The April issue of Laser Focus World magazine will take a special look at terrestrial imaging: spectral imaging satellites monitor global vegetation health, liquid-crystal wavelength selective switches challenge MEMS designs, ultrafast fiber lasers reach millijoule energies with PC and LMA fibers. Other articles cover latest optoelectronics industry news and developments in advanced semiconductors, medical equipment, lasers, optics and aviation and aerospace and more.
FEATURES
Near-IR heterodyne detector could help find life on exoplanets
A group of Russian scientists has developed a fiber-coupled optical receiver for heterodyne IR spectroscopy operating at 1.5 μm; the device is based on a superconducting hot-electron bolometer (HEB).
Ultrathin nanostructured metals double plasmonic color filter transmission
While nanoplasmonic color filters fabricated to achieve tunable color transmission by adjusting the geometric parameters of nanohole structures are environmentally rugged and simple to fabricate, their low transmission efficiency has, up until now, limited commercial applications.
Multimode Fiber-Optic Components: Multimode silicon photonics gains WDM-compatible multiplexer
Groups at Cornell University and Columbia University have together demonstrated microring-based, on-chip wavelength-division multiplexing-compatible mode-division-multiplexing with both low modal crosstalk and loss, dramatically improving the prospects for future multimode silicon photonics.
Laser Countermeasures: Scaling down mid-IR laser countermeasures for smaller aircraft
Quantum cascade lasers are challenging optical parametric oscillators for use in the next generation of infrared countermeasures to divert heat-seeking missiles away from small military aircraft.
Advances in Displays: Quantum dot film lets LCDs express 50% more color
With Quantum Dot Enhancement Film, LCD makers now have an efficient mechanism for integrating quantum dots into their manufacturing processes.
VCSELs: MIXSEL: Ultrafast goes simple
The optically pumped modelocked integrated external-cavity surface-emitting laser (MIXSEL) is a saturable-absorber integrated ultrafast high-power semiconductor disk laser. Passive modelocking in a simple straight cavity sets a new benchmark for low-noise ultrafast gigahertz lasers.
Fiber-Based Components: Liquid-crystal wavelength selective switches challenge MEMS designs
Either as a 1D array of pixels on a glass substrate or a 2D array of pixels on silicon, liquid-crystal technology can bypass inherent weaknesses in conventional MEMS-based wavelength selective switch designs.
Interferometry: Achieving precision radius metrology for large optics
A displacement-measuring, interferometry-based radius scale — combined with environmental correction and the proper test procedure — can measure radius with uncertainties of better than 3 ppm.
Thin-Film Coating Design: Excel extends optical coating software capabilities
Microsoft Excel can extend the capabilities of optical thin-film design and measurement software through its functions, programming environment, and universal connectivity.
Free Subscription to Laser Focus World Magazine April 2014 (limited)
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About Laser Focus World Magazine :
Laser Focus World is a monthly magazine for engineers, researchers, scientists, and technical professionals providing comprehensive global coverage of optoelectronics technologies, applications, and markets.Each month LFW reports on and analyzes the latest developments and significant trends in both technology and business in the worldwide optoelectronics and photonics industry. A must read for engineers, engineering managers, scientists, researchers and technical professionals for technical information on lasers, optics, detectors, imaging, fiberoptics, instrumentation and software.
