Optoelectronics Briefs

April 1, 2006

Zeiss to build laser rangefinders for U.S. Marine Corps

Carl Zeiss Optronics GmbH in Oberkochen, Germany, won a maximum $35 million U.S. Marine Corps contract in March to build eyesafe laser rangefinders. Work will be in Oberkochen Germany (60 percent), and Indianapolis, Ind. (40 percent), and is to be finished in March 2011. Awarding the contract was the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va. The contract number is M67854-06-C-6004.

Bookham extends temperature capabilities of XFP transceivers

Bookham Inc. in San Jose, Calif., is offering a transceiver designed to enable an increase of networking equipment port density while avoiding the resulting thermal challenges. The IGF-42312 is the first of a new line of extended-temperature XFP modules capable of high-performance operation between -10 and 85 degrees Celsius, a 20-degree wider temperature range than that of standard devices. The IGF-42312 is a multiprotocol six-mile-reach transceiver that supports SONET/SDH SR-1/I-64.1, 10-gigabit Ethernet and 10-gigabit Fibre Channel applications, including FEC rates. The IGF-42312 has surpassed a 1000-hour interim phase of the rigorous Telcordia Generic Reliability Assurance Requirements for Optoelectronic Devices used in Telecommunications-GR-468-CORE-qualification testing, with products now shipping under controlled availability. For more information contact Bookham online at www.bookham.com.

CCI provides key crystals for Solar Physics Satellite Program

Cleveland Crystals Inc. (CCI) in Highland Heights, Ohio, has furnished ADP and KDP crystals for a Lyot filter in the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) Instrument on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Satellite. Lockheed Martin Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif., is building the HMI in collaboration with the Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory of Stanford University. The scientific objective of the HMI is to investigate the solar interior using tools of helioseismology. The projected launch date of SDO is April 2008. The ADP and KDP crystal were grown and fabricated to precision tolerances by CCI for inclusion into a Lyot filter, a component of the HMI instrument. For more information contact CCI online at www.clevelandcrystals.com.

Optical fiber market grew 15 percent in 2005, Corning says

The total 2005 worldwide fiber market grew approximately 15 percent to 68 million kilometers versus last year’s market of about 58 million fiber kilometers, according the 25th annual Optical Fiber Briefing by Corning Inc. in Corning, N.Y. Eric S. Musser, vice president and general manager of Corning Optical Fiber, gave the briefing last month at the OFC trade show in Anaheim, Calif. Growth in optical fiber is due to demand for broadband internet connections, including FTTH. North America and China were the two largest fiber markets and represented more than 50 percent of the world’s demand, Musser said. The North American market grew approximately 30 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by the full-year impact of Verizon’s FiOS project, as well as additional deep-fiber deployments by other regional bell operating companies. Another driver was the rural local exchange carriers’ continued steady build out of FTTH, primarily to add video capability to their communications networks. China represented about 20 percent of worldwide demand and experienced 10 percent growth versus 2004. China has become one of the most price-challenged markets worldwide due to excess optical fiber manufacturing capacity and a centrally controlled tender process. Western Europe, representing 15 percent of the worldwide demand, increased by approximately 10 percent, driven primarily by increased activity from the PTTs. Japan, representing 15 percent of the worldwide demand, increased 15 percent following a 40 percent decrease in 2004.

DRS wins $33 million for helicopter sighting support

DRS Technologies Inc. won $33 million in new orders to support the Mast Mounted Sights (MMS) on the U.S. Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The contracts came from the Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama. DRS will provide depot repair, spares and field service support for the Mast Mounted Sight on these helicopters, as well as post-production, engineering and depot support for obsolescence mitigation and engineering changes. The awards are part of a five-year $514 million Army contract to the DRS Optronics unit in Melbourne, Fla. Deliveries are to be finished by December 2008. Installed above the rotors of the OH-58D, the MMS provides target acquisition, standoff ranges, and reconnaissance capabilities.

nLight hits milestone in DARPA laser research program

nLight in Vancouver, Wash., demonstrated 73 percent wall-plug efficiency from a 1-centimeter, 980-nanometer microchannel diode laser bar with 100-W continuous-wave output power. The achievement is a milestone in the Super-High-Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS) program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va. In 2003 DARPA invited nLight and seven other partners in the SHEDS program to create high-power diode lasers that are 80 percent efficient. By late this year the project seeks to deliver 480-W, 80-percent-efficient diode laser stacks operating at 50 degrees Celsius for pumping solid-state lasers. For more information contact nLight online at www.nLight.net.

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