Electro

Analysis
Displays for AR
Light fidelity
Photonics STEM mentoring
APRIL 2019

business,
ISSUE 292

Optics
applications Tech focus
OPOs and OPAs
& technology
Features
Optics in space

Danger
zone
Remote sensing
in hazardous
environments

www.electrooptics.com Media Partners to

 CONTENTS & LEADER

Electro LEADER

Optics
JESSICA
ROWBURY

Contents
Focus 4
PIC education kit targets skills shortage l
UK’s £200m Brexit fund l Imec probes 8nm
EUV lithography l EPIC’s Carlos Lee on
building relationships
Analysis: Augmented reality optics 1
0 Feature: Optics in space 24
Stephanie Le Calvez, head of architectures
for the Photonic System Lab at CEA-Leti,
discusses her group’s work developing novel
systems for AR using new approaches to
components
Analysis: STEM mentoring 12
Daniela Marin, physics student at Colombia
University, speaks about how mentors are
important for retaining young people in optics
Analysis: Light fidelity 14
As part of a new series of articles on
entrepreneurship, Carlos Lee, from EPIC,
speaks to PureLiFi founder Professor Harald
Haas, who demonstrated and coined ‘LiFi’
Analysis: Additive manufacturing 16
Dr Dieter Schwarze and Bodo Haack, of
SLM Solutions, discuss the progression
of standardisation in laser metal additive
manufacturing
Feature: Commercial sensing 18
Powered predominantly by lidar, plus
spectroscopy and visual-wavelength imaging,
unmanned aerial vehicles can safely survey
hazardous environments, writes Andy Extance
Jessica Rowbury looks at how photonics
technology is helping in the global search for
dark matter
Tech focus: OPOs and OPAs 28
The amplification of solids represents a
further step towards phononic devices for
next-generation sensors, mobile phones and
quantum computers
Products 30
Photonics products from around the world
Suppliers’ directory 32
Find the suppliers you need
Interview: Optics in Israel 34
Retention in education and better industry-
academia links are needed to help photonics
grow in Israel, says Professor Abraham
Katzir, of Tel Aviv University
Droning on
Frequent travellers may hear the word
‘drone’ and be reminded of the delays
they’ve endured due to devices being
spotted near airports. But love them or
hate them, the potential of drones for being
useful, or even saving lives, means they are
becoming more widespread.
Thanks to having remote operation,
drones can access areas that are too
dangerous or too difficult to reach by
humans, such as volcanoes or mines.
Drones mounted with optical sensing
equipment, such as lidar or spectroscopy,
are therefore valuable tools for exploring
areas that have typically put people at risk
or have been impossible to navigate.
On page 18, Andy Extance details a
Horizon 2020 project using spectroscopy
to monitor emissions near volcanoes or
chemical fires, obtaining data that’s needed
to review policy regarding air quality and
safety. Lidar is also being used to map
mines, preventing people from having
to be underground before the area is
deemed safe.
With optical-sensing drones advancing
other areas like conservation, cultural
heritage, and environmental monitoring,
it seems their presence isn’t all bad.
@electrooptics

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www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics April 2019 Electro Optics  3

 FOCUS BUSINESS & RESEARCH NEWS

FOCUS
BUSINESS &
RESEARCH NEWS

Integrated photonics education

kit tackles skills shortage

David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

ngineers from the University of
California San Diego and the
PIXAPP European packaging pilot
line are developing an educational toolkit
to bring integrated photonics to earlier
stages of the science and engineering
curriculum.
Designed to teach undergraduates
practical skills in integrated photonics,
it includes how to characterise and test
photonics integrated circuits – skills that
are typically only acquired at PhD level.
The team envisions that teaching these
skills earlier on will enable more graduates
to enter the integrated photonics industry
to meet the growing demand for photonics
technicians and engineers.
The project was initiated by Abdelkrim
El Amili, a research scientist in the
Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering at UC San Diego. The UCSD
team is collaborating with researchers led
by Professor Peter O’Brien, at the Tyndall
Institute in Cork, Ireland, and director of
the PIXAPP pilot line.
The team presented a prototype
of the toolkit at the Optical Fiber
Communications Conference and
Exhibition last month in San Diego.
‘This toolkit will bridge the gap between
the growing demand in the silicon
photonics job market and the supply
of technicians and engineers who have
practical skills in the field,’ said El Amili.
‘As the market grows, there will
not be enough graduates to fill all
these opportunities because only PhD
graduates so far have the practical skills
in integrated photonics,’ he added. ‘But
learning integrated circuit design, device
fabrication, packaging and testing should
not be limited to PhD students. Our hope
is that by bringing hands-on integrated
photonics training to undergraduate and
Master’s students, this toolkit will equip
them with the knowledge and skills to fill
new job opportunities.’
The toolkit, dubbed Integrated Photonics
Abdelkrim El Amili (centre) is leading a project at UC San Diego to develop an educational toolkit to
teach students practical skills in integrated photonics
Education Kit (IPEK), is a packaged silicon
photonic platform. Instructors can use it as
part of an engineering laboratory course
to teach students basic building blocks of
photonics integrated circuits.
By experimenting and tinkering with
the plug-and-play kit, students can gain
‘Learning integrated circuit
design, device fabrication,
packaging and testing should
not be limited to PhD students’
experience designing, assembling and
testing photonics integrated circuits.
The current prototype includes photonic
components such as a waveguide,
micro-ring resonator, short and long
Bragg mirrors, filters, and a Mach-
Zehnder interferometer. These are basic
building blocks in educational, research
and industrial environments. Many of
the devices are electrically tunable to
demonstrate various modes of operation
to the user, and can also be combined
together externally, using fibre for more
complex photonic functionality.
IPEK offers many of the functionalities
of conventional photonics platforms for
a reduced cost of around $1,500 to build,
in comparison to conventional setup
costs around $10,000 to $12,000. And
while conventional platforms are bulky
and require a separate lab space, IPEK is
portable – the current prototype fits in a
user’s hand.
IPEK is also robust and easy to use, said
El Amili. With the plug-and-play package
tool, users no longer need to spend
time aligning and stabilising the optical
fibre as they would with a conventional
platform. ‘We gain time in performing the
experiment,’ he said.
‘Tyndall and PIXAPP recognise the
need for a skilled workforce in integrated
photonics across all skill levels. The IPEK
toolkit is an excellent initiative, dedicated
to training the next generation of engineers
and technicians,’ added Tyndall’s O’Brien.
The international team is now working
to refine the prototype, while El Amili
and colleagues are preparing a laboratory
curriculum at UCSD’s Jacobs School of
Engineering to implement the toolkit.

4 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

Imec/KMLabs’ industrial
facility to probe lithography
down to 8nm pitch
The inside of an EUV lithography system
Nanoelectronics research
hub Imec is partnering with
KMLabs, a specialist in ultrafast
laser and EUV technology, to
establish a real-time functional
imaging and interference
lithography laboratory.
It will enable imaging in
resist on 300mm wafers down
to an 8nm pitch, in addition
to time-resolved nanoscale
characterisation of complex
materials and processes –
such as photoresist radiation
chemistry, two-dimensional
materials, nanostructured
systems and devices, and
emergent quantum materials. 
EUV holds the potential
for transforming semiconductor
manufacturing by
allowing chipmakers
to produce finer features in
single-step layers that would
otherwise require multiple
exposures, reducing the
cost of manufacturing
significantly. However,
the commercial deployment of
EUV lithography has been hit
by years of delays, mainly due
to the engineering challenges
associated with creating EUV
systems bright and reliable
enough to operate in fabs 24
hours a day, 365 days a year.
Part of this challenge results
from a lack of fundamental
understanding of EUV sub-
picosecond exposure processes,
according to Imec researchers.
Being the ‘first industrial lab
to do so’, Imec’s AttoLab will
enable the study of EUV photon
absorption and subsequent
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics
Imec
ionisation processes at
unprecedented timescales, from
attoseconds to picoseconds. It
is anticipated that the gain in
fundamental understanding of
material characteristics will pave
OPTICAL
the way for the development of
new lithographic materials and
underlayers.
These capabilities expand
COATINGS
upon Imec’s post process
analysis capability and will
allow the characterisation of
the molecular and quantum
dynamics of materials in the
attosecond to picosecond time
regime. 
Because of the coherence
REDEFINED
of KMLabs’ high-flux source,
Imec’s AttoLab will also
enable interference imaging
to emulate high numerical
aperture (NA) imaging at
13.5nm. By combining the
interference emulation of
the 0.55NA of ASML’s most
advanced tool in development
with the current EUV scanner in
Imec’s cleanroom, Imec and its
partners will be able to explore
the fundamental dynamics of
photoresist imaging before the
0.55NA tools become available. YOUR OPTICAL
COATING PARTNER
Greg McIntyre, director of
advanced patterning at Imec,
said. ‘Bringing this high-NA
exposure and attosecond
analytic capability to Imec’s
300mm cleanroom will enable
unprecedented fundamental
learning, significantly speed up
cycles of learning, and positively
impact the semiconductor
alluxa.com
technology roadmap in many
critical domains.’
 FOCUS BUSINESS & RESEARCH NEWS

Engineers – let us
know what’s
bothering you!
Electro Optics is searching
for engineers and photonics
professionals to share their
challenges and experiences
in these pages. What do you
think the photonics industry
could be doing to strengthen
the sector, improve research
and innovation, or alleviate
the challenges that engineers
face?
For some time now we have
run analysis and opinion
EPIC’s VIP networking
pieces online and in each print reception gathered 272
issue of the magazine. Experts CEOs, presidents, and
across the academic and managing directors at
business world have discussed San Francisco’s Museum
topics such as education of Modern Art (MOMA)
outreach, diversity, EU funding
and political barriers.

Do you have anything to add?

