We are working on the joint high-powersolid-state laser programme and there theinitial goal is to achieve [an output power of]25 kW. After that it’s a question of scaling upthe power. Ultimately, we believe that solid-state lasers can be packaged smaller and canweigh less than their chemical counterparts.

There’s also the obvious advantage ofsolid-state lasers being electrically poweredrather than needing a gas supply. We thinkthat we are about six to nine years away fromhaving a solid-state 100 kW laser that can dothe things that chemical lasers can do today.

Why do you think that it will be solong before high-power solid-statelasers are ready?We’ve been through it with chemical lasers.Taking them from the laboratory to a practi-cal system is a big job that involves many pro-totypes and lots of testing. Chemical lasersdemonstrated the power levels of our currentsolid-state lasers about 20 years ago. We areworking with other sectors [of the business]to build laser systems for ships and airplanesand ground vehicles to see how you can pack-age a laser to suit those various platforms.

Aside from military uses, do high-power chemical lasers have anypotential commercial applications?I see them as a purely defence tool. Wehaven’t found any commercial applicationsthat require the kind of power that chemicallasers deliver. As we come up in power withsolid-state lasers there might be some spin-off applications.

Cutting Edge delivered more than 1000pump modules last year, but for large high-power lasers we are not expecting a largeproduction run. We are hoping that we canget a chemical laser out there and then seehow useful it is in the field and then attractmore interest. ■■

DEFENCE SPECIAL: INTERVIEW

21OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

The tactical high-energy laser has alreadydestroyed shells and rockets in tests.

“There are lots ofmyths out thereabout chemicallasers and theyare just not true.”

DEFENCE SPECIAL: TECHNOLOGY

22 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

ZEUS: the land-mine neutralizerClearing minefields is a dangerous and slowprocess, so US soldiers in Afghanistan musthave been pleased when, in the summer of2003, they received a new laser tool thatpromised to do the job quickly and safely.

Between March and August 2003, anarmoured vehicle mounted with a laser(nicknamed ZEUS) moved around the coun-try destroying mines and other explosives.During this period, ZEUS used its onboardkilowatt-class infrared laser to neutralize atotal of 210 targets, including 51 in a single1 h 40 min mission.

The pioneers behind the project are GeraldWilson, from the directed energy division ofthe US Army Space and Missile Defense Com-mand (SMDC) and Owen Hofer from the USengineering firm SPARTA, which designedand built the system.

The beauty of ZEUS is that its clearing pro-cedure is rapid and very safe, Wilson told dele-gates at IQPC’s Directed Energy Weaponsconference in London in January 2005. Hesaid that the vehicle can operate at a range of25–300 m and takes between 5 s and 4 min(typically 30 s) to destroy a mine. The result isa clearance rate of up to 25 explosives perhour when equipped with a 0.5 kW laser.

The system has attracted many accoladesfrom the soldiers who have worked with it inAfghanistan. “Combined Joint Task Force-180 was impressed with the ZEUS System,the professionalism of the SMDC and theprime contractors,” said Colonel KurtMcNeely. “The 527th Engineers and 797thExplosive Ordnance Detachment have for-mulated several tactics, techniques and pro-cedures while operating ZEUS.”

Since coming back from active duty, ZEUShas had a complete refit that includes aweight reduction of 2000 lb and a new lasersystem. When it was sent into Afghanistan,ZEUS was fitted with a 0.5 kW diode-pumpedNd:YAG laser operating at 1 µm. However,

since then SPARTA has upgraded it to a 2 kWYb:glass fibre-laser that is diode-pumped andoperates in quasi-CW mode. ZEUS also fea-tures a visible green tag laser (frequency-doubled Nd:YLF laser emitting 0.45 W at523 nm) to perform targeting, before firingthe main infrared laser.

ZEUS has demonstrated that it can neu-tralize almost all types of metal and plastic-cased munitions including mortar rounds,rifle grenades, small rockets, pipe-bombs and

landmines. In tests to date, more than 30 dif-ferent types of ordnance have been success-fully neutralized. Provided that the locationof a landmine is known accurately, ZEUS canneutralize it at night and even when it isburied up to 1 cm below the surface.

As well as proving that it functions well,ZEUS has shown that it is a practical solution.It can be transported by cargo plane or heli-copter to the point of deployment, and easilymaintained in the field.

Laser technology prepaDirected energy systems arenow beginning to show theircapabilities on the battle-field. Oliver Graydonprofiles two examples: aland-mine neutralizer and amissile-killer.

1986 Theoretically evaluated the feasibility of using lasers to cause detonations of explosives.1987 Performed laboratory demonstrations with a 30 kW CO2 laser. 1991 Demonstrated detonation of landmines with 0.3 kW Nd:YAG laser and 0.8 kW CO2 laser.1994 1st-generation system for neutralizing landmines, artillery rounds and rifle grenades tested,consisting of a 2 kW arc-lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser mounted on an armoured personnel carrier.1995 Determined feasibility of integrating a high-power diode-pumped laser onto a Humvee. 1996–1999 Developed 2nd-generation system (ZEUS) fitted with a 0.5 kW diode-pumped laseron a Humvee.2000–2002 Upgraded to improved laser diodes and demonstrated military use.2003 Deployed ZEUS to Afghanistan.2004 Upgraded ZEUS’s laser to a diode-pumped fibre laser with an output power of 2 kW.

History of Zeus and laser mine-clearing

Top: the latest version of ZEUS is equipped with a 2 kW fibre laser that is mounted onto the roof of anadapted Humvee armoured vehicle. Bottom left: ZEUS has spent six months proving its worth inAfghanistan where it neutralized a total of 210 explosives. Bottom right: one of the big benefits of ZEUS isthat it is compact and light enough to be deployed by helicopter or cargo plane.

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THEL: the missile killerThe idea of using a ground-based laser toshoot down incoming rockets and missiles inflight may not be new, but it is only now, withthe advent of powerful chemical lasers, thatit is becoming a military reality.

The US Army’s Tactical High-Energy Laser(THEL) programme – a collaboration betweenUS and Israeli partners (for details, see box bot-tom left) to develop a laser weapon to defendagainst airborne threats – has seen an impor-tant milestone during the last 12 months.

In May 2004, the latest mobile testbed(called MTHEL) used its high-power deu-terium fluoride (DF) laser to shoot down alarge-calibre rocket that was in flight carry-ing a live warhead. The tests were performedat the US Army’s White Sands missile rangein New Mexico. The achievement is impor-tant, as the rocket was representative of areal-life threat, and larger and faster than thetargets which THEL had faced previously.

“The destruction of a new type of threatonce again demonstrates the capability ofthe MTHEL testbed,” said Wes Bush, presi-dent of Northrop Grumman’s Space Tech-nology Sector, after the tests. “We are excitedabout this historic accomplishment and weare fully prepared to move to the next stage ofbuilding the MTHEL prototype.”

In order to shoot down fast-moving pro-jectiles, THEL requires a sophisticated targetacquisition and tracking system, in additionto the main laser. In effect, the hardware con-sists of three major subsystems: a radar andcommunications system; an optical pointer-tracker for steering the laser beam onto thetarget; and the DF laser itself.

The laser light leaves THEL via an assem-bly called the beam director. This assembly,which resembles a large steerable reflector,takes the generated laser beam (about 10 cmin diameter) and expands it by a factor ofseven before focusing it onto the target.

The recent series of successful tests showthat the project has come a long way since itstarted life as a four-year, $201 m (7152 m)advanced-concept technology demonstrationcalled THEL-ACTD in 1996. LieutenantColonel Jeff Souder from the US Army’s Spaceand Missile Defense Command, told delegatesat IQPC’s recent Directed Energy Weaponsconference in London that the technology isready to build a weapon for use in the field. ■■

To find out more about IQPC’s directed energyweapons conferences, please visit www.iqpc.com.

23OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

ares for 21st century war

Customers Israel Ministry of Defence and US Army Space and Missile Defense Command. Northrop Grumman (Redondo Beach, US) prime contractor and responsible for systemsengineering and integration of the all subsystems into a complete prototype. NP Ball Aerospace (Boulder, US) provides beam stabilization and sensors for the Pointer Tracker. Contraves Brashear (Pittsburgh, US) construction of the gimballed beam director. Electro-Optic Industries (Rehovat, Israel) systems engineering and design support for thePointer Tracker. Israel Aircraft Industries (Yehud Industrial Zone, Israel) delivery of the fire-control assembly,external sensor for the Pointer Tracker and a fire-control radar. RAFAEL (Haifa, Israel) responsible for fluid-supply assembly and pressure-recovery assembly,both of which form part of the laser subsystem. Tadiran (Holon, Israel) provides the interface between the fire-control radar and THEL’s maincommand and control subsystem.

THEL project partners and their roles

1996 Program starts1998 Radar and target-acquisition hardware tested1999 Target handover and tracking testing2000 28 Katyusha rockets shot down 2002 Five artillery shells shot down 2003 Lasing in the rain demonstrated. Staticmortar and rocket testsMay 2004 Large-calibre rocket carrying a livewarhead shot down at White Sands missilerange in New Mexico, USAugust 2004 THEL shoots down mortarrounds in tests at White Sands

Milestones in thedemonstration of THEL

Weapon ready: the THEL testbed has shown that it can destroy a variety of airborne projectiles includingrockets, missiles and artillery (below). The beam from the high-power deuterium fluoride laser is directedonto the target using a steerable assembly called the beam director (above).

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The UK’s Ministry of Defence can help SMEs and universities fund state-of-the-art research.Neil Whitehall, operations director at one of its technology centres, explains how.

How to tap the potentialof the military market

DEFENCE SPECIAL: MARKETS

25OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Cutting-edge technology is vital for providingthe armed services with battle-winning capa-bilities. In the UK alone, the Ministry of theDefence (MOD) spends £450 m (7653 m)each year on defence research. The goodnews for the photonics industry is that theMOD is keen to work closely with small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) and academicinstitutions throughout Europe to stimulateinnovation and test emerging technologies.

In order to make this collaboration as effi-cient as possible, the MOD has recentlyformed four Defence Technology Centres(DTCs) with the aim of accelerating thedevelopment of early-stage technologies foruse in its equipment programmes. The mostrelevant DTC to OLE readers is the electro-magnetic remote sensing (EMRS) DTC,which organizes collaborative projects inthe area of innovative sensors (see the boxadjacent, “EMRS-DTC explained”).

For anyone interested in getting involvedwith EMRS projects, here are the answers tosome frequently asked questions:

What are the benefits of gettinginvolved with projects throughEMRS-DTC? The defence market is characterized by longprocurement cycles. For SMEs, these exten-ded cycle times have always been financiallyproblematic as the time between initialengagement and point of reward is difficultto bridge. However, by engaging with defencesector prime-contractors via an EMRS-DTCresearch project, SMEs can form valuablerelationships and establish themselves asproviders of key technology.

How do the projects operate? All projects are operated under contract tothe EMRS-DTC prime contractor, BAE -Systems Avionics. Projects are reviewedquarterly through meetings with theEMRS-DTC team and MOD representatives.Projects in related areas of technology aregrouped together for review and partici-pants share knowledge and experience tohelp overcome any problems, which addsan element of positive peer review to themanagement process.

The aim of the EMRS-DTC is to demonstrateinnovative, cost-effective sensor technologiesthat exploit any part of the electromagneticspectrum in order to improve the MOD’s abilityto detect and identify potential military targets.Specifically, it is looking for technologies withenhanced performance in the following areas:

● Day-and-night, all-weather capability● Long-range operation● Rapid, large-area search capability● Detection of low-signature targets● Detection of camouflaged/concealed targets● Affordable, compact, robust systems to fitexisting military platforms● Covert operation● Multi-function detection and identificationcapability.

The EMRS-DTC was launched in July 2003 andis a virtual centre of excellence, operated by a

consortium of industrial companies working inpartnership with the MOD. The industrialconsortium is led by BAE Systems Avionics andalso includes Thales Defence UK, Filtronic andRoke Manor Research.

The EMRS-DTC receives funding of £5 m(77.3 m) per annum from the MOD and willoperate for a maximum of six years (until theend of March 2009). The research co-ordinatedby the EMRS-DTC is organized into a number ofbroad technical themes. For OLE readers, thetechnical area of most relevance is that ofelectro-optic (EO) systems.

The focus of the EO research theme is toprovide technology solutions for improvedsensors in terms of weight, performance, cost,size, power consumption and reliability.

Research is concentrated in four areas: activeimaging; hyperspectral sensing; novel detectors;and advanced optical techniques. Moreinformation can be found on www.emrsdtc.com.

EMRS-DTC explained

Equipping aircraft: the combination of optical parametric oscillators and an optical fibre network couldprovide a convenient means of delivering light of various wavelengths to sensors on a plane.

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DEFENCE SPECIAL: MARKETS

Lasers, optics and photonics resources and news

Looking for a product or company?

Then look no further than optics.orgBrowse our extensive new products section which isupdated at least weeklySearch our Buyer’s Guide of key companies, whichprovides full company details, product information andhyperlinks to their website.

26 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

What is a typical project durationand financing arrangement? All projects are fully funded and the origina-tors (commonly called “science providers”)retain full ownership of their intellectualproperty. Science providers can benefitthrough technology-licensing agreements iftheir research is successful. They are also freeto seek licensing agreements in non-militarymarkets. Projects are typically of betweenone and three years in duration. The termsare constructed to be highly attractive as thisguarantees a strong “technology push” fromthe science base into the DTC.

How can SMEs and universities getinvolved or bid for projects? Each year, between October and the end ofDecember, the EMRS-DTC holds an open callfor research proposals. This process is avail-able to all and information on military-sensing requirements is published to help thescience base understand how their capabili-ties may be relevant. At bidders’ conferences,the DTC team describes the terms and condi-tions under which work is contracted, and theapplication process bidders need to complete.

Do I have to be based in the UK?No, the model is one of open opportunity. The

UK Government’s policy is to support engage-ment with European partners and it regardsdefence as a global market.

Inside the EMRS-DTC programme wecurrently have a project with VTT Electron-ics (Finland) on low-temperature co-firedceramics, and we have a project with BlueHorizon Inc (US) on rapid developmentmethods. Our project with Element 6 ondiamond MESFET technology includespartners at Ulm University (Germany) andour work at Thales Optics (North Wales) on

diffraction grating modelling includes mat-erials development work at Thales Research& Technology in Orsay (outside Paris). UKdefence research has an internationaldimension, where security permits, andwhere there is a capability that does notexist in the UK.

How can I find out more?The annual conference is the DTC’s mainchannel for the dissemination of unclassifiedoutput. This year, it will take place on 16–17

Professor Roy Anderson, the MOD’s chief scientific advisor, explains the motivaion behind DTCs.

June at the Edinburgh International Confer-ence Centre. At the conference, the EMRS-DTC science providers can show their workto the military sensing community where itspotential will be assessed. The event providesan excellent opportunity for those organiza-tions considering applying through theDTC’s annual call for proposals to view theentire programme and position their own

proposals to maximum effect. Bookings forthe conference commenced on this month.For further information on the EMRS-DTCand this year’s annual technical conference,see www.emrsdtc.com/conferences. ■■

Neil Whitehall is operations director of the EMRS-DTC and is based at BAE Systems in Edinburgh,Scotland. E-mail: neil.whitehall@baesystems.com.

