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02 April 2008
Industry Newsmakers - First Quarter 2008
Industry Newsmakers
First Quarter 2008
The following is a corporate news roundup from the Optical Society (OSA). This quarterly gathering of industry news is a complimentary service offered by the OSA PR team.
For more information on these or other OSA corporate members making news, please contact Lyndsay Meyer at lmeyer@osa.org or 202.416.1435.
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First Quarter 2008 Industry News Summary
As the optics community gears up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the laser, OSA Corporate Members continue apply this ground-breaking technology in the areas of medicine, telecommunications and manufacturing. Aculight Corporation has been awarded a new contract under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to develop a laser-based vestibular implant to help restore the loss of sensory information. No clinically available treatments exist for this condition, but researchers believe that direct vestibular stimulation may alleviate symptoms in many patients. Bristol Instruments, Inc. has introduced a new laser wavelength meter for scientists and engineers who need to know the exact wavelength of their mid-infrared lasers. The new model 621B-MIR is designed to operate over the entire wavelength range of 4 to 11 µm. IPG Photonics Corporation recently announced it achieved a record high-quality deep penetration welding on thick stainless steel plates at rapid speeds. By using IPG's unique 20 kW continuous wave 1070 nm commercial fiber laser, it is now possible to weld 1" 304 stainless steel at a speed of 0.85 meters/minute, and 3/4" samples at a speed of 2 meters/minute using a 200 micron fiber cable with a 420 micron focus spot size. Nufern further expanded their NuPOWER™ line of active fibers. The new fibers include an Erbium/Ytterbium co-doped and Ytterbium-doped large mode area fibers for support of the laser and amplifier industry. PD-LD, Inc. has been awarded a U.S. patent that protects a method of mass producing Volume Bragg Grating (VBG) elements based on separating (or “dicing”) a VBG wafer into smaller identical elements with the same properties as the starting wafer. According to the company, the technology represents a significant breakthrough and is largely applicable for RGB lasers for display applications.
The optical communications industry convened in San Diego for OFC/NFOEC 2008 in February. More than 600 companies exhibited at the event and many announced the latest advancements to their products and services. Finisar performed the first public demonstration of a complete optical link utilizing a 17 Gbps directly modulated Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) over multimode fiber. The company says this particular demonstration proves the viability of the optical components required to develop the 16G Fiber Channel standard and positions Finisar as a key contributor to the standard's ongoing development. JDSU announced at the conference that it is creating a single-slot blade solution for delivering all major functions required for optical network transport, called the Agile Optical Network (AON) Superblade. The new platform will integrate major transport functions that used to require multiple blades onto a single blade, dramatically reducing size, cost and power requirements for network equipment manufacturers and service providers. Kotura Inc., a leading provider of silicon photonic components, and Oki Optical Components, a leading supplier of very high-speed optical and IC components for Ethernet and telecom applications, announced just prior to OFC/NFOEC that they are partnering to bring new silicon photonics products to the market place. Their first joint product will be a 10G APD receiver with integrated VOA for Metro applications.