NEWS FROM EPIC By Carlos Lee, director general
If you are interested in sharing
your thoughts, opinions
and ideas with our diverse EPIC networking and
readership (from students to
business leaders), please get in European technology
touch with the editor, Jessica
Rowbury (jessica.rowbury@ promotion in the USA
europascience.com). We can

have a chat on the phone or we
can send you through a list of
questions.
We look forward to hearing
from you!
IN BRIEF
Imec has announced that
Dutch province Gelderland has
approved a €65 million grant for
the OnePlanet initiative, a new
technology and innovation centre.
With its primary location at the
university campus in Wageningen,
Imec and its partners will develop
technology in the domains of food,
agriculture and health, in which
chip technology will have a crucial
role.
Coherent expanded its Gilching,
Germany micromachining and
sub-system facility, and completed
the relocation of the firm’s laser
marking group from nearby
Gunding. The new centre of
excellence will be named Coherent
Munich.
General Photonics, a manufacturer
of optical systems for optical
networks, fibre optic sensors and
medical diagnostics systems,
has been acquired by Luna
Technologies for $20 million.
E
PIC was at Photonics West in
San Francisco and at OFC in San
Diego, organising a wide range of
networking events for EPIC members that
included sports activities, receptions, and
technology breakfasts with companies and
EU-funded photonics pilot lines.   life-science applications within the visible
Getting to know members of the
association and key influencers and
decision makers in the industry is a key
feature of EPIC. The EPIC VIP reception at
the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
(MOMA) was EPIC’s largest networking
event to date, attracting 272 CEOs,
presidents, and managing directors from
around the world. The feedback showed
that EPIC members enjoyed creating new
connections and strengthening existing
ones.  makers in the industry is a key
In the same spirit of building trusting
relationships, we organised a golf trip and a
CEO run/walk that saw 50 people watch the
sunrise while running across the piers of
San Francisco.
To support manufacturing in Europe, a
technology breakfast took place to promote
the European-funded manufacturing pilot
lines of PIXAPP, MIRPHAB, InPulse,
and PIX4life. PIXAPP is the world’s first
open-access photonic integrated circuit
(PIC) assembly and packaging pilot line,
and helps users exploit the breakthrough
advantages of PIC technologies. MIRPHAB
is an all-service integrated pilot line for
the development of mid-infrared photonics
sensors. InPulse is the indium-phosphide
pilot line for the up-scaled, low-barrier, self-
sustained, PIC ecosystem. PIX4life pilot line
aims to offer an open-access manufacturing
platform for PICs, specifically targeting
wavelength ranges (400-850nm).
In partnership with Swissphotonics  and
sponsored by the Swiss research and
technology organisation CSEM, EPIC
organised a Tech Watch. The event
consisted of 12 interesting presentations by
Swiss EPIC member companies, and was
“Getting to know members
of the association and key
influencers and decision
feature of EPIC”
hosted by Swissnex at its fabulous building
located on Pier 17. The event attracted a
top-level audience from across Europe and
USA with extensive time for discussion and
networking. 
You’ll notice how much emphasis EPIC
places on quality networking. Its events are
renowned for this, helping members create
new connections and new opportunities
and strengthen existing relationships.
Connecting EPIC members means building
trust within the photonics industry’s leaders
and experts.

6 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


Spectroscopy to discover microplastic pollution sources
cientists are using spectroscopy to
characterise microplastics in the
environment and determine the
major sources of microplastic pollution in
Danish wastewater and rainwater systems.
Microplastics are small plastic pieces
less than five millimetres long, which
pose a threat to acquatic and marine life.
They can come from a variety of sources,
including from larger plastic debris that
degrades into smaller pieces or in the form
of microbeads from beauty products that
pass through water filtration systems and
end up in the ocean. In the past, Fourier
transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy
has been used to analyse micro-plastics in
ocean sediment, Arctic sea ice, and UK
inland waterways.  particles in wastewater and rainwater
The Danish Technological Institute (DTI)
is using a Raman spectoscopy system
from Renishaw to determine the extent
of microplastic pollution entering Danish
wastewater and rainwater systems.
Typically, microplastics are difficult to
characterise and therefore determine the
source, explained Dr Morten Bormann
Nielsen from the life sciences division at
DTI: ‘At scales below 100µm it is essentially
impossible to determine whether a particle
is made of plastic, rubber, stone, glass
or organic matter, based on its visual
characteristics alone.
Therefore, one must use a
characterisation technique that yields
chemical information about the investigated
sample. Doing otherwise will lead to either
gross over- or underestimation of the
number and types of microplastic present in
a sample.’
Dr Nielsen’s team has carried out
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FOCUS BUSINESS & RESEARCH NEWS
Dirk Wahn/Shutterstock.com
interest constitute such a minute fraction
of each sample (on the order of 150
milligrams per cubic metre of wastewater).
During isolation of the plastic particles,
care must be taken to avoid contamination,
and organic matter must be removed so it
does not shield the particles. This requires
a delicate chemical process that does not
degrade the particles.
‘Speed… is an essential part of being
able to obtain chemical information on
the many thousands of particles that are
naturally present in samples taken from the
environment.
Despite sample preparation steps
designed to remove sand and organic
matter, the vast majority of all microscopic
are still not plastic. Because of this, it is
essential to measure many thousands of
‘Up to 60 per cent of individual particles in the sample to get
microplastics that enter the statistically valid results,’ Dr Nielsen said.
ocean are from tyres’ In previous experiments, DTI
developed methods allowing them to
experiments to determine the extent of quantify microplastics in wastewater
microplastic pollution entering Danish and demonstrate a retention rate of at least
water systems, in addition to reviewing how 99 per cent in two Danish wastewater
well these particles could be removed using treatment plants.
different technologies. The researchers have further developed
‘We also wanted to be able to identify the measurement protocol so that it can
microplastic and microrubber particles correctly differentiate between fine particles
from tyres, as the Danish Environmental of tyre, asphalt and organic matter.
Protection Agency has estimated that up to As a result, they are very close to being
60 per cent of all microplastics that enter able to fully characterise all particles in a
the ocean from Denmark originate from sample and classify them as microplastics,
this source – primarily via rainwater run-off microrubber or of natural origin – all using
from roads,’ Dr Nielson added. the same method and without needing
Ensuring valid microplastic counts intervening sample preparation. As far
from environmental samples is extremely as they are aware, this has not been done
challenging, partly because the particles of anywhere else before.
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 FOCUS BUSINESS & RESEARCH NEWS

Horizon 2020 project to speed up ultrafast

laser processing a hundred times

Fraunhofer ILT
new €4.7 million Horizon 2020
project aims to make material
processing with ultrafast lasers up
to a hundred times faster in the next three
years.
The resulting technology will not only
enable significant progress in the tool-
making industry, but will also open up new
perspectives for the application of ultrafast
lasers for texturing and functionalisation of
large surfaces.
In recent years, ultrafast laser sources
have been developed to offer higher average
power, higher pulse energy or higher
repetition rate than previously possible.
These sources have been complemented Surface textures on tool steel fabricated by means of ultrafast laser radiation
by beam delivery systems, either based
on ultrafast scanners or some special the next step in the development of ultrafast The partners intend to deliver a prototype
diffractive optical elements (DOE), that laser processing technology. Together, they of the new system with all the necessary
spread one beam into a pattern of many intend to develop a powerful 1kW laser control technology. The prototype will
identical beamlets. source that can deliver up to 1mJ pulse undergo an extensive series of tests and
While the partners of the ‘MultiFlex’ energy, either at a regular 1MHz repetition be validated in use cases provided by
project acknowledge that laser sources rate or in a burst mode with less than 20ns associated industrial end users.
and beam delivery systems have improved pulse separation. This source will then be It has already been estimated that the
remarkably, they believe there is still room combined with a special optical system prototype will improve productivity by
for development, in particular high-power that delivers a pattern of more than 60 approximately 100-fold compared to current
lasers and high-efficiency processing switchable beamlets (each beamlet can be standard ultrafast laser processing systems.
technology. turned on and off separately). This could enable significant progress to
The project consortium, consisting A fast scanner will then be used to direct be made in the tool-making industry, while
of partners Fraunhofer ILT, Amplitude the resulting pattern onto a workpiece. The also opening up new perspectives for the
Systèmes, Lasea, AA Opto-Electronic, and complex system comes complete with an texturing and functionalisation of large
RWTH Aachen University, is now planning industry-grade control unit. surfaces using ultrafast lasers.

UK attempts to calm scientists with £200m Brexit hi-tech fund

In a bid to ensure the UK will materials in airport luggage.

maintain its reputation as a
‘pioneering nation as it leaves
the EU’ and is ‘at the forefront
of science and technology
innovation,’ UK Chancellor Philip
Hammond has allocated £200m to
support Britain’s fastest-growing
industries as they prepare for
Brexit.
In his spring statement on 13
March, Hammond announced
the government is putting £81
million into an extreme photonics
application centre at the Harwell
research centre in Oxfordshire to
explore medical laser technology,
supporting a £13 billion industry
that employs around 65,000
people. The facility has already
developed laser technology that
can scan the chemical contents
of objects and detect hazardous
Elsewhere, £45 million is
being invested to upgrade the
data storage cloud computing
infrastructure at the European
Bioinformatics Institute in
Cambridgeshire, which is working
on sequencing one million
genomes and developing cell
therapies for genetic diseases.
£79 million will also fund a
supercomputer in Edinburgh.
The spending is part of the
government’s aim to raise
investment in research and
development to 2.4 per cent of
GDP by 2027, to help develop
solutions for an aging society,
artificial intelligence and the data
revolution. ‘UK scientific research
is worth £36 billion and is at the
cutting edge of international
innovation and discovery,’
Harwell
Harwell
research
campus
Hammond said. ‘We want to retain ‘This is a small amount of
pole position as we leave the EU,’ money that is being spent in areas
he said.  that already find it easy to raise
However, Carys Roberts, chief funds. Concentrating support on
economist at the Institute for hi-tech projects in Oxford and
Public Policy Research, told The Cambridge is partly why we had
Guardian that Hammond needs a Brexit vote in the first place.
to go much further to address the It is other parts of the country
weaknesses of the UK economy and other industries that are
and its persistently low rates of desperately in need of government
productivity growth.  support,’ she said.

8 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

 FOCUS BUSINESS & RESEARCH NEWS

E-mobility and autonomous driving will

be the talk of Laser World of Photonics

Messe Munich
his year’s Laser World of Photonics,
taking place in Munich, Germany,
on 24-27 June, will have a special
focus on electro-mobility and autonomous
driving, two global megatrends that are
expected to grow dramatically over the
coming decade.
Market observers anticipate that by 2025,
one in every four new cars will be electric-
propelled. And the forecasts for 2030 are
for an electro-mobility market share of
between 50 and 75 per cent.
The laser and imaging technology
on show at this year’s exhibition will
play a crucial role in breaking into these
mass markets, including in efficient
mass production of electric vehicles and
improved safety enabled by smart sensors. 
Laser technology provides the necessary More than 33,000 visitors are expected at the show in Munich
accuracy and flexibility for producing
electric vehicles, from welding hairpins and section of the Laser World of Photonics Jenoptik will provide an introduction to the
cutting electrical sheets for electric motors, Congress – run in parallel with the trade technology and showcase its applications.
to welding connections in battery cells and show – will also include presentations Topics including battery manufacturing
joining dissimilar materials in lightweight on how lasers can be used to facilitate and laser beam welding with blue light – a
vehicle designs. e-mobility. new trend in laser processing identified
An application panel, called ‘No Photonics also provides the backbone to be especially suited to the field of
E-Mobility without Laser Technology’ has of automated driving, with lidar and e-mobility – will be showcased at the
been added to the range of presentations imaging systems offering improved Photonics in Production exhibit at booth
taking place throughout the exhibition safety, particularly at night and in difficult A3.251.
halls this year. The new panel, on 25 June, weather conditions. Other technologies enabling future
will be chaired by Dr Hans-Joachim Krauß, Visitors will be able to see how up- mobility – particularly those for inline
of Bayerisches Laserzentrum, Dr Günter and-coming lidar technologies will inspection during production – will also
Ambrosy, of Trumpf, and Dr Alexander enable future mobility at the application be discussed during a new conference at
Olowinsky, of the Fraunhofer Institute panel ‘Improving lidar performance with the Laser World of Photonics Congress:
for Lasertechnology ILT. The pre-existing advanced photonics technologies’, also ‘Imaging and Applied Optics’, which will
Lasers in Manufacturing (LiM 2019) on 25 June, where exhibitors such as be hosted by The Optical Society.

