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Wavelength Monitors for Optical Sensing Applications
Many new applications of optical sensors have emerged in recent years. The automotive sector is creating demands for robust and advanced optical sensing as optical information processing expands into the next generation of automobiles. Optical sensors are widely used in monitoring the condition of civil structures, as well as in biological, chemical and environmental applications. In comparison with their electronic counterparts, optical sensors offer many distinct advantages. They are...
Photonics Spectra, March 2007
Ambient-Light Sensors Mimic the Eye
Brightness and readability in direct sunlight are key factors in the performance, safety and aesthetic appeal of automotive interior displays. These factors determine whether or not a display is used in a particular vehicle application. Displays...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Automakers Are Keeping a Sharp Eye on Flexible Displays
One exciting area in the flat panel display industry is the emergence of flexible displays. In recent years, LCDs have dominated the industry, but they are glass-based solutions. Hundreds of companies are working to devise displays built on plastic,...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Better Lasers and Atomic Traps Yield Better Timekeeping
Investigators from JILA, a research institute jointly administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado in Boulder, have developed the basics for the most precise optical atomic clock produced...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Designing Fiber for Better Lasers
Fiber lasers are becoming increasingly popular alternatives for applications that require high power — hundreds of watts to kilowatts — such as materials processing, surgery and biochemistry. Their high efficiency, enviable beam quality, small...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Detecting Mercury with Gold
As evidenced (albeit comically) by Lewis Carroll’s madcap hatter, mercury exposure can have serious health consequences, such as tremors, memory loss and personality changes. Free mercury can arise from volcanic emissions, the mining of precious...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Futuristic Instrument Panel
One problem with using display technology such as LCDs to relay necessary information to a driver is that some controls benefit from or even require physical knobs and dials. These can be difficult or impossible to integrate with some types of...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
High-Power LEDs Pose Safety Hazards
Because LEDs are so often used as indicator lamps on electronic equipment and in low-power lighting applications such as flashlights, Christmas decorations or rear lamps on bicycles, you might think that they are not hazardous to the eyes. However,...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
IR Emission Spectroscopy for Harsh Environments
A promising new approach to traditional infrared emission spectroscopy has been developed by a team of researchers who maintain that their prototype allows for quicker time resolution, can be subjected to harsher environmental conditions and may be...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
LED Light Combiner Allows High-Intensity Headlight Design
High luminosity, low power consumption and longevity are among the characteristics that make LEDs ideal lighting sources for applications such as automobile headlights. However, several hurdles remain to achieving an efficient optical design,...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Light Wreaks Havoc with Automotive Display Standards
The display that a driver sees inside a vehicle differs vastly from one car model to the next. Display standards — in terms of luminance, legibility, contrast, font size and more — are of concern to automakers. A group with the Society of...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Making a Different Point for Better Images
Takashi Kodama and Hiroyuki Ohtani at Tokyo Institute of Technology made a point of improving microscopy imaging by developing a novel probe for apertureless near-field scanning optical microscopy. Standard tips used in the technique are made by...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Making Lasers from Dust
Anyone with optics experience knows that dust should be avoided as much as possible. It can contaminate optical surfaces, degrading performance and, sometimes — on the output facet of a diode laser, for example — cause disastrous optical damage....
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Nanoantennae Show Promise for Subwavelength Optical Microscopy
Researchers have fabricated optical nanoantennae on the end face of a near-field probe. Using single fluorescent molecules, they measured the antennae’s resonance, excitation conditions and field localization, showing that the constructs are similar...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
New LED Format Is the Pits
The latest LED innovation literally is the pits. Researchers in Takashi Egawa’s group at Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan have increased the efficiency of gallium nitride LEDs by fabricating them with densely packed V-shaped craters that...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
The Evolution of Automotive Displays
Automotive displays have come a long way from the analog electromechanical needle moving in front of printed numerals on a contrasting background. The mechanical modification of the indicator dials is a story in itself, with dark lettering on a...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
The Importance of Color in Delivering Information
Advancements in lighting sources and display technologies have enabled the development of new PDA-size automotive instrument clusters. In a space of just 3 to 4 inches, graphical symbols and different colors provide the driver with a range of...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Trends in Laser Damage
The demand for high-energy laser systems has increased steadily in recent years, driven by applications in defense, semiconductor processing and basic research, among others. The systems range from those that are continuous wave (CW) to those with...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Turning the Windshield into a Display
A major problem with ever-more-sophisticated automobiles is the growing amount of information provided to drivers. Increased information in dashboard displays diverts eyes from the road, creating a distraction that can lead to accidents. Head-up...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
Zinc Phosphide Nanowires for Photon Detection
Although not dirt, zinc phosphide is cheap and abundant. Carefully synthesized structures of the material also have good optical efficiency and resist the buildup of an oxide layer on their surface. Together, these properties give the substance...
Photonics Spectra, February 2007
A Hybrid Silicon Laser
Silicon photonics holds the potential to create low-cost, highly integrated optical components using the same CMOS-based manufacturing techniques that have revolutionized the electronics industry over the past 40 years. This potential is important,...
Photonics Spectra, January 2007
A Laser’s Force Dampens Cantilever Action
David M. Weld and Aharon Kapitulnik of Stanford University in California recently demonstrated that even low-power lasers pack a punch. Using laser-driven radiation pressure force-feedback, they reduced the effective quality factor and temperature...
Photonics Spectra, January 2007
A Wealth of Opportunities from a Little Generosity
At heart, I’m a scientist and an engineer. I enjoy the process of figuring out how things work and how various pieces fit together to make an efficiently functioning system. The challenge of solving problems, whether in optics, information...
Photonics Spectra, January 2007
Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy
Detects Geothermal Gases
Gas phase chromatography and mass spectrometry often are used to analyze volcanic emissions because of their ability to detect low levels of trace gases. However, these techniques are limited by their instrumental complexity and inability to...
Photonics Spectra, January 2007
Converging Complexity Challenges Educators to Prepare Tomorrow’s Innovators
Although there is much publicity and debate in the US over the outsourcing of engineering jobs to countries that pay lower wages, the problem is the dearth of graduating engineers for those jobs.1 The challenge to US educators remains the same...
Photonics Spectra, January 2007
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