Electro-optics Briefs

Oct. 1, 2006

UV and EB market growth re-accelerates

Ultraviolet (UV) and electron-beam (EB) usage posted a 35th consecutive annual gain in North American sales in 2005, reaching 95,000 metric tons of formulated chemical products, according to a survey by RadTech International North America, a UV and EB industry trade association in Chevy Chase, Md. UV and EB technologies are “high tech,” super fast, clean technologies used in the application of coatings, paints, inks, adhesives, and composites. Demand for UV/EB is now growing at just over 7 percent annually, marking the fastest growth rates since 1999. Survey results indicate cautious optimism of continued high single-digit overall growth over the next three years, with certain applications reaching double-digit gains. Survey respondents pointed to several areas that are be primed to break-out as significant applications for UV/EB technology including aerospace and defense, automotive parts and refinish, digital inks/ink jet, food packaging, and general metal products. Growth in UV/EB technology in North America, by volume, has been driven by applications in commercial printing and food and non-food packaging and wood. A copy of the RadTech UV/EB Market Report is available at no charge at www.radtech.org.

V-groove and optical-fiber arrays for data transmission and optical switching

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Fiberguide Industries in Stirling, N.J., is offering a line of high-fiber-placement-tolerance linear arrays. These devices are designed for use in a wide range of applications in telecommunications, data transmission, and optical switching, as well as for diode-pumped lasers and other general fiber-optic instrumentation. Features include standard or custom channel V-Groove arrays up to 96 fibers; precision accuracy utilizing etched silicon V-Groove; high-quality surface polish; core-core 100 percent inspected; 250- and 127-micron standard spacing; for single-mode or multimode fiber; low insertion loss; and terminations that include FC, ST, SC, and LC. For more information contact Fiberguide online at www.fiberguide.com.

Edmund Optics to offer products that operate in ultraviolet wavelengths

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In response to the needs of biophotonics customers, Edmund Optics in Barrington, N.J., will introduce 20 product lines that work in the ultraviolet spectrum, including UV-NIR triplets, CaF2 windows, UV laser mirrors, UV filters, UV fixed-focal-length Lenses, UV cameras, and UV-VIS CCD spectrometers. New products also will include scientific-grade instrumentation, including spectrometers, photomultiplier tubes, UV light sources, and UV detectors-all designed for prototype and production assemblies. Biophotonics continues to be a fast-growing area that requires low-autofluorescence UV optics manufactured from superior grades of calcium fluoride, fused silica, and more exotic materials. For more information contact Edmund Optics online at www.edmundoptics.com.

Navy awards contract for high-performance IR cameras

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Officials at the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center (NAVAIR) Weapons Division, China Lake, in Ridgecrest, Calif., are awarding Electrophysics in Fairfield, N.J., a second for seven Emerald mid-wave infrared indium antimonide cameras with an option to purchase one additional, to total eight. The cameras will be integrated into NAVAIR’s program to defend military forces against shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles. By arranging the cameras in a circumference, NAVAIR will create an advanced measure of force protection from shoulder-fired missile systems. With the use of special stitching software, each camera will produce a 360-degree field of view capable of detecting the infrared signatures of shoulder-fired missiles and small arms fire. Upon detection, the information would data link to deployed aircraft which can execute appropriate countermeasures. Each Emerald features a 640-by-512-pixel focal-plane array, is responsive in the 3-to-5-nanometer wavelength “midwave” band, and exhibits a typical NETD figure of less than 20 mK, which allows users to detect minute temperature differences at great distances. The Emerald mid-wave infrared camera also incorporates a 14-bid digital output, which will be directly interfaced into a custom software program. In addition, the Emerald’s compact one-piece design improves the overall portability of the system. NAVAIR, which performs research, development, test, and evaluation of guided missiles, advanced weapons, and weapon systems, provides the operating forces of the Navy and Marine Corps, other activities of the U.S. armed forces, and foreign allies with integrated warfare systems and lifecycle support. For more information contact Electrophysics online at www.electrophysics.com.

High-resolution, megapixel three-chip CCD color camera

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Toshiba Imaging Systems Division in Irvine, Calif., is offering the IK-TF9C 2048-by-1536-pixel three-chip color charge-coupled-device (CCD) camera with a frame rate of 20 frames per second full frame, and 40 frames per second partial scan. The camera is for precisely inspecting large surfaces. Progressive scan technology eliminates image jitter for use in applications in high-speed industrial machine vision. The camera weighs 5.78 ounces and measures 1.73 by 1.73 by 3 inches. It has a C mount for lenses, an 8-bit RGB digital output and compatibility with Camera Link for ease of operation, company officials say. For more information contact Toshiba online at www.cameras.toshiba.com.

Miniature Q-switched oscillators available

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Arctic Photonics in Espoo, Finland, is offering miniature Q-switched oscillators (MQO) that are ultracompact, monolithic, short-pulsed solid-state lasers with output wavelengths of 946, 1030, 1047, 1053, or 1064 nanometers, or the second, third, and fourth harmonics thereof, with peak powers of as much as 50 kilowatts. These devices also are available from Arctic’s distributor in North America-RPMC Lasers Inc. in O’Fallon, Mo. MQOs are configured to customer requirements to provide pulse widths from 0.1 to 10 nanoseconds with a diffraction limited beam and are capable of energies from nanojoules to 40 microjoules. Repetition rates from single shot to 300 kHz are available. Custom units are available such as with OPG (1.5 to 4 micron) or Ti:sapphire (about 700- to 900-nanometer) output. MQOs are suitable for portable measurement systems and are for seeding high-power fiber amplifiers in applications such as range finding. For more information contact Arctic Photonics online at www.arcticphotonics.com, or RPMC Lasers at www.rpmclasers.com.

Shortwave infrared linear digital video linescan cameras

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SUI in Princeton, N.J., is offering shortwave infrared linear-digital-video linescan cameras in OEM quantities. SUI, which is part of the Goodrich Corp. Optical and Space Systems segment, is offering these cameras based on SUI’s indium gallium arsenide detector technology that operates at room temperature, has no moving parts, and works with standard glass optics. SUI is formerly Sensors Unlimited Inc.). The camera is available in pixel counts of 256, 512, or 1024, with a 25- or 50-micron pitch, and with SUI’s standard near-infrared linear arrays from 800 to 1700 nanometers, as well as extended wavelength arrays from 1100 to 2200 nanometers. The rugged cameras are for waveguide alignment, remote ground sensing, industrial materials classification, and similar uses. For more information contact SUI online at www.oss.goodrich.com/sui.

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