FOR HIGH POWER

 ANALYSIS AND OPINION AUGMENTED REALITY OPTICS

Developing innovative
systems for AR using new
approaches to components
Stéphanie Le Calvez, head of Sponsored by

architectures for the Photonic

System Lab at CEA-Leti,
discusses her group’s work in
ensuring the AR experience
lives up to its promise

D
isplays are part of our smart glasses that deliver the
everyday lives, from technology’s full potential. On
TV sets to computers the one hand, the scientific
and smartphones. But while community developing

they help make our lives easier
and more connected than
ever, they don’t deliver the
highly immersive experience,
the enhanced-communication
experience promised by
augmented reality (AR).
Smart glasses will be the
next digital medium to enable
highly immersive experiences.
But current models don’t make
us dream like they should. The
technology behind them is
limited: bulky glasses with low
brightness and a narrow field of
view just do not do the trick.
There are two primary
challenges to overcoming
this barrier and producing
CEA Leti
CEA Leti
these glasses typically uses
commercial components to
create the optical systems.
On the other hand, the
innovative components that
this community does create
for the glasses, are developed
without any consideration
of the full optical system,
which seriously limits the
components’ compatibility with
those systems.
With these challenges in Figure 2: artist’s view of the see-through display device with a zoom-in
mind, CEA-Leti embraced a on one emissive point element
new approach that leverages
disruptive systems to build This new dynamic creates a The bright side
innovative components that virtuous circle in which the All AR applications require
are compatible with, and easily system itself will also help to extremely high brightness,
integrated in, optical systems. create innovative components. considering both the very high
To support AR system- luminosity losses in optical

related projects that include systems and the high level of

optical components, the
institute created a dedicated
Architectures of Photonic
Systems Lab. The new lab,
which merges CEA-Leti’s
display lab and x-ray detector
lab, gathers 30 experts backed
by world-class, pre-industrial
equipment and a 91,500ft2
(~27,900m2) cleanroom. The lab
has developed three essential
technologies to help companies
commercialise smart glasses,
or head-mounted displays
(HMD): new emissive LED
microdisplays, curved OLED
Figure 1: WVGA OLED convex displays curved with 45mm radius, CMOS microdisplays and
as specified in the LOMID European project retinal projection.
luminosity required to display
images during sunny days.
Improving display brightness
with microLED technology
has therefore been a primary
focus of CEA-Leti’s new lab.
Tapping into their 10 years of
R&D experience in displays
and lighting, the lab experts
developed a new type of
emissive microdisplay that can
supply hundreds of thousands
of nits. A first process flow
based on hybridisation
technology produced an 853 x
500 pixels video display.
Pixelisation at 10µm pitch
was achieved on a GaN material

10 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


and then reported on CMOS
with microtubes plugged onto
soft pads on the GaN material.
The microtubes ensure both
mechanical connection
and electrical contact. A
second process flow, based
on a monolithic fabrication
approach, helped reach very
small pitches – 3µm – with
higher brightness. Currently,
GaN arrays are available in
monochrome. The lab’s next
challenge is to achieve a full
colour microLED display.
Make it curved!
To reduce the size of the
glasses, CEA-Leti developed
and integrated a curved image
sensor, called Pixcurve, which
was demonstrated at CES
2019. The institute already
demonstrated an impressive
simplification of the optical
system – 40 per cent fewer
lenses required – and a 2.5x
reduction of the total lens
length compared to equivalent
commercial systems. The
team also identified a unique
process flow to curve an OLED
display at wafer-level scale with
a 45mm radius of curvature.
This technology consists of
thinning the silicon wafer till
it resembles a sheet of paper.
The challenge in the case of
OLED technology is that the
OLED stack is done before the
thinning of the wafer, and this
water-sensitive layer needs
to be protected all along this
process – a world-first. The
curvature can be either concave
or convex. A preliminary
ray-tracing study integrating
a WVGA OLED microdisplay
in an HMD optical system,
shows that only four lenses are
required, instead of five, making
the system more compact and
improving image quality.
Retinal projection
Combining integrated optics
and holography is a new way
to produce high-quality images
for the scientific community
developing display applications.
This unconventional imaging
concept helps lessen the
ANALYSIS AND OPINION AUGMENTED REALITY OPTICS
impact of standard limitations
of HMDs, by creating and
transporting the image into the
combiner. With this technology,
the eye is the unique optical
system and the image is
formed directly on the retina.
In this system, integrated
photonics circuits transport
light from the source to the
“Only four lenses are
required, compared to
five, making the system
more compact and
improving image quality”
eye as a data transfer system,
and holography transforms
this data into wavefronts for
the image to be projected on
the retina (see figure two). The
image is formed by leveraging
visual-data transmission
through a two-dimensional
network of optical waveguides
that addresses distribution
of switchable holographic
elements.
This optics-and-holography
technology helps produce see-
through and compact glasses.
Studies are underway to
demonstrate three main features
of this retinal-projection
concept in which images are
formed by a self-focusing effect,
waveguide distribution arrays
help address the right group
of holographic elements to
light on, and the directional
holographic elements generate
the wavefront.
In short, CEA-Leti is
pursuing several pathways to
address augmented reality’s
new field of research by
finding the way to adapt or
to create new components.
These include: developing
high brightness video GaN
micro displays with a pitch
lower than 3µm; developing
curved OLED CMOS
microdisplays with a unique
process that includes reliable
encapsulation; packaging to
protect components along the
technological steps; and using
a waveguide array associated to
pixellated holograms to address
augmented reality. EO
 ANALYSIS AND OPINION STEM MENTORING

Planting the interest

Sponsored by

in optics subjects

A good mentor is key to increasing

Daniela Marin
through my mentor. Here,
appreciation of photonics among the idea transformed into an
school pupils, says Daniela Marin, a excitement that motivated me
to return to my high school to
student at Colombia University, who run a workshop of my own. I
recently held an optics workshop for had the opportunity to explain
young pupils what optics was, share my
research experience, and
provide myself as a resource for
them. My enthusiasm stemmed
from my optics mentor, who

A
t school, I can still
remember walking
down the long hallway,
which had colourful lockers to
my left and right. One thing
I do not remember is feeling
confident about career options
or how diverse potential course
subjects are. I always had the
blurred figure of a male cross
my mind when I thought of an
engineer, or I thought of my eye
doctor when I thought of optics.
Why was I so unaware? Well,
coming from the perspective
of someone who came from
a low-income immigrant
household, I can provide some
insight. Students who have
immigrant parents typically live
between two worlds. One world
is at school, which consists
of learning and interacting
with people in English. The
transition into the second world
begins once the student is at
home and all conversations are
in their native language. Wait a
minute – how is being bilingual
a problem? What people don’t
realise is that first-generation
Americans can’t help their
children with homework,
career advice, or exposure
to opportunities because of
the language barrier. As a
result, some students navigate
through school on their own
and may not see the purpose for
furthering their studies.
However, at college I was
fortunate enough to have
been exposed to the eclectic
themes associated with optics
taught me more than just the
fundamentals of optics. He
taught me what research was
like, how to find opportunities,
and provided advice when I felt
unsure. Knowing an intellectual
individual believes in you and
is helping with the mysteries of
life goes a long way.
There are so many
individuals willing to try
something new but lack the
confidence to do so. The
technique to increase optics
awareness is simple: determine
the target group; identify
“My enthusiasm
stemmed from my optics
mentor, who taught
me more than just the
fundamentals of optics”
Participants in Marin’s workshop
built a Schlieren imaging system
and fibre optic snowflake (above)
how you could benefit them;
plant the motivation; foster
growth; and watch diverse
ideas develop from them.
Increasing appreciation for
optics and photonics among
high school students starts
with the development of a
mentorship programme capable
of providing guidance to those
who have limited access to
resources. Whether the parents
are dealing with a language
barrier or simply do not have
the time or experience to offer
advice, a knowledgeable mentor
can provide the seed to grow
the passion for optics. EO

Mentoring during optics careers

In addition to improving
the uptake of students
in optics subjects,
mentoring could improve
the retention of women
in optics careers, said Liz
Gerrish, optical engineer
at Wilcox Industries.
In an Electro Optics
article in December,
Gerrish detailed why
having a mentor is crucial
for women beginning
careers in photonics. ‘I
needed mentorship as a
young engineer because
I often felt isolated.
With the percentage of been beneficial to Gerrish especially during the time to be,’ she said. ‘Having
women in the optics was in helping to balance my last child was born, a mentor in a higher
industry around 21 per work and family. ‘For me, would have given me position, male or female,
cent worldwide, it was as my career grew, so did an ally to help navigate would have helped me
not uncommon for me to my family. While I never taking time off work.’ strategise an upwardly
work for long stretches took a mid-career break, A mentor would mobile career path
of time without another I did have to navigate have also helped with earlier.’
woman as a peer,’ she issues around maternity visualising a career For many young
said. ‘However, the more leave, and there were days path, Gerrish added. women, having
I heard other educated that I was ready to trade ‘With so few women in mentorship is the
and talented women share my optics engineering management and C-level difference between them
their experience, the more title for a stay-at-home- positions, I had very few building a successful
cohesive the narrative mom title,’ Gerrish noted. established patterns of career in science or
about the female STEM ‘I still struggle to keep all success to follow and I’ve engineering jobs, or
experience became.’ the parts of my career and never had a clear path to simply leaving to pursue
Another reason why my domestic life going. get from where I am to a job elsewhere, Gerrish
mentoring would have For me, having a mentor, where I’d like my career concluded.

12 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

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 ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LIFI

Light spark
Sponsored by

As part of new series of articles on The driving force behind in radio wave-based data
entrepreneurship, Carlos Lee, director LiFi research transmission, and this is one
general of the European Photonics Industry When conducting initial driver of his research. And,
research, Haas wanted to because of the projected
Consortium, speaks to pureLiFi founder achieve high-speed data technology revolution and
Professor Harald Haas, who demonstrated transmission. He came up the need for better wireless
and coined ‘LiFi’ during a TEDGlobal talk with various modulation communication that comes
in 2011 in Edinburgh techniques, in particular with it, Haas believes that
orthogonal frequency division the next decade or so will be
multiplexing (OFDM), to crucial in the transition from
modulate the intensity of LEDs radio- to light-based wireless
How LiFi was born In 2006, Haas recalled making and maximise data rates in the data communication.
Haas noted that the theory public demonstrations in available channel.
behind LiFi – using visible light Bremen using light on a desk This research took place Why LiFi?
to transmit data – is not new. lamp as a vehicle to transmit before the smartphone Too many devices using WiFi
Alexander Graham Bell came high-resolution photographs. revolution kicked in. Once can cause lowered data rates
up with the photophone, and In 2007, Haas went to the smartphones became and lead to what is called
research by IBM in the 1980s University of Edinburgh where ubiquitous, it highlighted the ‘spectrum crunch’, Haas
also showed that LEDs can be visible light communication the limitations of wireless noted. This is because radio
used for data communication. became a main focus of his communication, especially waves can move through walls
However, what differentiates research. in crowded areas, and the and cause interference with
LiFi technology, according to When his work started challenge of limited spectrum other radio transmitters. With
Haas, is the use of light for gaining recognition, he was via traditional radio wave- too much interference, the
mobile communication. invited by TED Talks to based data transmission rate of data transmission will
Before his TEDGlobal conduct a demonstration in became apparent. decrease. To help illustrate
talk in 2011, Haas recounts 2011, which led to the term LiFi Haas saw how LiFi could the problem, Haas referred
brainstorming ways of being born. overcome current issues to stadiums in the USA that
describing the new-found
technology in simple
terms with his University
of Edinburgh colleagues.
Because of the similarity of the
technology with WiFi, he came
up with the idea to call the
technology LiFi. Just like WiFi,
LiFi allows the user to transmit
data wirelessly.