DEFENCE SPECIAL: MARKETS

OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

BAE Systems ATC photonic fibres for activesensor systems

The use of high-powerinfrared sources onaircraft for targetillumination and self-defence is expected toincrease. However,aircraft, and particularlyfast jets, have difficultyin accommodating

multiple laser systems due to limitations inspace, electrical power-consumption and ahostile operating environment.

One option being explored by BAE SystemsAdvanced Technology Centre (ATC) is to have asingle high-power laser source which is time-shared between systems around the aircraft viaan optical fibre network. Under this scheme, acentral laser feeds optical parametricoscillators (OPOs) which convert a fixed inputwavelength to the required output wavelength(fixed, tunable, or even broadband).

Unfortunately, conventional high-poweroptical fibre is unsuitable for this applicationbecause it is multimode. As a result, at theoutput of the fibre there is a complexmultimode output beam that changes withtemperature and with flexing of the cable,making it unsuitable for feeding an OPO.

However, recent advances in optical-fibretechnology suggest that it should be possible toprevent all but the fundamental mode frompropagating and to achieve tolerance to thehigh optical powers. The OptoelectronicsResearch Centre at Southampton University hasbeen fabricating a different type of optical fibreknown as a “holey fibre”, which has a matrix oftiny holes surrounding the central core. Sincethe core is undoped and significantly larger thanthat in a conventional singlemode fibre, there isthe possibility that this new type of fibre will bewell suited to distributing singlemode, high-power optical signals.

“The initial application is the distribution oflight to power all sorts of remote sensors suchas those that detect targeting by enemy lasers,threat-recognition sensors, rangefinding andimaging sensors,” said Elizabeth O’Driscoll,

optical specialist at BAE Systems ATC. “ Usingthese fibres means we can position sensors inparts of, say, an aircraft where they couldn’t beplaced before. Because you no longer need alaser for each sensor, they can be much lighterand small enough to be squeezed into confinedspaces. It doesn’t have to be restricted toaircraft. The technology could be used on anyplatform where reduced weight, size, cost andpower are important.”

University of Strathclyde: intracavityadaptive-optic control of lasers

The robustness andflexibility of pulsedsolid-state lasersmakes them a naturalchoice for activeillumination systems.Unfortunately, when alaser is switched on, ittakes time to reach

thermal equilibrium. During this period, theoutput beam can change shape and pointingdirection due to thermally-induced changes inthe refractive index of the laser crystal.

A team led by David Burns (University ofStrathclyde, Institute of Photonics) is nowlooking at a potential solution to the problem. Itis investigating the effectiveness of incorporatinga deformable mirror within the laser cavity to seeif the beam characteristics can be stabilized,providing a more stable source. The Strathclydeteam uses commercially available mirrordevices that have undergone additionalprocessing to increase their reflectivity. A seriesof independently controlled electrostaticactuators control the shape of the mirror.

The team has developed an experimentalsystem together with software that monitorsthe shape and quality of the beam cross-section and then adjusts the actuators toreach an optimum profile. Much of theresearch effort has focused on developing theoptimization algorithm. Incorporating suchadaptive elements into the laser cavity willresult in a new generation of sources which aretolerant to environmental changes and theaging of components.

Live projects within the current DTC-EMRS

Elizabeth O’Driscoll.

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If you want to measure the flux of a lamp or LED, the reflectance of a material, or thepower of a laser beam, an integrating sphere is the perfect tool, reports Greg McKee.

Integrating spherestackle many tasks

PRODUCT GUIDE

29OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

The integrating sphere is a simple, yet oftenmisunderstood, device within the world ofphotonics. It also happens to be one of themost versatile and useful. By changing itsconfiguration, the sphere can function as areliable optical flux detector, a perfectly uni-form source of light or a convenient way tocharacterize the optical properties of asolid, liquid, or powder.

So, what exactly is an integrating sphere?Put simply, it’s a hollow sphere which has itsinternal surface prepared with a diffuselyreflective coating and features a number ofports for either measuring introduced light orproducing calibrated light. In addition, theinterior of the sphere is equipped with lightbarriers (called “baffles”) to screen any directlight from test objects, lamps or hot spots fromdirectly irradiating the sphere’s detector port.The size of an integrating sphere can rangefrom as little as 2.5 cm in diameter to largerthan 3 m, depending on the application.

In effect, multiple diffuse reflections fromthe sphere’s interior wall reduce the angulardependence of any introduced light so that itbecomes become completely uniform. Theresult is that any point on the sphere wallproduces equal radiance (flux density persolid angle) which is proportional to the fluxinput. A detector placed on the sphere wallcan then be used to monitor or calibrate thelight introduced into the sphere.

However, this radiance-equalizing effectalso has other uses. It means that an integ-rating sphere can act as a uniform source ofillumination that is ideal for testing thehomogeneity and linearity of digital imagingequipment or a CCD array.

Generally, in order for an integrating sphereto perform well, it is important that its internalsurface is highly reflective (typically 95% orhigher) and highly diffuse. Factors such as thereflectance of the sphere wall, port placementand diameter, and what is being measured ortested are all factors when selecting the rightsphere for your application.

Intuition might suggest that the radiancefrom a point on the sphere wall is equal to the

power of the light source divided by the totalsurface area of the sphere. However, this isnot the case. The high number of reflectionsoff the sphere wall dramatically increases theradiance that is present within the sphere.

The factor linking the two is called the“sphere multiplier” and rises as sphere reflec-tivity goes up and the area of ports cut intothe sphere goes down. The term is effectivelya figure of merit that should be maximized inorder to achieve higher throughput, betterlight integration and superior performance.

A handy rule of thumb is that, for mostintegrating spheres encountered in practice(reflectivity of between 95 and 99.9% and aport fractional area ≤0.05), the sphere mul-tiplier is usually in the range 10–30.

Selection criteriaChoosing an integrating sphere for anyapplication involves specifying a few basicparameters. These include selecting the opti-mum sphere diameter based upon the num-ber and size of port openings and peripheraldevices. One also has to choose the mostappropriate sphere coating bearing in mindthe spectral range of the measurements and

the precision required. The use of baffles andtheir effect must also be considered carefully. Coatings: When choosing a coating for anintegrating sphere, two factors must be takeninto account: reflectance and durability. Forexample, if there seems to be limited light,and the sphere will be used in an environ-ment that may cause the sphere to collectdirt or dust, a durable, cleanable, highlyreflective coating should be chosen.

Items located inside the sphere, includingbaffles, lamps, and lamp sockets absorb someof the energy of the radiant source anddecrease the throughput of the sphere. Thisdecrease in throughput is best avoided bycoating all possible surfaces with the same

Ideal source: a large integrating sphere being verified as a light source with 99% radiance uniformity.

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“An integratedsphere can act asa uniform sourceof illumination.”Greg McKee

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30 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

highly reflective coating.The sphere multiplier is extremely sensi-

tive to the sphere’s surface reflectance. A dif-ference of just 2% can change the spheremultiplier and thus radiance by as much as40%. It is important to ensure that the coat-ing is uniformly distributed and highly reflec-tive across your wavelength range ofinterest. For example, Labsphere’s Spec-traflect and Spectralon coatings are designedfor operation from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared (250–2500 nm) and both offer areflectivity exceeding 98%, with Spectralonexceeding 99.8% in the visible region.Baffles: In general, the light from a source tobe characterized should not directly illumi-nate either the detector element or the areaof the sphere wall that the detector viewsdirectly. In order to accomplish this, baffles(light barriers) are often used in integratingsphere design. Baffles, however, will add per-formance uncertainties simply because theintegrating sphere is no longer a perfectsphere. It is advisable to minimize the num-ber of baffles used in a sphere design.

