2009 Prism Awards finalists named

Prism Awards sponsors Laurin Publishing and SPIE have announced the finalists in the 2009 competition. The Prism Awards for Photonics Innovation recognize the best in new photonics technology and products worldwide. Finalists in each of the nine categories – Optics; Lasers; Other Light Sources; Detectors, Sensing & Imaging Systems; Analytical, Test & Measurement; Photonics Systems; Photonics Processes; Sustainable/Green Technology; and Life Sciences – are listed below.

The distinguished panel of acknowledged technology experts chose three finalists in each category, with the exceptions of Analytical, Test & Measurement and Other Light Sources, where there were ties. The winners will be announced during SPIE Photonics West on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010, at the Prism Awards ceremony and banquet in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton San Francisco Union Square

The finalists by category:

Optics

OneChip Photonics
OneChip PIC-based PON transceivers
Fully integrated passive optical network transceivers for access networks and other mass-market broadband applications.

Semrock Inc.
Polarizing beamsplitter filters
Polarizing bandpass filters that combine an s-to-p-polarization extinction ratio of <10^-6 with high transmission, steep edges and deep blocking of a high-performance bandpass filter for p-polarization. The filters provide larger apertures than thin-film coatings.

Swamp Optics
BOA pulse compressor
A pulse compressor for shortening ultrashort pulses.

Lasers

High Q Laser Innovation GmbH
picoEMERALD
This remote-controlled, hands-free one-box CARS light source provides pump and Stokes pulses that overlap in space and time.

Laser Operations LLC – QPC Lasers
Brightlock Ultra-G
A compact, athermal, multiwatt green laser (532 nm) with near-diffraction-limited beam quality based on on-chip wavelength stabilization of high-brightness laser diodes.

VI Systems GmbH
Ultrahigh-speed components for data networks
An electro-optical modulated EOM distributed Bragg reflector VCSEL.

Other Light Sources

Hamamatsu Corp.
160 kV open-type microfocus x-ray source
A microfocus x-ray source (MFX) with 0.25-µm resolution for x-ray nondestructive inspection and computed tomography.

Innovations in Optics Inc.
LumiBright LS line source
The LumiBright LED high-intensity white-light line source is characterized by uniformity and long life. It is available in 4- to 24-in. lengths and in wavelengths from the UV to the near-IR, including broadband white.

Innovations in Optics Inc.
LumiBright LE light engine
The LumiBright LE ultrahigh-brightness light engine offers a high-intensity LED light engine, with several integrated nonimaging optics choices. It includes an integrated photosensor and thermistor option for closed-loop monitoring and control. The LEDs are mounted on a metal core PCB for optimal thermal performance, intensity and lifetime.

National Tsing Hua University
Sunlight-style color-temperature tunable OLED
The sunlight-style color-temperature tunable organic LED can change its color temperature throughout the day, matching the natural daylight chromaticities produced by the sun.

Detectors, Sensing and Imaging Systems

GE Healthcare
Gemstone HD CT detector
The Gemstone high-definition detector enables higher special resolution and material decomposition through fast kilovolt switching, lower patient radiation dose and better image quality.

InfraTec Infrared LLC
MEMS tunable Fabry-Perot interferometer microspectrometer for infrared absorption spectroscopy
This device targets mid-wave-infrared gas analyzer and spectroscopic applications to identify substances by detecting their unique absorption signatures. It is based on a bulk micromachined spectrally tunable Fabry-Perot interferometer with an electrostatically tuned air cavity integrated into an infrared detector.

Novelx
mySEM
The patented Novelx stacked silicon technology was designed wafer-scale using semiconductor processing technologies. In a small form factor that installs easily, the system’s low-voltage imaging capabilities offer sub-10-nm resolution.

Analytical, Test and Measurement

Agilent Technologies
Scanning microwave microscopy
Scanning microwave microscopy mode from Agilent Technologies is an atomic force microscopy method designed to enable quantitative electromagnetic materials characterization at high resolution.

Lehighton Electronics Inc.
1605 mobility mapping unit
This instrument measures electron mobility, sheet resistance, carrier concentration and density in a noncontact, nondestructive manner, eliminating destruction of expensive wafers for measurement. The 1605 can map the mobility of 2- to 6-in. wafers in minutes and can measure samples smaller than wafer size.