A quarter-century in wireless
communication
Haas’ background is in
wireless communication,
starting his career in 1995 with
Siemens in Munich. He worked
with a team to develop the
first GSM chipset used in the
old Siemens mobile phones.
He stayed with Siemens for a
couple of years before moving
to Jacobs University Bremen,
Germany, in 2002. It is during
this time when Haas developed
the idea of using LiFi for
wireless data communication. Carlos Lee and Harald Haas

14 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

 ENTREPRENEURSHIP: LIFI

place WiFi routers underneath
the seats so they are closer to
people, as the human body –
mostly made up of water – can
attenuate WiFi signals.
Such a problem is virtually
non-existent with LiFi, as
light cannot pass through
walls or solid materials and
cause interference, and light
can be contained spatially in
a much simpler (and cheaper)
way. This also makes LiFi
communication much more
secure and less prone to
hacking that WiFi.
In terms of scalability, LiFi
is more efficient because
light has a capacity 2,600
times that of radio waves.
Hence, light provides more
data transmission highways
than radio waves. More
importantly, LiFi can make use
of existing infrastructure in
order to deliver wireless data
transmission.
Last year, Haas and
colleagues equipped a
classroom with LiFi at Kyle
Academy secondary school in
Spectroscopy_ad_189x129.qxp_Layout 1 11/05/2018 08:52 Page 1
Ayr, Scotland. The classroom
has eight LiFi-enabled LED
light bulbs in the ceiling, and
students have LiFi dongles
from PureLiFi that plug into
their laptops, enabling high-
speed connectivity through the
lights.
As a consequence of
having a LiFi connection in
one classroom, the adjoining
classrooms experienced
higher WiFi speeds because
the interference caused by
too many radio waves was
reduced.
LiFi can also be used in
many other applications. In
augmented and virtual reality
technology, for example, LiFi
can help the user avoid the
sea-sickness effect because
it minimises the latency that
causes vertigo.
A LiFi-connected world
Haas envisions a world
connected through LiFi.
To achieve this, the LED
industry will play a vital
role. Haas predicts that LED
lights will be equipped with
data-connectivity properties
to cater for LiFi-based data
communication. LEDs can
also be connected to the
internet wirelessly using
point-to-point optical wireless
communications between LED
light bulbs. Haas also sees
“The LED industry will play
a vital role [in enabling
widespread LiFi]”
LED light bulbs in the ceilings
of people’s homes providing
cloud storage for videos, music
and other data.
A closer connection with
the lighting and mobile
industries is needed to
realise a LiFi inter-connected
ecosystem, according to
Haas, which will require the
support of standardisation.
Currently, there is significant
momentum for this in the Task
Group of the IEEE 802.11bb
standardisation body.
In addition, Haas envisions
that LiFi will help close the
digital divide and bring more
internet connectivity to remote
areas through the use of solar
panels with the dual function
of a light energy harvester and
data transmitter.
For Harald, it is inevitable
that LiFi technology will bring
more connectivity to the world.
However, a lot of effort must
be exerted in order to turn
this vision into reality. Players
need to align themselves.
The LiFi industry must also
receive support from various
fronts in the public and private
sector for integration and
infrastructure. Combined with
the continued drive by key
players like PureLiFi towards
innovation and adoption of
LiFi technology, LiFi will
definitely make a better and
more connected world. EO
Professor Harald Haas is the CSO
and co-founder of EPIC member
company PureLiFi. Haas will be
one of the keynote speakers for the
EPIC annual general meeting in
Glasgow, UK, on 11/12 April.

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 ANALYSIS AND OPINION ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Building up standards in
metal additive manufacturing
A
dditive manufacturing
(AM) is a relatively
new and very complex
technology. Barriers to
entry can be quite high, as
implementing the technology
is not unproblematic and made
more difficult without specialised
knowledge to understand the
intricacies of the process.
Guidelines and standards
offer a summary of expertise,
because they usually combine
the knowledge of many
specialists with AM experience.
They also create a framework
of rules and regulations from a
variety of qualified and, above
all, verified information on how
to successfully implement the
technology. This information
provides answers to questions
ranging from the operation of AM
equipment to defining the criteria
for fabricating additive parts and
the quality criteria on which they
are evaluated. Standards also
help further spread adoption of
the technology. Especially for
equipment manufacturers like
SLM Solutions, it is essential
to provide as much process-
specific information as possible
to the operators of the AM
systems, making it easier to
get started with this interesting
technology, while accelerating
its dissemination, whether for
prototyping or serial production.
At the early stages in
developing a new technology,
large efforts in creating standards
may be premature and useless,
16 Electro Optics  April 2019
Dr Dieter Schwarze and
Bodo Haack, of SLM
Solutions, discuss the
importance and progression
of standardisation in laser
metal additive manufacturing
or lead to setbacks. Early
development requires maximum
flexibility. Once a technology is
widely adopted, standardisation
can be a booster for its usage. An
example is the need for unified
formats, so that files and data
keep pace with digitisation. But,
it is important to implement a
clever, open format to not restrict
the future.
The key of standardisation
is the knowledge of those
participating in the steering
committees. This knowledge
generates the quality of the
emerging standard or guideline.
As with any new technology, it
is difficult for manufacturers to
keep an eye on the large number
of applicable standards in the
field of AM. Only with qualified
information can we help potential
users get started.
The groundwork to this
success has already been
displayed by the recently
completed directive Additive
Manufacturing Processes from
the VDI (Association of German
Engineers) and the DIN EN ISO/
ASTM 52900 regulating the
terminology for AM, establishing,
among others, the term PBF-
LB/M for laser beam powder bed
fusion with metals (SLM). DIN
EN ISO/ASTM means that four
independent standardisation
bodies collaborated strongly,
indicating what is necessary
to help boost AM: a common
international understanding
with respect to many aspects of
AM to become a tool for series
production of end-use products
in a variety of industrial sectors
worldwide. Often this is referred
to as one world – one standard.
Despite this progress, there is
a gap in knowledge of AM and
information on the pros and cons
is still missing. A limited number
of AM studies exist to rely on
for reference, and more long-
term studies are needed. The
development of AM is happening
at speeds so fast that standards
“Integrators and users
of metal AM need
standardisation to
innovate and be more
productive … in their
implementation of the
technology”
struggle to keep up. Creation of
standards needs the participation
of enough supporting industrial
stakeholders, as well as those
resisting such framework rules.
Realistic targets in the one world
– one standard approach are
required to prevent risk-taking
that could otherwise jeopardise
the work. One way that may help
in thinking about standardisation
is to try and answer the question
of what it doesn’t mean. No
protectionism, no lobbying, IP
protection or market isolation…
Integrators and users of
metal AM need standardisation
to innovate and be more
productive by avoiding, or at
least reducing, trial and error
@electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com
Sponsored by
in their implementation of the
technology. This helps secure
their investment. Personnel,
metal powder and machine costs,
to name only a few, call for first-
time-right manufacturing, and to
work toward this goal emphasis
is needed on all steps of the
metal AM process and their
standardisation.
Without doubt, the industrial
laser market has experienced
growing sales into the AM
space in recent years. The usage
of AM for series production
with PBF-LB is a driver for
the laser market, especially
with the growing number of
multi-laser machines in use.
New laser sources will be
required in the future, such as
infrared laser arrays, visible or
ultraviolet wavelength lasers and
combinations thereof. Pulsed or
modulated lasers, or those with
tuneable beam intensity profile,
are used less often today. Further
standardisation will boost the
LBF-LB market, providing an
advantage to the laser market as
well.
The history of humankind
wouldn’t have been successful
without standardisation; for more
than 35,000 years standards have
helped us survive. Creating them
when and where they are needed
and helpful – that’s the art to go
with the science. EO
SLM Solutions contributes to the
development of metal additive
manufacturing standards by
sharing its expertise and best
practices with the standardisation
community. Dr Schwarze is
the deputy head of the Advisory
Board for Additive Manufacturing
in the DIN Standards Committee
Technology of Materials. He
is also head of science and
technology research at SLM
Solutions. Bodo Haack is head
of technology coordination and
system security at the firm.
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FEATURE COMMERCIAL SENSING
Optical sensor
drones fly into danger
Powered predominantly by lidar, plus
spectroscopy and visual-wavelength
imaging, Andy Extance discovers
unmanned aerial vehicles can safely
survey hazardous environments
G
iven the value of the resources
that can be found underground,
how much risk from the
thousands of tonnes of rocks
above is acceptable? Opening up new
areas to mining involves controlled
blasting, creating rock fragments that must
be removed, and potentially disturbing
unsupported ground that might fall away.
This creates significant risk to mine
workers, as well as the extremely expensive
remotely-operated bulldozers that modern
mines extract rock with.
‘Sudden rock fall generates such an
air pressure blast that it can kill people,’
said Stefan Hrabar, chief executive officer
at Emesent. The firm’s Hovermap helps
minimise that risk by automating drones to
independently scan mines with lidar. ‘We’ve
heard surveyors and mining engineers
saying, “If only we’d had this system for
18 Electro Optics  April 2019  @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com
10 minutes we could have saved lives or
millions of dollars.”’
Mines had already been using lidar
to map their excavations, or stopes,
mounted at the end of long booms over the
precipice of underground cliffs, attended
by surveyors. But Hrabar warned that
not only is it dangerous to be in these
underground areas, but it’s hard to obtain
accurate volume estimates or get a full
perspective. ‘Sending in a drone equipped
with Hovermap means that they can launch
it from a safe distance,’ added Hrabar. ‘The
drone can fill in all the gaps, so there’s no
shadowing or missing data.’ The resulting
data also has even and high point density,
which enables geotechnologists to resolve
fine features, such as natural cracks and
crevices in the rocks.
Mining is just one dramatic example of
how optical sensing equipment is going
Exyn Technologies, map post-processing provided by partner Paracosm, an Occipital company
Map of a stope generated with data collected
from an autonomous A3R flight, showing an
outside and top-down view
into dangerous environments and providing
information to help make people safer.
There are many of other types of hazardous
places, such as volcanoes and remote
natural environments, where mounted
drones are used when the risk is too high
for humans. And, while lidar is the most
common tool such drones exploit, there are
also opportunities for spectroscopy and
visual-wavelength imaging.
Brisbane-based Emesent’s Hovermap
lidar integrates an off-the-shelf VLP-16
Puck lidar from Velodyne, using Emesent’s
simultaneous localisation and mapping
(SLAM) expertise to construct maps while
tracking the drone’s location. The system
allows drones to fly autonomously and
can easily be mounted and unmounted,
according to Hrabar. ‘You can actually
just walk around with it, or mount it on
a ground vehicle,’ he explained. While
Hrabar couldn’t reveal the differentiators
of his company’s approach in detail, they
do include the choice of environmental
features that the system recognises.
An important consideration for mapping
is the lidar’s beam divergence, Hrabar
Exyn Technologies
Exyn's A3R conducting a fully autonomous flight at a gold mine in Chelopech, Bulgaria
observed. More divergent beams risk
striking multiple objects and generating
multiple return signals, which is a problem
for producing detailed maps. ‘You can’t
be totally sure exactly what measurement
you should use to produce the map,’
Hrabar explained. ‘But then, from the
safety perspective, if you’re trying to pick
up structures like small wires, you might
want a more divergent beam, so that you’re
guaranteed to see these things.’ The Puck
lidar provides a compromise between these
two extremes, he added.
Lighter detection
Autonomous drone company Exyn
Technologies also targets ‘infrastructure-
free’ environments like mines that do not
have access to GPS signals. ‘That means
no persistent communications with the
platform, and in many cases no prior
information,’ said Jason Derenick, Exyn’s
vice president for technology. Exyn’s
Advanced-Autonomy Aerial Robots (A3Rs)
are designed to fly autonomously in such
FLAIR
The Flair project requires a large Tekever AR5 drone to accommodate the weight and power of its system
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics
environments, while generating real-time
maps and executing high-level missions. If
a mission cannot be executed or something
unexpected happens, the drones are smart
enough to make decisions and handle
contingencies. ‘That delineates us from
other drone companies,’ Derenick said. ‘All
the sensing, all the computation, everything
has to be done on-board.’
“The drone can fill in
all the gaps, so there’s
no shadowing or
missing data”
Carrying out processing on-board
means there needs to be excellent mission
planning and state estimation functions,
Derenick said, where the drone calculates
its position and orientation with relation
to its real-time 3D map, generated by
lidar-powered SLAM. ‘We command the
vehicle using missions – it could be that
FLEXPOINT
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Routescene
Routescene
g locations while avoiding obstacles,’
Derenick explained. ‘Or it could be that
you ask it to execute exploration-type
behaviour.’ Supporting those high-level
goals ultimately involves determining what
commands the drone should deliver to
its low-level flight control unit, all while
perceiving its environment in real time.
The drone sees the world as a collection
of cubes, Derenick said, some of which
are occupied. Based upon which cubes it
determines as free, it computes safe flight
corridors.
While lidar is important, Exyn would like
to find more lightweight ways to exploit it.
‘The smallest unit that we can reliably use
in a mining environment is the Velodyne
20 Electro Optics  April 2019  @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com
VLP-16 LW,’ Derenick said. This weighs
590g, while its robots weigh a maximum of
1.5kg. The Exyn executive also noted that
commercial 3D lidar systems have very
narrow fields of view (FoVs), just +/- 15
degrees from horizontal. Exyn therefore
mounts the Velodyne lidar on a gimbal
and rotates it to cover ‘almost the full
volume surrounding the vehicle’. However,
Derenick would prefer lidars with fewer
moving parts, which would be more robust.
It’s harder for Exyn’s flying drones
to deal with limited fields of view than
autonomous road vehicles, Derenick added.
‘Autonomous cars know that they live on
the ground,’ he said. ‘Our drone operates
in a full volume, so its needs to see that
Routescene’s LiDARPod (above and left) has
been used in surveying an archaeologically
important, but remote and dangerous-to-
access site in Sand Canyon, Colorado, US
volume in order to make a decision. Also,
a lot of autonomous car startups do their
testing in milder climates, where conditions
are much more favourable for sensing at
longer ranges. In a mine environment, you
have high humidity and high density of
dust, to the point where it can drastically
reduce the effective range of the sensing
to 50 per cent or less, depending upon the
conditions.’
Velodyne’s unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV) and robotics business manager
Frank Bertini added that road-based
autonomous vehicles want lidar with high
vertical resolution, with smaller vertical
distances between measured points. ‘In
many cases, UAV customers will sacrifice
vertical resolution for a larger vertical FoV,’
Bertini said. He also stressed that its Puck
Lite model is seeking to reduce the weight
burden of lidar even further. Other potential
improvements come from how Velodyne
has designed its Puck sensor. Bertini called
it ‘an elegantly engineered combination of
905nm wavelength laser pulsing diodes,
optical lenses, and detectors’.
‘While Velodyne has used commercially
off-the-shelf components in the past, we
are currently implementing our custom-
designed application-specific integrated
circuits (ASICs), which will increase
performance, reduce cost, and reduce
the physical size of the sensor,’ Bertini
 COMMERCIAL SENSING FEATURE