Applications Lamp-flux measurement: Perhaps one of theoldest applications for the integrating sphereis the measurement of total luminous flux

from lamps. The technique originated at theturn of the 20th century as a simple and fastmethod of comparing the lumen output ofdifferent lamp types. Today, integrated spherephotometers are used to measure luminousflux and colour parameters of everythingfrom packaged LEDs and lamps for the auto-motive and general lighting industries, to dif-fuse backlighting for the displays industry. Laser power measurement: As well as placinga source directly within a sphere, it is also pos-sible to capture light from external collimatedsources such as a free-space laser beam,highly divergent laser diodes, or coupled opti-

cal fibres. Because of the unique abilities ofan integrating sphere, radiant power meas-urements are independent of beam polari-zation and are insensitive to beam alignment.A sphere can be designed for a wide range ofincident angles over a large area withoutaffecting the signal at the detector. Additionalports can be added to perform a parallel spec-tral characterization making it the idealdevice for reliable laser-diode testing.The ideal uniform illumination source: Anintegrating sphere is a near-perfect means forcreating a uniform source of radiance or irra-diance. The output aperture of an integratingsphere source, when designed correctly, canproduce a near-perfect Lambertian lightsource, independent of viewing angle.Reflectance and transmittance: The singlelargest use of integrating spheres is themeasurement of reflectance and transmit-tance off specular, diffuse or scattering mat-erials. These measurements provide simple,quantitative characterization of materialssuch as thin films, architectural glass, andturbid liquids. ■■

Greg McKee is product manager of light metrologysystems at Labsphere Inc, a specialist supplier oflight-measurement technologies. For moreinformation, visit www.labsphere.com.

NASA’s high-power laser-diode measuring set-up.N

ASA

DEFENSE AND SECURIT Y SYMPOSIUM

31OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

DSS is bigger than ever

Anyone with doubts about the size and rele-vance of the military market for photonicsneed only look at the 120-page advance pro-gramme for this year’s Defense and SecuritySymposium (DSS) to be put straight. The SPIEevent, which takes place in Orlando, Florida,at the end of the month, is a big hit with theoptics community; last year it attracted 4800attendees and 270 exhibitors.

DSS 2005 will feature a five-day technicalprogramme of talks and posters that areorganized into 13 themes (see box) rangingfrom the use of photonics in sensors andimaging to secure communications andbattlefield displays. In total, 43 conferenceswill take place over the five days.

Running in parallel with the symposium,there is a three-day exhibit where attendeescan visit company booths to hear about thelatest products that have been developed forthe military and security sectors, such asinfrared cameras and durable optical coat-ings, and short-pulse lasers and alignment

platforms. At the time of going to press,about 250 firms had already signed up toexhibit, including many well known namesin the optics business such as Newport,Corning, Coherent and Melles Griot.

This will be the second year that the eventhas been marketed under its new name ofDSS. Prior to 2004, the show was an annual

event in Florida called Aerosense, but SPIEdecided to rebrand it to give it a clearer iden-tity and clarify the connection to militaryand security applications. This strategyappears to have worked, given that the showhas doubled in size over the past few years.

One of the reasons that DSS is flourishingis that government backing for researchrelated to homeland security and militaryapplications is on the rise. In fiscal 2003, theUS federal government spent a record$111.8 bn (784.64 bn) on R&D, and almosthalf of this was channelled through the USDepartment of Defense (DoD). As a result,the US Defense Advanced Research ProjectsAgency (DARPA), which manages anddirects both basic and applied research anddevelopment projects for the DoD, received a19.2% increase in its budget.

Both DARPA and the US Army ResearchLaboratories are heavily involved in theorganization of DSS. John Carrano from theformer is symposium chair while John Pelle-grino from the latter is co-chair.

For those of you who can’t make the trip toFlorida, don’t worry, SPIE has announcedthat a European version of the event – albeiton a smaller scale – will be taking place inBruges, Belgium on 26–29 September 2005.

SPIE’s Defense and SecuritySymposium takes place atthe end of March in Florida.Here’s a taster of what’s on.

This year’s DSS event will be the biggest to date.

SPIE

The 2005 Defense and Security Symposium willtake place at the Gaylord Palms Resort andConvention Center in Orlando, Florida, fromMonday 28 March to Friday 1 April. It consistsof a five-day technical programme and a three-day exhibition (29–31 March). In addition, aseries of special events are scheduled.

SymposiumThere are 13 technical themes: technologies forhomeland security and law enforcement; IRsensors and systems engineering; tacticalsensors and imagers; laser sensors andsystems; battlespace technologies; spacetechnologies and operations; displays;intelligent and unmanned systems; modellingand simulation; sensor data exploitation andtarget recognition; information fusion and datamining; signal, image and neural net processing;and communications and networking.

ExhibitionHalls A–D at the convention centreTuesday and Wednesday 10.00 a.m. – 5.00p.m.Thursday 10.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.

Special eventsMondayStudent networking lunch 12.00–1.00 p.m.Vendor presentation and reception on thermal-imaging equipment 5.30–8.00 p.m. Invited panel discussion on issues in nonlinearfiltering with application to real-world problems7.00–9.15 p.m.

TuesdaySPIE women in optics lunch 12.00–1.00 p.m.Technical group meeting – port and harborsecurity subcommittee meeting 5.00–6.30 p.m.Poster session 6.00–7.30 p.m.Small business poster session 6.00–7.30 p.m.Technical group meeting – automatic targetrecognition 6.30–7.30 p.m.

WednesdayPhotonics market opportunities forum1.00–6.00 p.m.Panel discussion on collaborative autonomoussystems 3.30–5.00 p.m.Panel discussion on satellite communicationsystems 3.40–5.00 p.m.

Presentation of the Andronicus G Kantsiosaward 5.00–5.30 p.m. Technical group meeting – standardssubcommittee meeting 5.30–6.30 p.m.Technical group meeting – thermosense5.30–6.30 p.m.Banquet and awards 7.00–9.30 p.m.

ThursdayWorkshop on defense and security systems fortime-challenged decision makers8.00–10.00 p.m.Poster session 6.00–7.30 p.m.Technical group meeting – global homelandsecurity 7.00–8.30 p.m.Technical group meeting – laser radar7.00–9.00 p.m.Workshop on the craft of scientific presentation8.30 a.m. – 12.30 p.m.Workshop on the craft of scientific writing1.30–5.30 p.m.

FridayPanel discussion on unattended ground sensortechnologies 10.50 a.m.–12.00 midday

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION

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New Munich Trade Fair CentreJune 13–16, 2005

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At LASER. World of Photonics 2005 you will discoverhow optical technologies give you a clear advantage.All the key market leaders are expected at theworld’s leading trade show for photonics. Benefitfrom the unique combination of the exhibition, theWorld of Photonics Congress, an extremely topical

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SpectroradiometerGamma Scientific

Gamma Scientific – amanufacturer ofprecision light-measurementinstruments – hasintroduced the GS-125×-VFOV series

to its range of spectroradiometers. The seriesprovides six different measurement apertures(5°, 2°, 1°, 30´, 20´, 6´) and is available infour models covering UV to near-infraredwavelengths.

Manufactured from low thermal-expansion-coefficient materials and offering near-real-timeperformance, the devices are said to deliverfast and accurate spectral and photometricdata. Units are based on the company’sRadOMA platform – a durable optoelectricaldesign – and suit applications such as colour-display measurement.www.gamma-sci.com

UV curing systemDYMAX Europe

The adhesivesspecialist DYMAX isoffering a range ofspot-curing systems forprecision bonding andmounting of optic andfibre-optic fixtures.

