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02 January 2012
Fourth Quarter 2011 Industry News Summary
Industry Newsmakers
Fourth Quarter 2011
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.
OSA CORPORATE MEMBERS
MAKING NEWS
Ocean Optics – Ocean Optics Spectrometers Head to Mars
MIT Lincoln Laboratory – Seeing Through Walls
SCHOTT North America – SCHOTT North America, Inc. Inaugurates Chalcogenide Glass Production in the United States: New U.S. Production Capability for IR Material
NKT Photonics and TeraXion, Inc. – TeraXion and NKT Photonics Expertise Successfully Integrated in one of the World’s Most Important Astronomical Projects
TOPTICA Photonics, Inc. – Rochester’s Top 100 Recognizes TOPTICA again
Timbercon, Inc. – Timbercon Makes Lead411’s Tech 200 List
TeraXion, Inc. – TeraXion Awarded as one of the Fastest Growing Company in North America on Deloitte’s 2011 Technology Fast 500
Fourth Quarter 2011 Industry News Summary
With X-Ray vision systems, high-powered telescope projects and even trips to Mars, OSA Corporate Members spent the fourth quarter turning science fiction into science fact, and ranking agencies took note. Several OSA Corporate Members received recognition for their high level of growth in 2011, setting the industry up for a promising start to the New Year.
Focus on Applications
Three Ocean Optics spectrometers were on board the ChemCam unit on NASA’s Mars-bound Science Lab rover “Curiosity.” The specially configured modular HR2000 high-resolution miniature fiber-optic spectrometers will aid in the analysis of Martian rock and soil composition. A laser mounted on the ChemCam instrument can fire at targets up to nine meters away.
Researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Lab have developed a radar array that can see through solid concrete walls. The device uses an array of antenna arranged in two rows, amplifiers and computing equipment mounted on a moveable cart, which use radar to give a real-time picture of movement behind a wall up to 60 feet away. The device was designed primarily with military combat usage in mind, but could also be used to aid rescue workers and emergency response teams.
SCHOTT North America has announced a new U.S. based production capability for infrared (IR) sensor materials. The company will now manufacture chalcogenide glasses at their Duryea, P.A. facility, a first for U.S. manufacturers. IR lenses are often used in the defense and commercial security industries for night vision goggles and cameras. SCHOTT’s chalcogenide glasses can withstand extreme environments without defocusing.
Business Partnerships and Agreements
NKT Photonics and TeraXion, Inc. teamed up to produce a laser system that was incorporated into the master clock in the Atamaca Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope. Located in Chile, the ALMA telescope is the world’s largest and most powerful radio astronomy telescope, and is designed to study the cold regions of the Universe and capture never-before-seen details about the first stars and galaxies. The ALMA Master Laser, a frequency-stabilized laser, was built by TeraXion and incorporates an NKT Photonics Boostik Fiber Laser.
Contracts, Awards and Accolades
TOPTICA Photonics, Inc. made the 2011 “Rochester’s Top 100” list – a listing by the Rochester Business Alliance and KMPG LLCP that ranks privately held businesses in the Rochester, N.Y. area based on growth. The company, which has fewer than 100 employees, was named as one of the region’s fastest growing.
Timbercon, Inc. an Oregon-based fiber optics company was selected by Lead411’s “Tech 200” list as one of the fastest growing private technology firms in 2011, marking Timbercon’s second consecutive year on the list. The tech 200 rankings were based on cumulative percentage revenue growth from 2008 to 2010.
TeraXion, Inc. also received recognition for growth in 2011. The Quebec City-based company was named one of the fastest growing companies in North America on Deloitte’s 2011 “Technology Fast 500” list, for the third time in four years. Deloitte ranks technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology companies based on percentage of fiscal year revenue growth from 2006 to 2010.