“A lot of autonomous car

Velodyne

startups do their testing

in milder climates where
conditions are much more
favourable for sensing at
longer ranges”

do not want your product failing’, stressed

Many groups developing drones for hazardous environments use Velodyne’s Puck VLP-16
added. ‘With the introduction of Velodyne’s
patented ASICs, we will be able to build
a multitude of smaller form factors. Many
of the components within the Puck will
be moving from a printed circuit board,
down to the size of an ASIC, or small
microchip – similar to how cell phones now
have the equivalent computing power of a
desktop PC from five to 10 years ago. Lidar
electronics roughly follow Moore’s Law
and we see a runway for many decades of
improvement, since we are at such an early
stage.’
Sensing limitations
Lidar can also help in hazardous and
hostile external environments, such as
sites with inaccessible steep slopes and
dense vegetation, said Emma Thomas,
director of Edinburgh-headquartered
Mapix technologies. Its Routescene
brand produces a drone payload called
LidarPod that has been used in surveying
an archaeologically important site in Sand
Canyon, Colorado, US. ‘There were some
very steep slopes on this site,’ Thomas
said. ‘Using drones removes the hazards.’
It also minimises survey time and cost
compared to manual walking or helicopter
and aeroplane surveys, and offers much
higher data resolution. ‘We’ve opened
up the ability to survey to places where,
historically, it just wouldn’t have happened
because of price, budget constraints and
danger,’ Thomas asserted.
Routescene uses Velodyne’s HDL-32
because it has been in the market since
2010 and has demonstrated a very long
mean time to failure. This is ‘exactly what
you want in the middle of nowhere – you
Thomas. ‘It’s got 32 lasers and thanks to
the accuracy of those lasers, we’re able to
do what we need to, in terms of vegetation
penetration that you can’t do with others
that don’t have the same power, accuracy
and resolution.’
However, the HDL-32 weighs 1kg, so
Routescene would welcome the same
capabilities in a lighter-weight package.
The company would also like an upgrade to
its 100m maximum range. ‘The higher the
resolution and accuracy you need for your
final output, then the lower and slower you
need to fly your drone,’ Thomas explained.
‘If there are things in the way, such as tall
trees, you need to maybe fly anything up to
80m. As soon as you start flying high, you
lose accuracy and resolution.’
The LidarPod can also be used together
with a separate camera, connected
together to synchronise data collection.
This is only effective for collecting terrain
colour information, Thomas warned,
rather than for making photogrammetric
measurements. ‘If you’re trying to do
photogrammetry and lidar, and then merge
the two, your best practice would be to
fly the site twice, once with lidar at low
altitude and then a second time with the
camera at a higher altitude, so that you get
optimum results,’ she said.
Further expanding drone-based optical g

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 FEATURE COMMERCIAL SENSING

“While Velodyne has

Velodyne
used commercially off-
the-shelf components
in the past, we are
currently implementing
our custom-designed
application-specific
integrated circuits, which
will increase performance,
reduce cost, and reduce
the size of the sensor”

g sensing, a European industry-academia

collaboration called FLying ultrA-
broadband single-shot Infra-Red sensor
(FLAIR) is using spectroscopy to analyse
emissions from volcanoes or chemical
fires, for example. Currently, the team is
targeting visible plumes a few kilometres
in length, explained Frans Harren, from
Radboud University in Nijmegen, the
Netherlands. ‘We aim for environments
at which the concentrations will be very
high and dangerous for human health,’
said Harren, who is the coordinator for
FLAIR. The project seeks to use a large
AR5 drone produced by Lisbon, Portugal-
based Tekever, which has an 80km range,
but needs a runway to take off. ‘It has the
proper weight and can generate the proper
power for the sensing system,’ he added.
The system uses a supercontinuum fibre-
based diode-pumped mid-infrared source
from NKT Photonics. ‘It’s very broad band,
but has the directionality of a laser beam,’
Harren explained. That enables the FLAIR
team to do spectroscopic measurements
of atmospheric gas across all wavelengths
from 3-4µm. But they don’t aim the laser
at the atmosphere. Instead, it’s focussed
into a folded ‘multipass cell’ developed by
SensAir, where the laser shines through
10 metres of gas. The system will then
measure light absorption by gas molecules
using either mid-infrared cameras from New
Lidar-enabled drones ‘see’ the world as a point cloud image
Infrared Technologies, or grating detectors.
The drone will then send data wirelessly to
scientists on the ground.
Having demonstrated the principles in
the lab, the Swiss Centre for Electronics
and Microtechnology (CSEM) in Neuchatel,
Switzerland, intends to build a system
that fits in a drone by this summer. ‘It will
hopefully fly by the end of the year,’ Harren
said. Then, the Swiss Federal Laboratories
for Materials Science and Technology
(EMPA) in Zurich, will compare the drone
Routescene
to existing carbon dioxide and methane
sensing systems. The EMPA researchers
have these systems on a measuring tower,
and the drone will fly around it to validate
its measurements.
While spectroscopic drones enabling
measurements in hazardous environments
are undoubtedly important, their success
will likely be limited, Harren warned. That’s
because the market for such products
is small. Consequently, his team is also
exploring using such drones to ensure fruit
doesn’t spoil. ‘If you can save food loss,
for example, during storage that helps the
farmer,’ Harren said. ‘If you can save them
€60,000 per year, then they’ll do it.' While
only five drones might be purchased by fire
brigades in the Netherlands, there could
be hundreds of farmers in the country who
would use the system for monitoring food,
according to Harren.
Such economic equations will
presumably always be the driving force for
deploying sensing drones into hazardous
situations. And even if the prospects for
spectroscopic drones seem less certain,
today, lidar is useful in mining and densely-

Routescene’s LiDARPod uses Velodyne’s HDL-32 lidar, thanks vegetated, remote outdoor environments –
to its reliability, power and resolution and is becoming more so. EO