Dubbed BlueWave 200, the module enablessingle, double or quadruple wand-curing inseconds with its high-intensity 20 W/cm2 UVAoutput. Also available as a 3000 mW/cm2 unit,the firm claims that its BlueWave 50 designcures most UV adhesives in less than 10 s.The modules are said to combine high curing-capability with long bulb-life to provide anefficient and economical solution for bench-topproduction and prototyping applications.www.dymax.com

Superluminescent LEDsAMS Technologies

Optical componentsand systems distributorAMS Technologies,which has offices inGermany, the UK,France, Italy and Spain,has introduced

superluminescent light-emitting diodes (SLEDs)from Swiss firm EXALOS to its product range.More powerful than standard LEDs, SLEDsemploy the principle of stimulated emission toboost output and would suit applicationsrequiring high power-density. The EXS1320-

2111 SLED offers around 20 mW of opticaloutput power from a singlemode fibre and has a60 nm, 3 dB spectral bandwidth. Packaged in a14-pin Butterfly housing, the SLED features abuilt-in thermo-electric cooler and monitordiode. EXALOS SLEDs operate with centrewavelengths ranging from 800 to 1640 nm.Applications include optical coherencetomography, fibre-optic telecommunications,instrumentation and structural sensing.www.ams-technologies.com

Excimer laserTuiLaser

TuiLaser of Germanyhas launched itsXantos S compactexcimer laser. The firmsays that the productboosts operationalsafety and reducesrunning costs because

the entire gas-handling system, including premixgas bottle, is contained within the laser. TheXantos S uses corona pre-ionization andsolid-state compression switches to generate ahomogeneous pumping discharge. According to

the company, this results in high beam-qualityand good pulse-to-pulse stability. The unit’s softdischarge is said to reduce abrasion, leading tolower fault liability. Versions are available withrepetition rates of 200 or 500 Hz and emissionat 193 or 248 nm.www.tuilaser.com

UV photodiodeScitec Instruments

UK-based ScitecInstruments has addeda silicon-carbidephotodiode to its rangeof UV sensors. TheSG01S is a broadbandvisible-blind

photodiode that senses over the range210–380 nm (maximum sensitivity at 285 nm).Sensors can be supplied with optional UVA, UVBor UVC filters. Manufactured by Cree Research,US, the sensor chip features an active area of0.054 mm2 and comes in a TO-18 metalhousing (other TO-type packages are availableon request). Applications include UVC(germicidal) lamp control.www.scitec.uk.com

PRODUCTSIf you would like your company’s products to be featured in this section, please send press releases

and images to James Tyrrell (james.tyrrell@iop.org).

33OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Dual-wavelength microcameraSensors Unlimited

Sensors Unlimited,expert in the use ofgallium arsenide(InGaAs) technology forshortwave infraredimaging, hasintroduced a dual-wavelength visible-

InGaAs snapshot microcamera weighing lessthan 70 g. Measuring around 26 cm3, thecompact microcamera images simultaneously inthe visible and near-infrared regions andcombines them into a single image.

Based on a focal-plane-array design, thecamera benefits from the firm’s enhancedsubstrate removal technique. This allows theproduction of 320 × 256 pixel arrays with a pitchsize of 25 µm, versus the previous 40 µm pitch.Power consumption for the unit is less than1.6 W, making the camera ideal for covertsurveillance and military operations. Otherapplications include semiconductor wafer-inspection and the characterization of laserpointers and rangefinders.www.sensorsinc.com

Spot LEDsMoritex

Machine-visiondesigners searching forlighting solutions maybenefit from Moritex’sMCEP series of high-powered coaxialspot-LED lights.Designed to be

compatible with machine micro-lenses, thesmall, lightweight lamps use proprietarycollector optics and light guides to maximizeillumination. By relocating the unit’s heat-generating limiting resistor from inside the lightto the power source, the company claims to beable to control heat emission – a majorchallenge with LED lighting. A constant-currentpower source, available as a single- or three-channel version, provides stable operation. TheLED lights feature two options for connectingoptical fibre: a single-lamp guide (MCEP-ADLG)or a three-lamp guide (MCEP-AD3LGB). Byconnecting different-coloured LEDs, the three-lamp module can function as a light mixer.The fibre connectors are multi-adapter unitscompatible with standard Moritex light guides.www.moritex.com

Uncooled IR cameraBAE systemsAdvanced defence and aerospace systemsdeveloper BAE Systems has unveiled itsPMC300 infrared camera. The firm claims thatits product is the first environmentally qualified,

uncooled 640 × 480 camera designed for dayand night surveillance, plus general imagingapplications. Compared with 320 × 240resolution systems, the PMC300 results in morepixels being placed on target for improveddetection and recognition performance. Afamily of lenses are available to suit thecamera, ranging from 18 mm wide to100/300 mm dual field-of-view. The unit, whichis based on a modular design, features aversatile mounting bracket and incorporates astandard RS-422 control interface.www.baesystems.com

Combined Ti:sapphire and dye laserTekhnoscan JSC

Russian firmTekhnoscan hasreleased a combinedCW narrow-bandTi:sapphire and dyelaser with intracavityfrequency-doubling.

Said to suit wide-range spectral studies ofquantum semiconductor objects, theTIS/DYE-FD-08 delivers spectral output in theranges 550–950 nm (fundamental) and275–475 nm (second-harmonic). The outputpower at the fundamental wavelength reaches1.5 W with a 10 W pump, and the output powerat the second-harmonic wavelength is said toexceed 100 mW. Depending on the installedelements, line widths vary from 0.01 to0.05 nm. The firm’s Ti:sapphire and dye lasersare also available separately, as models TIS-FD-08 and DYE-FD-08.www.tekhnoscan.ru

Optical tableNewport

Newport has introducedthe SmartTable to itsrange of vibration-control solutions. Theanti-vibration product,which is based aroundthe firm’s patent-

pending iQ damping technology, is said todeliver industry-standard performance in alaboratory table at an affordable price. Featuringtwo active-vibration dampers, the firm claimsthat its SmartTable reacts to all natural vibrationmodes of the table without creating anyadditional resonances at lower frequencies. Ifthe load on the table changes, the dampersmaintain their efficiency and stability thanks to asimple built-in auto-tuning function. The productfeatures built-in sensors and an analogue outputthat allow users to monitor tabletop vibrations inrealtime. SmartTable software provides finetuning and calibration options, and the unit’scontroller is USB2-compatible.www.newport.com

PRODUCTS

OLE • March 2005 • optics.org34

Autofocus linear stageNanomotion

The MAK-AF linear stagefrom Nanomotion isdesigned to providehigh-speed move-and-settle motion profilesfor autofocusapplications. Offering

up to 25 mm of travel, the stage featuresencoder resolutions ranging from 100 nm downto 10 nm (1 nm available as an option). Theunit includes a counterbalance spring tomanage the weight of lens objectives, andprecision-crossed roller bearings to ensurerobust performance and long life. Designed tooperate vertically, the stage suits microscope-based image acquisition.www.nanomotion.com

SpectrometerLTB Lasertechnik Berlin

LTB Lasertechnik Berlin,a German developer ofshort-pulse lasers andmeasuring equipment,has introduced an

echelle spectrometer for simultaneouselemental analysis via laser-induced plasmaspectroscopy. Dubbed ARYELLE-Butterfly, thespectrometer was developed together with theInstitute for Analytical Sciences, Germany. Itoperates in the wavelength range 175–750 nm,with a spectral resolution capability of 35 000 inthe VUV range and 15 000 in the UV-VIS-NIRrange. Control and evaluation software isavailable from LTB Lasertechnik Berlin tomanage spectrometer and detector functions.According to the company, the product wouldsuit materials analysis and process controlacross a range of industry sectors includingsteel, glass and ceramics.www.ltb-berlin.de

InterferometerQueensgate Instruments

The AIMS interferometerfrom Interferomet isnow available fromBritish nanopositioningand sensing expert

Queensgate Instruments. The interferometer,which is in regular use at the UK’s NationalPhysical Laboratory, would suit analysis ofMEMS devices, wafer fabrication and otherapplications requiring a non-contact, non-destructive measurement system. According tothe firm, the system can measure displacementsof 10 nm or more varying at a rate of 100 Hz ormore with sub-nanometre accuracy. A common-path optical configuration ensures that theinstrument is inherently stable and isolated frommechanical disturbances. Incorporating either a

stabilized or non-stabilized helium-neon lasersource, the instrument can be configured tomeasure length, angle or vibration. The systemmay be operated using an external display unitor PC-compatible optional software.www.nanopositioning.com

Beam delivery opticSouthampton PhotonicsUK fibre laser-maker Southampton Photonics(SPI) has released a beam-delivery optic whichit says solves the problem of back-reflections

entering the laser cavity. SPI says the optic isthe most advanced of its type and removesconcerns when processing highly reflectivematerials in on-axis applications.