Olympus America
LEXT OLS-4000 laser scanning microscope
Olympus’ LEXT OLS-4000 measurement tool for surface analysis combines dual confocal technology and dedicated 405-nm optics. The laser confocal microscope has a traceable accuracy and repeatability guarantee and offers the ability to image near-vertical slopes (85°).

QED Technologies
Aspheric stitching interferometer (ASI)
The ASI is a turnkey metrology tool that can measure everything from large, strongly curved (convex, concave) spherical surfaces to steeply aspheric surfaces using Variable Optical Null (VON) technology – a revolutionary advance in optics manufacturing.

Photonics Systems

Aerotech
ANT130-L
Aerotech ANT130-L series direct-drive linear stages offer nanometer accuracy, repeatability, resolution and in-position stability in a linear stage featuring from 35- to 160-mm travel.

IRphotonics
iCure thermal spot curing system
This thermal spot curing system provides localized heat via high-intensity infrared radiation in a portable unit that can be integrated into a production line.

OEwaves Inc.
Ultrahigh-performance automated phase noise measurement system
OEwaves’ ultralow phase noise/jitter measurement system, based on microwave photonics cross-correlation homodyne detection, can measure ultralow absolute phase noise and jitter of microwave and pulsed optical signal sources. The system offers simple, automated operation and achieves high performance without requiring separate, expensive low-noise reference sources or equipment.

Photonics Processes

General Resonance LLC
Resonance science
A photochemical catalysis of chemical and materials processes using frequency-specific photonics in the infrared, microwave and radiowave regions.

Linden Photonics
Strong tether fiber optic cable
Linden’s patented strong tether fiber optic cable (STFOC) uses extruded liquid crystal polymer on commercial-grade optical fibers such as SMF28 and Allwave. STFOC has moisture barrier properties and eliminates the need for metalized fiber in hermetic packaging of optoelectronic components.

Shasta Crystals
Modified laser-heated pedestal growth technique
Shasta Crystals’ laser-heated pedestal process reduces the steps and increases the speed necessary to grow NLO crystals, reducing their cost in commercial quantities.

Sustainable/Green Technology

BaySpec Inc.
Portability-3 Raman instrument
An ultracompact laboratory-grade measurement tool with a flexible sample collection point-and-shoot probe, this instrument is for low-light spectroscopic measurements of biofuels, such as algae, and for the nondestructive analysis of chemical reactions. It is available in longer 785- and 1064-nm wavelengths for fluorescence-free results.

Electronic Housekeeper
Electronic housekeeper (EHK)
EHK is a smart home/smart building system that wirelessly monitors resource use and controls building systems (HVAC, lighting, security/alarm) and devices (appliances, lights) to reduce carbon footprint and energy/water consumption by up to 40 percent.

National Semiconductor
SolarMagic power optimizer
The optimizer provides an electronic solution to long-standing challenges with solar arrays, enabling systems to realize their full power-producing potential. Using advanced algorithms and mixed-signal technology, SolarMagic minimizes the negative effects of panel mismatch caused by real-world conditions such as system aging, varied tilts and orientations, and debris or shade.

Life Sciences

LightLab Imaging Inc.
C7-XR optical coherence tomography system (FD-OCT)
The C7-XR frequency-domain system employs advanced photonics technologies to provide cardiologists with an interior view of coronary arteries. Its ultrafast imaging speed, micron-scale resolution and 3-D visualization capabilities streamline the clinician’s work flow and redefine the possibilities of interventional cardiology imaging.

Nanonics Imaging Ltd.
Hydra multiprobe bioimaging NSOM SPM
This nano-optical bioscanned probe microscope captures near-field nano-optics for live bioimaging, integrating upright and dual 4 Pi nonlinear optical microscopes, even with water-immersion objectives. It incorporates multiple independently controlled scanning probes for optical pump probe on a nanoscale with nanomanipulation capabilities.

Photometrics
Photometrics Evolve camera
This electron multiplying CCD camera makes experimental imaging data quantifiable and reproducible by measuring images in photoelectrons as opposed to arbitrary analog-to-digital units.