22 Electro Optics  April 2019  @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

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FEATURE OPTICS IN SPACE
Searching
in the dark
Jessica Rowbury looks at the latest research
in the hunt for dark matter, one of the biggest
mysteries in physics
V
isible matter represents
everything we can touch and see,
yet it makes up less than five cent
of the universe. The vast majority
of the universe is dark, and does not emit
or reflect – and cannot be detected with
– light. The existence of dark matter has
been inferred by astronomers as a result of
the gravitational effects on visible matter,
radiation and the structure in space, rather
than it being observed through direct or
indirect methods.
The first evidence for the existence of
dark matter was produced in the 1930s,
when astronomers observing the motion
of galaxies found a discrepancy in their
expectation that only accounted for matter
that emitted light.
Observations of gravitational lensing
have also pointed to matter additional to
what is visible. Gravitational lensing, an
effect related to Einstein’s general theory of
relativity, causes gravity to bend the path of
a beam of light in a particular way, meaning
that a large object can distort the image of
a distant light source in a manner similar
to a magnifying glass. By comparing the
known position of the source (obtained
through direct emission of visible particles
from the source) to its distorted image,
the distribution of the matter causing the
distortion can be reconstructed.
More recently, supercomputer simulations
of the universe’s structure have shown
that including only visible matter does not
reproduce the structures observed in the
universe – a closer agreement between
observations and simulations is obtained
only through including both visible and
dark matter.
The presence of dark matter and its
amount in the universe can also be inferred
from the variations of temperature in the
24 Electro Optics  April 2019  @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com
early universe. However, none of these
observations provide a clear indication of
what dark matter is made of.
Scientists around the globe hope to
understand its nature by observing rare
dark matter particles and their interactions
from space, and by trying to produce them
in controlled laboratory conditions.
Detecting in the lab
Scientists working with the Atlas detector
at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are
attempting to further understand the nature
of dark matter by producing it in controlled
laboratory conditions.
In March, CERN’s research board
approved a new experiment designed
to look for light and weakly interacting
particles. FASER, or the Forward Search
Experiment, will complement CERN’s
ongoing physics programme, extending its suited for detecting the light and weakly
discovery potential to several new particles interacting particles that might be produced
associated with dark matter. Astrophysical parallel to the beam line. They may travel
evidence shows that dark matter makes hundreds of metres without interacting
up about 27 per cent of the universe, but it with any material before transforming into
has never been observed and studied in a known and detectable particles, such as
laboratory. electrons and positrons. The exotic particles
With an expanding interest in would escape the existing detectors
undiscovered particles, particularly along the current beam lines and remain
long-lived particles and dark matter, undetected. FASER will therefore be located
new experiments have been proposed to along the beam trajectory 480 metres
expand the scientific potential of CERN’s downstream from the interaction point in
accelerator complex and infrastructure as the Atlas detector. Although the protons in
part of the Physics Beyond Collider (PBC) the particle beams will be bent by magnets
study, under whose aegis FASER operates. around the LHC, the weakly-interacting
‘This novel experiment helps diversify particles will continue along a straight line
the physics programme of colliders, such and their ‘decay products’ can be spotted by
as the LHC, and allows us to address FASER. The potential new particles would
unanswered questions in particle physics be collimated with the beam, spreading out
from a different perspective,’ explained very little, therefore allowing a relatively
Mike Lamont, co-coordinator of the PBC small and inexpensive detector to perform
study group. highly sensitive searches.
The four main LHC detectors are not The detector’s total length is less than

“The experiment allows
us to address unanswered
questions in particle
physics from a different
perspective”
five metres and its core cylindrical structure
has a radius of 10 centimetres. It will be
installed in a side tunnel along an unused
transfer line which links the LHC to its
injector, the Super Proton Synchrotron.
FASER will search for a suite of
hypothesised particles, including so-
called ‘dark photons’, particles associated
with dark matter. The experiment will
be installed during the ongoing Long
Shutdown 2 and start taking data from
LHC’s Run 3 between 2021 and 2023.
‘It is very exciting to have FASER
approved for installation at CERN. It is
amazing how the collaboration has come
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics
together so quickly, and we are looking
forward to recording our first data when
the LHC starts up again in 2021,’ said
Jamie Boyd, co-spokesperson of the FASER
experiment.
‘FASER is a neat physics proposal that
addresses a particular aspect in the search
for physics beyond the standard model, and
I am pleased to see it being implemented
so efficiently,’ added Eckhard Elsen,
CERN’s director for research and
computing.
Dark matter optics
Another area of experiment assumes that
the elementary dark matter particles are
very light bosons that collectively behave
as a wave that self-interacts gravitationally.
It is mathematically described with the so-
called Schrödinger-Poisson equation (SPE,
sometimes also called Schrödinger-Newton
or Gross-Pitaevskii-Newton equation),
a model introduced as a non-relativistic
OPTICS IN SPACE FEATURE
GiroScience/Shutterstock.com
approximation to the dynamics self-
gravitating scalar fields.
According to Humberto Michinel and
Ángel Paredes at the Optics Laboratory of
the University of Vigo in Ourense, Spain,
this scenario provides an interesting
opportunity for optics research.
Recently, a number of experiments
have been performed to mimic aspects
of Newtonian gravitation in non-linear
optical setups, opening the possibility of
designing optical analogues of gravitational
phenomena, the researchers have said.
Different versions of the non-linear
Schrödinger equation, which are usually
solved by means of computer simulations,
are typically used for the description of
laser light propagation in non-linear media.
In particular, the SPE applies, among other
situations, to the propagation of a laser
beam in a thermo-optical material, namely
one in which the refractive index depends
on temperature. In this context, the Poisson g
April 2019   Electro Optics 25
 FEATURE OPTICS IN SPACE
FASER/CERN
3D picture of the planned FASER experiment in its tunnel
g equation appears naturally as a steady state
heat equation.
Thus, the appearance of SPE in different
frameworks is a mathematical coincidence
that suggests that certain properties of dark
matter behaviour should have an optical
counterpart, Michinel and Paredes argue.
For instance, solitons have been a subject
of intense research during the past decades
in the context of laser propagation in non-
linear optical media. In an optical soliton,
the interplay of diffraction, dispersion
and non-linear optical properties of the
materials gives rise to robust particle-like
beams that can travel unlimited distances
without any distortion in its shape. These
‘light bullets’ can also trap another light
inside them, acting as light-guiding
structures, yielding an ever increasing
control on light propagation and to deep
connections to other areas of physics,
light fluid dynamics or cold atoms. Their
cosmic equivalent would be the existence
of huge self-trapped dark matter solitons
that constitute the core of typical galaxies,
with sizes in the hundreds or thousands of
parsecs. In a sense, they act as waveguides
for the galaxies that are trapped in the zone
of highest gravitational attraction. This
situation is analogous to all-optical soliton
26 Electro Optics  April 2019  @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com
waveguides that are well known in non-
linear optics.
It is also intriguing to consider soliton
collisions from this point of view, noted
Michinel and Paredes. In optics, researchers
are acquainted with the fact that solitons
behave like robust objects but that, when
they meet, interference plays a decisive
role. The same mechanism might therefore
“We hope this could pave
the way to performing
tabletop photonics
experiments that mimic
aspects of dark matter ”
be at play in galactic collisions. Since dark
matter solitons are coherent waves, they
can interfere constructively or destructively
like laser beams in an interferometer.
In the case of solitons behaving like
robust clumps, destructive interference is
analogous to an elastic collision between
two particles that separate after hitting
each other. It is important to notice that the
meticulous observations of galactic clusters
stand out among the most promising
strategies for understanding dark matter.
The displacements of the stars, with respect
to the gas and dark matter, give information
about the dynamics of the collisions.
Interferential optical-like phenomena might
result in detectable features that, in fact,
might have already been observed.
According to Michinel and Paredes,
this ‘dark matter optics’ approach can
be applied to the study of other cosmic
phenomena, such as the coalescence of
solitons in relation to galactic mergers
or the interactions between dark matter
and supermassive black holes, which can
be easily modelled as ‘dot potentials’.
Similarly, modulation instability and
filamentation may provide an optical
analogue of cosmic structure formation,
they explained.
Conceptually, it is appealing that,
albeit partially, the astrophysical and
cosmological dynamics of dark matter can
find an analogy in the spatial profiles of
laser beams. Moreover, it is worth analysing
this interdisciplinary connection, as usual
notions or methods of optics might find
application for dark matter or vice versa.
‘We hope this remarkable analogy will pave
the way to performing tabletop photonics
experiments that mimic particular aspects
of the behaviour of dark matter in an optical
laboratory,’ said Michinel and Paredes. EO

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 TECH FOCUS OPOS AND OPAS

Terahertz laser Sponsored by

pulses amplify optical

phonons in solids
The amplification of phonons in solids represents a further step

Jörg Harms / MPSD

towards new phononic devices for the next generation of sensors,
mobile phones and computing

T
he amplification of light through
stimulated emission or nonlinear
optical interactions has had a
transformative impact on modern science
and technology. The amplification of
other bosonic excitations, like phonons in
solids, is likely to open up new physical
phenomena.
A study led by scientists of the Max
Planck Institute for the Structure and
Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) at the
Centre for Free-Electron Laser Science in
Hamburg, Germany, has demonstrated the
amplification of optical phonons in a solid
by intense terahertz laser pulses. These light
bursts excite atomic vibrations to very large
amplitudes, where their response to the
driving electric field becomes nonlinear and
conventional description fails to predict their
behaviour.
In this new realm, fundamental material
properties, usually considered constant, are
modulated in time and act as a source for
phonon amplification. The paper, Parametric
Amplification of Optical Phonons, was
published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of
America at the end of last year.
The group, led by Professor Andrea
Cavalleri at the MPSD, has pioneered the
field of controlling materials by driving
atomic vibrations (ie phonons) with intense
terahertz laser pulses. If the atoms vibrate
strongly enough, their displacement affects
material properties. This approach has
proven successful in controlling magnetism,
as well as inducing superconductivity and
insulator-to-metal transitions. In this field,
it is then important to understand whether
the phonon excitation by light can be
amplified, potentially leading to performative
improvements of the aforementioned
material control mechanisms.
In the recent work, Cartella, Cavalleri
and coworkers used intense terahertz
pulses to resonantly drive large-amplitude
phonon oscillations in silicon carbide and
investigated the dynamic response of this
phonon by measuring the reflection of weak
(also resonant) probe pulses as a function of
time delay after the excitation.
‘We discovered for large enough
intensities of our driving pulses, the intensity
of the reflected probe light was higher than
that impinging on the sample,’ said Andrea
Cartella. ‘As such, silicon carbide acts as
“The discoveries
suggest the existence
of a broader set of
analogies between
phonons and photons,
paving the way for the
phononic devices”
When light excites the material and induces large
atomic vibrations at frequency ω (blue wave),
fundamental material properties are modulated in
time at twice such frequency (red wave), acting as
a source for phonon amplification
an amplifier for the probe pulses. Because
the reflectivity at this frequency is the result
of the atomic vibrations, this represents a
fingerprint of phonon amplification.’
The scientists were able to rationalise
their findings with a theoretical model that
allowed them to identify the microscopic
mechanism of this phonon amplification.
These findings build on another discovery
by the Hamburg group published earlier this
year, showing phonons can have a response
reminiscent of the high-order harmonic
generation of light. These new discoveries
suggest the existence of a broader set of
analogies between phonons and photons,
paving the way for phononic devices.
The Centre for Free-Electron Laser Science
(CFEL) is a joint enterprise of DESY, the
Max Planck Society and the University of
Hamburg. This collaboration also involved
Professor Roberto Merlin, of the University
of Michigan.