The optic will be fitted to SPI’s redPower rangeof CW-modulated fibre lasers emitting between10 and 100 W, as well as all the higher-powerlasers currently in development. The productincludes a fibre-break detector and a heat cut-out protection system. The total package size is34% smaller than the model it replaces.www.spioptics.com

PRODUCTS

35OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Violet laser diodePoint Source

Point Source of the UKhas added a 30 mW,405 nm fibre-coupledlaser diode to its rangeof iFLEX2000 lasers.This latest device issaid to deliver 30 mWin a pure GaussianTEM00 collimated beamfrom a singlemode

polarization-maintaining fibre.The firm says the laser is highly stable,

operates with a low noise of less than0.1% rms, offers on-board fast TTL and fullanalogue modulation.

The new power level, said by Point Source tobe the highest commercially available from afibre-coupled source, is reported to be ideal forapplications including spinning-disc confocalmicroscopy, flow cytometry and semiconductorwafer-inspection.www.point-source.com

Pump laserLumicsLumics of Germany has introduced theuncooled LU0975T040 laser module whichemits up to 4 W from a multimode fibre. Thelaser is available in an uncooled TO220package coupled to a 100/125 µm multimodefibre with a numerical aperture of 0.22. Thefibre is terminated with a standard 2.5 mmdiameter ceramic ferrule. FC/PC or SMAconnectors are optional.

Target applications include industrialerbium-ytterbium fibre lasers and erbium-doped fibre amplifiers. The complete moduleassembly is based on fully automated active-fibre-alignment technology. The operatingcurrent is typically 6.5 A and the forward voltageis specified with a maximum 3.2 V. Thethreshold current is typically 24 mA. Productssamples are now available.www.lumics.com

Diffuse reflecting coatingsOptoPolymer

German firmOptoPolymer is offeringa white reflectance-coating service formetal, plastic or glasssurfaces. The firm’sOPRC coating product,

which is based on high-purity barium sulphate(BaSO4), is sprayed under normal conditionsand reflects light in the wavelength range300–1300 nm. Consisting of several thin layers,the thickness of the finished coating is around0.5 mm, with a reflectivity measuring between95% and 98%. The firm claims that its coating iseffective up to temperatures of 60°C.www.optopolymer.de

Broadband light sourceNP Photonics

The Scorpion 1 µm ASElight source from NPPhotonics is said to beparticularly suitable foruse in optical coherence

tomography (OCT). Delivering powers of morethan 25 mW and bandwidths of more than65 nm centred at 1030 nm, the ASE outputbeam emanates from a singlemode fibre with anumerical aperture of 0.14 for delivery into ahigh-resolution imaging system.

According to NP Photonics, the fibre-based1 µm ASE is superior in terms of cost, ease ofuse, stability and reliability compared with bulkyand expensive femtosecond lasers. Thecompany adds that the 1 µm source opens upa new wavelength region for OCT, especially inthe field of high-resolution ophthalmic andsoft-tissue imaging.www.npphotonics.com

PRODUCTS

36 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

2D phase masksIbsen PhotonicsIbsen Photonics of Denmark can now supply 2Dphase masks for single-exposure production ofsquare-lattice grating structures. With a periodaccuracy of ±0.01 nm, Ibsen says the maskscan be used either with simple laserillumination or in a volume-production-orientedNFH mask-aligner process.

Other specifications include grating periods inthe range 200–687 nm and optimization toillumination wavelengths from 193 to 435 nm.The masks are made from fused silica and canbe optimized to any polarization, includingunpolarized. Application areas include displays,solar cells and biochip matrices.www.ibsenphotonics.com

Laser safety eyewearLaser Physics UK

Laser Physics UK hasadded polymer-filteredeyewear for use withfemtosecond lasersystems to its range of

laser safety products. Comfortable andlightweight, the glasses feature a pink-coloured,EN 207-certified femtosecond diode filter with45% luminous transmission. The product isavailable in an LGF full-view frame style.www.laserphysicsuk.com

UV laser micro-drillingJPSA

US-based J P SercelAssociates (JPSA) isnow offering a contracthole-drilling serviceusing its UV excimerand diode-pumped

solid-state lasers. Operating over a range ofwavelengths from 157 to 355 nm, the UV laserscan drill smooth, straight or tapered holes tosuit the application. Material is removed by aseries of laser pulses that photo-ablate thesurface to give sharp and clean features. Holediameters of between 1 µm and 2 mm areavailable depending on the material thickness.In addition to its drilling service, the firm alsosupplies laser micro-maching workstations forpurchase. Units feature multi-axis control andaccurate air bearing stages.www.jpsalaser.com

Fibre couplerToptica Photonics

Toptica Photonics ofGermany has devel-oped “FiberDock” – auniversal fibre couplerfor laser systems. Thecoupler is either fixed

directly to the laser device or mounted on an

adapter supplied by the firm. By installing asuitable focusing lens, the coupler canaccommodate beam diameters of up to6 mm. The rugged, compact unit provides acoupling efficiency of up to 85% for single-mode fibre and 90% for multimode fibre. Thefibre is available with either PC or APC con-nectors. Independent alignment axes are saidto virtually eliminate cross-talk and signifi-cantly reduce hysteresis. Once aligned, allaxes can be individually locked.www.toptica.com

IR acquisition systemCEDIP Infrared Systems

The SATIR multispectralIR signature acquisitionand analysis system isnow available fromFrench firm CEDIPInfrared Systems. Theunit allows operators to

collect and store synchronized sequences ofradiometric images from 1–2.5, 3–5 and8–12 µm wavebands in real time. All imagesacquired by the unit are time- and location-referenced through a GPS receiver. The system,which features focal-plane-array technology andultrafast processing electronics, contains threeIR cameras, each connected to an individualcomputer for real-time storage. Each camera PCis server-controlled and allows imageprocessing. Mounted in a rugged enclosure, theunit is said to be easy and safe to transport forreliable outdoor measurements on aircraft,ships or military vehicles.www.cedip-infrared.com

Microscope lightingMicro-Lite

Microscope lightingmanufacturer Micro-Litehas announced that itsFL-1000 and FV-1000

ring lights now feature full-spectrum lighting(FSL) bulbs as standard equipment. FSLcontains the entire range of visible wavelengthsto provide optimum illumination conditions forthe human eye. The firm’s FL-1000 fluorescentring illuminator, which features electronic ballastfor control and stability, dims without flicker orhum to provide operators with a comfortablelighting level. Both FL-1000 and FV-1000 unitsare ESD-safe and offer a simple plug-in designfor easy and swift bulb replacement. Withillumination conditions close to natural daylight,the units are said to be particularly suitable forinspection and assembly applications.www.micro-lite.com

Optical crystalsSAES Getters GroupThe SAES Getters Group has extended its

PRODUCTS

OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

portfolio of advanced optical crystals to includeoptical-grade congruent lithium tantalite. Thecrystal has been added in response toincreasing interest from optoelectronic, laserand display application fields that exploit itswavelength-conversion capability. Optical-gradecongruent lithium tantalite is also a high-quality,stable and reliable substrate for advancedwaveguide-based devices, such as sensors andfrequency converters.

