NP Photonics Continues Work on Image Amplifier

NP Photonics of Tucson, Ariz., has been awarded a two-year, $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratories at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M. The Phase II program will enable the company to further develop its compact panoramic optical power amplifier for two-dimensional image amplification. The device is expected to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of low-level images for use in areas such as laser tracking and pointing of remote targets.

NP Photonics' approach to amplification combines the high gain and efficiency of cladding-pumped optical amplifiers with the imaging properties of coherent fiber bundles.