Commercial products

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The company says that due
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28 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com


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www.admesy.com/products-1
and periodically routes each
wavelength at a switching
frequency in the kilohertz range
to the optical output of the unit.
Further possibilities result from
a modified arrangement of the
laser material, as the wavelengths
559, 588 and 621nm can thus be
generated alternatively.
Coherent’s compact
Chameleon OPO is a wavelength
extension up to 1,600nm giving
a combined tuning range of 680
to 1,600nm when used with a
Chameleon Ultra or Vision laser
as a pump source.
The OPO signal output is
tuneable between 1,000 and
1,600nm without optics changes.
An idler option is also available to
access wavelengths from 1,750 to
4,000nm.
TECH FOCUS OPOS AND OPAS
HÜBNER PHOTONICS FEATURED PRODUCT
The C-WAVE, by HÜBNER
Photonics, is a unique,
tunable, single frequency
cw OPO, covering 450 to
650nm and 900 to 1300nm.
In the region 450 to 650nm
output, powers of up to
200mW are available while
at 900 to 1300nm output
powers, up to 400 mW are
available. C-WAVE has
been developed as a high
precision and versatile
laser serving demanding
applications in atomic
The pump laser wavelength
and OPO wavelength can be
tuned independently, enabling
two colour imaging or pump/
probe applications. Specifically,
the laser pump wavelength
can be varied between 740
and 880nm with simultaneous
independent tuning of the OPO
in the IR.
In January, Chromacity,
a provider of ultrafast laser
systems, introduced a low-cost
near-infrared OPO.
To date, ultrafast OPO
technologies have typically
required users to connect
multiple systems together, but
the Chromacity OPO has been
developed as a compact single
unit that both easy to use and, at
physics and quantum
optics.
A new feature of ultimate
wavelength control, called
AbsoluteLambda, offers
the opportunity for an
automised selection of
wavelength with high
accuracy (set point +/-
1MHz) and a drift-free
wavelength stabilisation
(+/- 1MHz).
https://www.hubner-photonics.
com/products/laser-technology/
tunable-lasers/
under £100,000, is cheaper than
similar solutions, according to
the company.
Operating in the near-infrared,
the Chromacity OPO can
generate light from 1,400 to
4,200nm with picosecond pulse
durations, making it suitable for
a wide range of industrial and
scientific applications, from FTIR
micro-spectroscopy and stand-
off detection to gas sensing and
powder spectroscopy.
Excelitas’ iFlex-Agile CW OPO
is a high-power, continuous-
wave OPO featuring optimised
optics for a full wavelength range
with powers on the Watts-level
and rapid tunability to enable
seamless operation.
This instrument’s high-
precision optics ensure excellent
focusing and consistent beam
emission for high accuracy in
mass spectrometry, material
testing, spectroscopy and
metrology applications.
April 2019 Electro Optics  29
 PRODUCT UPDATE
LATEST
PRODUCT
UPDATE 
SOFTWARE
LightTools illumination design
software version 8.7
Synopsys has released version 8.7
of its LightTools illumination design
software for the modelling, analysis,
and optimisation of illumination optics.
LightTools 8.7 introduces capabilities to
help optical designers pinpoint and correct
stray light issues – including ghost images
and flare – early in the design process.
Designers can quickly prototype
their opto-mechanical systems, explore
the interactions of light with system
components, and identify sources of
unwanted surface interactions that impact
system performance. The LightTools stray
light analysis is particularly useful for
improving the design of next-generation
illumination optics used in space-borne
telescopes, infrared optical systems,
consumer electronics, autonomous vehicles,
and AR/VR/MR applications.
Features include: support for the Harvey-
Shack and ABg scattering models, as well
as a scatter evaluation tool, to simulate
highly-polished surfaces; new receiver
filters that track ray-surface interactions and
identify contributions from ghosts and flare;
the Ray Path analysis enhancements that
deliver increased performance and provide
detailed data to locate ghost images; options
for specifying a normalised power range
to filter analysis results to a subset of ray
paths based on the total power collected in
each path; scatter aiming enhancements
that provide additional flexibility when
specifying aim areas; and contamination
scattering for modeling the effects of dust
and other particulates that may contaminate
optical surfaces, such as mirrors.
www.synopsys.com
30 Electro Optics April 2019
More products now online at
www.electrooptics.com/products
VPIphotonics Design Suite Version 10.0
VPIphotonics Design Suite Version 10.0
provides access to professional application-
specific simulation tools and several pluggable
toolkit extensions with common usability,
design process and data analysis capabilities.
The software update offers enhancements
of the user interface and tools operation, and
many advances in simulation capabilities,
including new functionalities and analysis tools
for coherent mQAM, direct-detection PAM-M,
multimode transmission systems, DSP and
coding, and much more.
VPIphotonics’ software is used by many
commercial companies and educational
institutions around the world, to boost
product development and perform a variety
ANALYSIS, TEST AND MEASUREMENT
Square One cuvette holder
Ocean Optics has introduced
a convenient, manageable
cuvette holder for highly
accurate, repeatable absorbance
and fluorescence measurements.
The Square One cuvette holder has
three collimating lenses with fiber
optic connectors, is designed with an
integrated cover to reduce ambient light,
and provides a snug, reliable fit for cuvettes and
filters to ensure best results.
Square One accommodates 1cm pathlength
plastic or quartz cuvettes. Its built-in mirror
optimises signal reflection for fluorescence,
Gemini interferometer
Nireos, a spin-off company
of the physics department of
Politecnico di Milano University,
has introduced an ultra-stable
interferometer, called Gemini,
which is ideal for broadband
steady-state and time-resolved
spectroscopy.
The device can be easily added to any
existing set-up to measure the spectrum of
a light source, either coherent (such as a
broadband laser) or incoherent (a light bulb,
LED or fluorescence from a sample).
The Gemini has: very high throughput,
because it provides 10mm clear aperture
of research and design projects. With the
improved capabilities provided in Version
10.0, VPIphotonics Design Suite not only
offers support for its existing applications and
markets, but even addresses new ones.
www.vpiphotonics.com
while two filter slots accept both 12.5 and
25mm diameter optical filters. With filters,
users can manage fluorescence excitation
and emission wavelengths, or remove
unneeded wavelengths to reduce stray
light.
Meauring 111 x 90 x 74mm, Square
One takes up very little bench space.
It has a black, hard-anodised aluminium
interior and base plate, with silver Cerakote
body, for great durability. Square One integrates
easily with Ocean Optics spectrometers, light
sources and optical fibres for flexibility in
cuvette-based measurements.
www.oceanoptics.com/
(free space propagation with a
collimated beam through the
device, lacking entrance or exit
slits); user adjustable spectral
resolution without affecting
light throughput; an ultra-
broadband spectral coverage
(250 to 3,500nm); easy to
align, plug-and-play operation;
a compact footprint (10 x 11 x 6cm); and is
equipped with control software and Labview
examples for easy integration.
Nireos has demonstrated Gemini can be
applied to many different experiments, in
steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy.
www.nireos.com
@electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