Proton-exchange technology, as well asperiodic poling, allows the firm to generatecomplex optical structures that can be providedin boule and in 2 inch and 3 inch waferconfigurations. In addition to lithium tantalite,the company’s product range includesstoichiometric and optical-grade congruentcompositions of lithium niobate, high-gradeNd:YAG and LiNbO3 crystals for Q-switching.www.saesgetters.com

VCSEL modelling softwareRSoft Design GroupSimulation specialist RSoft Design Group hascreated VCSEL modelling software incollaboration with Agilent Technologies, amanufacturer of fibre-optic transceiver modules.The package, which was developed usingRSoft’s OptSim 4.0 and LaserMOD 2.0simulation platforms, allows direct extraction of

VCSEL parameters from new device designs.Engineers can prototype products and exportequivalent circuit models for use with otherdevelopment software, such as SPICE3, PSpice,ADS, Virtuoso Spectre and Hspice. The software,which meets Agilent’s requirements for end-to-end design flow for VCSELs and VCSEL-basedoptical interconnect solutions, is said to speedup design cycles and reduce development costs.www.rsoftdesign.com

Picosecond laserAOT

UK-based AdvancedOptical Technology(AOT) has expanded itsACE solid-state laserrange with the

introduction of a new actively Q-switchedpicosecond model. The AOT-YVO-20QSPX,which produces high-peak-power pulses downto 500 ps duration at 1064 nm, compriseselectro-optic Q-switched TEM00 lasers operating to 100 kHz with sub-nanosecondpulse timing jitter.

The unit develops pulses of up to 25 µJ andcan give more than 300 mW of average powerat 1064 nm. Use of the firm’s optional “drop-in”modules allows the efficient generation of high-peak-power pulses at visible and UV harmonic

wavelengths. With UV pulses as short as350 ps, the unit may interest users seekingshort-pulse-synchronizable sources forindustrial or research applications.www.aotlasers.com

M2 measurement toolPhoton

Photon, a US-basedsupplier of optical testand measurementequipment, hasreleasedNanoModeScan – a

tool to measure M2 and other beam-propagationcharacteristics of lasers. M2, a key parameter indetermining laser quality and performance, isoften difficult and time-consuming to measure,and the process can be unique to each lasertype. Photon’s product accommodates a broadrange of lasers with different wavelengths, beampowers and pulse frequencies in a singlemeasurement tool. According to the firm, theISO standard 11146-compliant NanoModeScancan complete an M2 measurement in seconds.The tool employs Photon’s NanoScan technologyto generate accurate and high-resolution beamdata, and includes a profiling tool that is said tosimplify the measurement process.www.photon-inc.com

PRODUCTS

38 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

CO2 laser detectorVigo System

Vigo System of Polandhas launched the “LABDetector”, a bench-topinstrument foranalysing CW,modulated or pulsed

CO2 lasers. The system is able to measure CWoptical power up to 30 W/cm2 (pulses shorterthan 1 µs must not exceed 1 MW/cm2).Featuring an infrared detector sensitive over a2–11 µm range, the DC to 10 MHz bandwidthunit can be powered by 110 or 230 VAC. Thedetecting head is fitted with an M8 mountingthread and optional mounting post. Aconvenient BNC connector allows the amplifiedoutput to be fed into an oscilloscope display forfurther processing. The firm can supplycustomized devices upon request.www.vigo.com.pl

Fibre collimatorPhotopChinese firm Photop Technologies – a designerand manufacturer of optical and photoniccomponents – has announced its high-performance visible-wavelength collimator.According to the firm, the collimator features lowinsertion loss, high return loss, an epoxy-free

optical path and singlemode fibre. Modules areTelecordia-compliant and available at acompetitive price. In addition to use in thetelecommunications sector, devices may alsosuit biomedical inspection and test andmeasurement applications.www.photoptech.com

Laser diode barBookham

Bookham has launchedwhat it claims to be themost powerfulcommercially availableCW laser diode bar.Developed at the firm’sfacility in Zurich,Switzerland, the 120 W

bar is available at 915, 940 and 980 nmwavelengths (others available on request). Itoffers increased power for applications such aspumping of solid-state disk and fibre lasers.Applications include materials processing andmilitary/aerospace uses including laser warningand targeting to inter-satellite communications.Components make use of the firm’s propriety E2process, which passivates the laser’s frontmirror to prevent catastrophic optical mirrordamage, enabling the development of high-brightness diodes. The company also uses a

hard-soldering technique that is said to allowlaser diodes to be driven reliably at highertemperatures and powers.www.bookham.com

Machine-vision sensorsVision control

German firm VisionControl claims that itsS24 machine-visionsensors provide aninexpensive,uncomplicated and

rapid route into machine vision for users wishingto upgrade from simple optical sensors. Sensorsare accommodated in a compact, robusthousing that contains a DSP-based machine-vision unit, a matched and preset lens, and afine-tuned LED ring light. Image acquisition isbased on a CCD chip that can resolve detaildown to 0.05 mm. The full-frame shutter adjustsautomatically to the ambient lighting. With LEDsguiding the user through the installationprocess, sensors are controlled via a triggerinput and an input from the program mode.Outputs include “part OK” and “part not OK”, aswell as “ready”. The standard hardware canperform pattern-matching, position, roundnessand angle sensing.www.vision-control.com

PRODUCTS

39OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

Fibre laserAculight

Aculight has expandedits family of pulsed-fibrelaser products. ThePF1550-36 operates inthe eye-safe region near

1.54 µm, and delivers 3–5 ns pulses atrepetition rates between 20 kHz and 1 MHz ofless than 1.5 times diffraction-limited output. Itproduces 4 W of average power at repetitionrates over 50 kHz and peak powers in excess of15 kW. Designed with flexibility and userconvenience in mind, the unit measures12 × 13 × 3.5 inches and would suit bench-topor rack-mounted installations. Applicationsinclude laser range-finding, range-gatedimaging, sensing and micromaching.www.aculight.com

High-voltage D/A converterGoal Semiconductor

Canadian firm GoalSemiconductor haslaunched the HVDAC200, a high-voltage,4-channel, 9-bit,serially configurablevoltage/current d/a

converter. Targeting applications such as optical

controllers, MEMs drivers and variable opticalattenuators, the unit can deliver in excess of200 V. The device operates in current or voltagemode and is based on 9-bit current DACarchitecture. The HVDAC has two maximumoutput currents – 500 µA and 5 mA – and anadjustable voltage range of 20–200 V. Eachchannel includes a 5-bit output offsetadjustment, and ranges are controlled by a low-voltage reference input. To simplify systemmonitoring and improve reliability, channelsinclude a current-limitation circuit andtemperature sensor. The device benefits compactsystems design, as its digital and high-voltagecontrol circuitry is located on a single chip.www.goalasic.com

Optical network modulatorsCIPThe UK-based Centre for Integrated Photonics(CIP) has launched a range of electro-absorptionmodulators based on indium phosphide.Available in 40 and 10 Gbit/s versions for eithersingle-wavelength or dense wavelength-divisionmultiplexing communications applications, thedevices function as building blocks in next-generation optical networks. The 40 Gbit/sversion – 40G-SR-EAM – offers a bandwidth of32 GHz and a drive voltage of 2.9 V. Accordingto the firm, the performance of its small footprint

indium-phosphide devices compares well withlithium niobate-based modulators. 40G-SR-EAMdevices are available for use in 1550 or1300 nm wavelength bands. The 10 Gbit/sversion, 10G-LR-EAM, offers a bandwidth of10 GHz and is said to suit 1550 nm wavelengthband applications transmitting overuncompensated links of up to 100 km.www.ciphotonics.com

Handheld T&M instrumentsEXFO

EXFO Electro-OpticalEngineering hasincreased its line ofhandheld test andmeasurementinstruments designedfor optical networkinstallation and

maintenance. The 600 handheld series, whichconsists of the FOT-600 optical loss test set(OLTS), FPM-600 power meter and FLS-600 lightsource, bridges the firm’s entry-level 300handheld range and the flagship FOT-930 series.The FLS-600 OLTS connects to a PC via a USBconnection and features settings for 1310, 1550,1490 or 1625 nm singlemode installations or850 and 1300 nm multimode configurations. TheFPM-600 power meter has a wide dynamic rangeand minimum/maximum power function tocapture rapid system power fluctuations. The FLS-600 light source is available in laser, LED andvertical-cavity surface-emitting laser versions witha number of wavelength options. www.exfo.com

Excimer laserLambda Physik

The LPXPro family ofhigh-pulse-energyexcimer lasers fromLambda Physik offersefficient fluorine gas

operation, long gas and tube lifetimes, and easy-to-clean optics. With pulse repetition rates of upto 200 Hz, the high-duty-cycle excimer lasersgenerate pulse energies as high as 1200 mJ. Thelaser’s resonator design uses fully purgableoptics that are mechanically decoupled from thelaser tube to provide maximum beam-directionalstability. Gas lifetime is extended thanks to aninternal processor incorporating a multi-elementelectrostatic filter. Gas-fill operation is nowreported to be more than 40 million pulses forArF and 100 million pulses for KrF. The overalllifetime is given as 1.5 billion laser pulses, afigure claimed by Lambda Physik to be six timesbetter than competitive products. Lasers wouldsuit micromachining and pulsed laserdeposition, along with the pumping of dye lasersand LIDAR applications.www.lambdaphysik.com

PRODUCTS

40 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

PEOPLETo advertise your job vacancies, contact Rob Fisher (tel: +44 (0)117 930 1260; e-mail: robert.fisher@iop.org).

41OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

GERMANY

Braun steps in as interimCEO and chairperson

The board of directorsof German industriallaser firm Rofin-Sinarhas appointedGuenther Braun, thecompany’s chieffinancial officer, asinterim CEO andchairperson. Theappointment followsthe news that Peter

Wirth, the firm’s chairman and CEO, washospitalized after experiencing a stroke.Wirth’s condition is reported to be improvingand he intends to resume his responsibilitieswhen fully recovered.

US

Okumoto appointed toboard of Vitex SystemsUS OLED display specialist Vitex Systems hasappointed Richard Okumoto to its board of

directors. Okumoto is currently employed aschief financial officer (CFO) of PhotonDynamics, a supplier of yield managementsolutions for the flat-panel display industry.Previously, Okumoto was CFO at ESI, amanufacturer of semiconductor capitalequipment.

DENMARK

New Alight chairpersonnamed as Peter Viereck

Alight Technologies,developer of VCSELtechnology fortelecoms applications,has named PeterViereck as chair of theboard. Viereck bringsover 20 years oftelecoms experienceto the Danish firm,having served as CEO

for Tellabs Denmark and research anddevelopment director for both DSCCommunications and NKT Electronics.Alight is developing transmitters based on its

proprietary photonic band-gap technologyfor use in high bit-rate data communica-tions. The firm received a second round offinancing in August 2004.

US

Weeks takes over fromHoughton as Corning CEO

Former chiefoperating officer(COO) Wendell Weeksis to become presidentand CEO of Corning.The materials gianthas revealed thatformer CEO JamesHoughton plans torelinquish his role asCEO. The appoint-

ment has been approved by the board andwill take effect at the company’s annualshareholder meeting on 28 April. “Corningis poised to embark on a significant growthperiod,” commented Weeks. “We aremaking significant investments in suchareas as larger-sized glass LCD panels.”

Braun: temporary role.

Weeks: moving forward.

Viereck: telecoms veteran.

Active Silicon www.activesilicon.com 28Bandwidth Semiconductor, LLCwww.bandwidthsemi.com 20

BFI Optilas www.bfioptilas.com 18Breault Research Organizationwww.breault.com IFC

Crystran www.crystran.co.uk 20CVI Technical Opticswww.cvilaser.com/international 4

Edmund Optics Ltdwww.edmundoptics.com 16

ELCAN Optical Technologieswww.ELCAN.com/europe 24

EPIC www.spie.org/events/eol 41ESCO Products www.escoproducts.com 21Hamamatsu www.sales.hamamatsu.com 9HC Photonics Corp

www.hcphotonics.com 21High Q Laser Production GmbHwww.highQlaser.com 13

Kaleido Technologywww.kaleido-technology.com 33

Labsphere www.labsphere.com 36Lambda Research Corporationwww.lambdares.com 35

Laser 2005 www.laser.de 32Laser Componentswww.lasercomponents.com 27

Laser Lines www.laserlines.co.uk 40Master Bond Inc www.masterbond.com 30Melles Griot www.mellesgriot.com OBCOphir Laser Measurement Groupwww.ophiropt.com IBC

Optical Research Associates

www.opticalres.com/seminar.html 7Optikos Corporation www.optikos.com 16Optometrics LLC www.optometrics.com 20Optronic Laboratories Inc www.olinet.com 30Pacer Components www.pacer.co.uk 16Physik Instrumente (PI)www.pi.ws/marole 12

Scitec Intruments Ltd www.scitec.uk.com 38Spectra-Physics – a Division of NewportCorporationwww.newport.com/ContactUs 8

StockerYale Canada Incwww.stockeryale.com 38

Toptica Photonics AGwww.topica.com 16, 37

Unaxis Balzers Ltdwww.optics.unaxis.com 28

42 OLE • March 2005 • optics.org

March 7–9 Optical Engineering I (training course) Chislehurst, Kent, UK Sira, UK www.sira.co.uk/courses

March 14–16 Optical Terhertz Science and Orlando, Florida, US OSA www.osa.org/meetings/Technology topicals/otst/

March 15–17 10th China International Lasers, Beijing, China CIEC Exhibition www.ilope-expo.comOptoelectronics and Photonics Exhibition Company

March 28 – April 1 Defense and Security Symposium 2005 Orlando, Florida, US SPIE spie.org/conferences/calls/05/dss/

April 4–5 Opto Ireland Dublin, Ireland SPIE, Europe spie.org/conferences/calls/05/ire/

April 6–8 12th European Conference on Grenoble, France CEA-leti, INPG, Joseph www.minatec.com/ECIO2005/Integrated Optics – ECIO 2005 Fourier University

April 13–15 Nanophotonics for Information Systems San Diego, California, US OSA www.osa.org/meetings/topicals/ipr_npis/

May 8–12 Indium Phosphide and Related Glasgow, UK Meeting Makers, UK www.IPRM2005.orgMaterials Conference

May 9–12 Optro 2005 Paris, France AAAF optro2005.colloques-aaaf.com

May 22–27 SID 2005 Boston, Massachusetts, US Society for Information www.sid.org/conf/sid2005/Display (SID) sid2005.html/

June 22–24 4th IEEE/LEOS Workshop on Fibres Palermo, Italy CRES, IEEE, LEOS leos.cres.it/wfopc/and Optical Passive Components

May 10–12 Sensor and Test 2005 Nürnberg, Germany AMA Service GmbH www.sensor-test.de/main/dpgh71tn/page.html

June 13–16 LASER 2005 Munich, Germany Messe München www.global-electronics.net/id/21308/

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