LASERS AND DIODES
633 and 785nm wavelengths added
to 08-01 series
Cobolt continues to address the Raman
spectroscopy market with the addition of
633 and 785nm STM on the 08-01 series.
The Cobolt 08-NLD 633nm is
a frequency-stabilised, narrow-linewidth
laser diode (NLD) with up to 30mW and
including an integrated optical isolator. The
series is complemented with the addition
of a single transverse mode (STM) 08-NLD
785nm. It’s also a frequency stabilised,
NLD with up to 120mW and including an
integrated optical isolator. Both have a
linewidth <20 pm.
All Cobolt lasers are made using
proprietary HTCure technology, and the
compact hermetically-sealed package
provides a very high level of immunity
to varying environmental conditions,
along with excellent reliability. With
demonstrated lifetime capability of  >60,000
hours and several thousand units installed
in the field, Cobolt lasers have proven to
deliver high reliability and performance in
laboratory and industrial environments.
www.coboltlasers.com
LEDS AND ILLUMINATION
LumiBright UV-LED light engines
Innovations in Optics has released LumiBright
UV-LED light engines, powerful solid-state
sources that are being used in OEM equipment
applied to photocuring of adhesives and
coatings, as well as photomask exposure
systems for photolithography.
LumiBright UV-LED light engines feature UV
die arrays bonded on MCPCB substrates that
enhance thermal performance for high current
density operation. The primary optic is a non-
imaging concentrator made from fused silica,
ideal for high power UV flux.
With active cooling, the 2400B-405 model
can emit greater than 20W from a 7.5mm
diameter clear aperture with a 0.66 numerical
aperture (NA). Model 2400B-505 can produce
over 10W of radiant flux from a 5mm diameter
clear aperture with 0.60NA. LumiBright UV-LED
light engines are available with wavelengths
centered near 365nm, 385nm, 395nm and
www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics
FWS-Poly laser version
A new laser version of Spectrolight’s
FWS-Poly has been launched and is
now available for as low as $15,000.
This version of FWS-Poly is only
compatible with supercontinuum
lasers. The flexible wavelength selector
(FWS) Poly is a unique wavelength
selection device that employs
Spectrolight’s TwinFilm technology to
deliver tunability and adjustable bandwidth,
together with the imaging advantages of a
circular aperture filter.
A single device of FWS Poly can cover a
wavelength tuning range of ~500nm, with simple
alignment and automatic compensation of
RWG F/P laser diode module
OSI Laser Diode introduced a high power
1,650nm RWG F/P laser diode module,
the SCW 1732-BGR, at the OFC trade show in
San Diego in March.
The new pulsed laser module is optically
coupled to a single-mode fibre pigtail that
includes a fibre Bragg grating (FBG) to
stabilise the wavelength throughout a variety
of operating conditions. The SCW 1732-
BGR includes a thermoelectric cooler and
an electrically-isolated temperature-sensing
thermistor for enhanced thermal stability. The
module also features a monitor detector for
optical feedback control.  The new RoHS-
compliant device is designed for tasks where
high-peak-pulsed optical power is required
or desired, such as optical test equipment
applications.
Available in a durable, 14-pin butterfly
405nm. For photolithography, 435nm LEDs are
also available.
For spot curing applications, LumiBright UV-
LED light engines easily couple to liquid light
guides for the ultraviolet. The clear apertures
and NA of the 2400B-405 and 2400B-505
match the diameters and numerical aperture of
typical liquid light guides. No additional optics
are necessary, since the light guide ferrule can
be simply butt-coupled to the optical aperture of
the LumiBright UV-LED light engines.
www.innovationsinoptics.com
PRODUCT UPDATE
beam offset. The FWS Poly models
feature complete software control
of wavelength and bandwidth via
a USB link and simple software
interface.
A few applications for the
FWS Poly include hyperspectral
imaging, fluorescence microscopy,
and machine vision, as well as
OEM opportunities in life sciences
instrumentation for flow cytometry and DNA
sequencing.
The FWS Poly laser version will also debut,
with six models covering the visible, UV and
custom wavelength ranges.
www.spectrolightinc.com
package, OSI’s laser diode module
characteristics include optical power (fibre) at
a minimum of 275mW, with a forward drive
current at 2,100mA, typically, and a maximum
of 3,000mA. The threshold current is typically
70mA and the forward voltage is a minimum
3V to a maximum of 4V. The device’s centre
wavelength ranges from 1,649nm (minimum) to
1,650nm (typical) to 1,651nm (maximum).
www.laserdiode.com
OD-265-003 UVLED
Opto Diode Corporation has
released the third device in
a series of narrow-spectral-
output ultraviolet light-emitting
diodes (UVLEDs), the OD-
265-003. The UVLED with lens features a narrow
radiation pattern and total power output of 0.5mW
(minimum) to 0.58mW (typical).
The newest device in Opto Diode’s family of
ultraviolet LEDs is housed in a hermetically-
sealed TO-46 package, making it convenient to
integrate into existing or new systems.
Electro-optical characteristics (at 25°C) include
emission wavelengths ranging from 260nm to
270nm, with a typical peak emission at 265nm.
The spectral bandwidth is 13nm (typical), the
half-intensity beam angle is only 9°, forward
voltage is 5V to 6.5V, and capacitance is 350pF
(typical). The new, narrow-spectral-output
UVLED offers long-lifetime operation and is well-
suited for disinfection applications. 
www.optodiode.com
April 2019 Electro Optics  31
 SUPPLIERS’ DIRECTORY
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DIRECTORY   Also available online at
ACCESSORIES
JENOPTIK Optical Systems
GmbH
+49 3641 65-2276
info.os@jenoptik.com
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+49 (0)3641 / 3530-10
info@lej.de
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www.oceanoptics.eu
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+44 1869 277233
sales@ridgemount.com
www.ridgemount.com
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www.uni-optics.com
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AMPLIFIERS AND
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001 406-587-4910
sales@teamwavelength.com
www.teamwavelength.com
ANALYSIS, TEST AND
MEASUREMENT
Armstrong Optical Ltd
01604 654220
info@armstrongoptical.co.uk
www.armstrongoptical.co.uk
32 Electro Optics  April 2019
Hamamatsu Photonics Europe
europe@hamamatsu.de
www.hamamatsu.com
Instrument Systems
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webinfo@instrumentsystems.com
www.instrumentsystems.com
Ocean Optics BV
+31-26-3190500
Info@OceanOptics.com
www.oceanoptics.eu
Scitec Instruments
+44 (0)1225 864 200
sales@scitec.uk.com
www.scitec.uk.com
TRIOPTICS GmbH
(+49) (0) 4103 18006 0
sales@trioptics.com
www.trioptics.com
Wavelength Electronics, Inc.
001 406-587-4910
sales@teamwavelength.com
www.teamwavelength.com
CAMERAS AND IMAGING
Armstrong Optical Ltd
01604 654220
info@armstrongoptical.co.uk
www.armstrongoptical.co.uk
Emberion
sales@emberion.com
www.emberion.com
Hamamatsu Photonics Europe
europe@hamamatsu.de
www.hamamatsu.com
Hinalea Imaging
+44 782 5187866
klynch@hinaleaimaging.com
http://www.hinaleaimaging.com
JENOPTIK Optical Systems
GmbH
+49 3641 65-2276
info.os@jenoptik.com
www.jenoptik.com/os
Ocean Optics BV
+31-26-3190500
Info@OceanOptics.com
www.oceanoptics.eu
Find the suppliers you
need quickly and easily.
www.electrooptics.com
PixelTeq Heraeus Noblelight GmbH
+31.652.557.997 +49 6181 35 4499
info@pixelteq.com hng-uv@heraeus.com
www.pixelteq.com www.heraeus-noblelight.com
CRYSTALS JENOPTIK Optical Systems
GmbH
Northrop Grumman
+1 703 280-2900 +49 3641 65-2276
www.northropgrumman.com info.os@jenoptik.com
www.jenoptik.com/os
Optola
+370 (639) 00 124 JGR Optics inc.
sales@optola.lt 613 599 1000
www.optola.lt info@jgroptics.com
www.jgroptics.com
ELECTRONICS
Accumold LEJ Lighting & Electronics Jena
+49 (0)3641 / 3530-10
+1-515-964-5741
www.accu-mold.com info@lej.de
www.lej.de/home-en.html
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+49 (0)3641 / 3530-10 NKT Photonics
info@lej.de +45 4348 3900
www.lej.de/home-en.html general_enquiry@nktphotonics.com
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Wavelength Electronics, Inc.
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Ocean Optics BV
sales@teamwavelength.com
www.teamwavelength.com +31-26-3190500
Info@OceanOptics.com
www.oceanoptics.eu
FIBRE OPTICS
AP Technologies Limited Ridgemount Technologies Ltd
01225 780400 +44 1869 277233
info@aptechnologies.co.uk sales@ridgemount.com
www.aptechnologies.co.uk www.ridgemount.com
Avantes
+31 313 670 170 LASER SYSTEMS
info@avantes.com
AP Technologies Limited
www.avantes.com
01225 780400
Diamond SA info@aptechnologies.co.uk
+41 91 785 45 45 www.aptechnologies.co.uk
sales@diamond-fo.com
www.diamond-fo.com Frankfurt Laser Company
sales@frlaserco.com
Frankfurt Laser Company
www.frlaserco.com
sales@frlaserco.com
www.frlaserco.com Heraeus Noblelight GmbH
+49 6181 35 4499
Gooch & Housego
hng-uv@heraeus.com
01460 256440
sales@goochandhousego.com www.heraeus-noblelight.com
www.goochandhousego.com
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www.electrooptics.com | @electrooptics April 2019 Electro Optics  33

 INTERVIEW: PHOTONICS IN ISRAEL

Optics in Israel: education

and industry-academia
links key to growth

Professor Abraham Katzir, chair of facility of engineering – get a

the Optical Engineering and Science
in Israel (OASIS) conference, earlier
this month in Tel Aviv, discusses
how the photonics market is
growing in the region  salaries, which are sometimes
Could you summarise the is very beneficial, because it
photonics industry in Israel? is supporting collaboration
Optics and electro optics between businesses, research
started in Israel many years institutions, and universities.
ago, and now we have well-
developed industry. In our very How does the Israeli
small country there are around photonics industry
15,000 people working in optics collaborate with Europe?
– some in universities, many in I would say we are successful
industry. There are between 350 in collaborating with European
and 400 companies, ranging institutions and industries.
from start-ups to companies First of all, there is the German-
with annual sales of more than Israeli Foundation for Scientific
$100 million per year. Research and Development,
Our education in optics is which provides financial
excellent. We say that Israelis support for joint research
think outside of the box, which between Israel and Germany.   of Education does not spend
is true. Three institutions in Many Israelis present their
Israel are some of the world’s joint projects with European
best: the Technion - Israel
Institute of Technology, the “The government should
Weizmann Institute of Science, give more financial
and the Hebrew University support to encourage
of Jerusalem. We have lots of students to stay in
collaboration with Europe. We
also have large programmes
with the US too, including with
the Department of Defence
and the National Science
Foundation. Many large
companies have established
subsidiaries in Israel, such as
Coherent.
What do you think could
help the Israeli optics
industry grow?
I think that our government
should spend more money
on education. Our Ministry
enough money on technical
education – engineering,
applied sciences and so on.
Another thing I see is that
many students – for example
at our [Tel Aviv University]
Master’s degree but they don’t
continue to the PhD level. I
think this is a result of many
large companies – Intel, Apple
and so on – offering very high
even higher than what a
professor would earn. So the
government should give more
financial support to encourage
students to stay in education,
because unless you have a PhD
in physics, applied physics or
chemistry, you cannot go very
far. I think this will help the
Israeli optics industry grow.
How do you see the
photonics industry growing
in the next few years?
Laser aesthetics is a large
market that is growing very
fast. The largest manufacturers
are within the military and
defence industries. Integrated
circuits is also growing rapidly
due to consumer electronics.
There are many applications
that use optics, and I see many
new ideas and new companies
being formed, which points to a
good level of growth in the next
few years. EO

courses specialising in optics,
and the students are always
looking to solve challenges in
industry.
As a result, there was a need
to start a conference to bring
together optics researchers and
companies, and so we launched
the OASIS conference. We
started more than 10 years ago,
and the attendance has kept
growing.
One of the unique things
is that it brings the scientific
and business communities
together. In each of the
sessions there were researchers
from both academia and
industry. In my opinion this
StockStudio/Shutterstock.com
education. Unless you
have a PhD you cannot
go very far”
researchers and companies
for Horizon 2020, and lots
of researchers have been
supported through this
programme. Also, many larger
optics firms have subsidiaries
in Israel, such as Spectra-
Physics and Rofin lasers, and
have purchased companies in
Israel.
Israelis attend multiple
international events and are
very open to collaboration.
However, I would still like Tel Aviv
to see Israel broaden its

34 Electro Optics  April 2019 @electrooptics | www.electrooptics.com

 ExPlorIng MarkEts
ExPandIng aPPlICatIons
ConnECtIng PEoPlE

EPIC EVENT CALENDAR 2019

15 February — EPIC Webinar on AR/VR
21–22 February — EPIC Meeting on Specialty Optical Fiber at GLOphotonics, Limoges, France
26 February — EPIC TechWatch on Laser Optics at W3 FAIR+CONVENTION, Wetzlar, Germany
27 February — EPIC Networking Dinner at World Mobile Congress, Barcelona, Spain
6 March — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at OFC, San Diego, USA
7–8 March — EPIC Meeting on Precision and Freeform Optics at WZW-OPTIC, Balgach, Switzerland
15 March — EPIC Webinar on Quantum Photonics
20 March — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at Laser World of Photonics, Shanghai, China
21–22 March — EPIC Meeting on Optical Communications: Coherent or Incoherent at HUBER+SUHNER Cube
Optics, Mainz, Germany
25 March — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at PIC International, Brussels, Belgium
31 March–3 April — EPIC Delegation to Israel
4 April — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at Hannover Messe, Hannover, Germany
10–12 April — EPIC AGM, Glasgow, United Kingdom
2–3 May — EPIC Executive Meeting on Industrial Lasers at Coherent, Göttingen, Germany
9 May — EPIC Networking Reception + Distributor Introductions at LASERFAIR, Shenzhen, China
23–24 May — EPIC Meeting on Automation Tools for Manufacturing at Amicra, Regensburg, Germany
4–6 June — EPIC World Industrial Quantum Photonics Summit at ICFO, Barcelona, Spain
26 June — EPIC Executive Breakfast at Laser World of Photonics, Munich, Germany
27 June — EPIC Meeting on Surface Structuring at Laser World of Photonics, Munich, Germany
16 July — EPIC 6km Run – B2Run, Munich, Germany
29–30 August — EPIC World Photonics Technology Summit, Berlin, Germany
4–5 September — EPIC TechWatch at CIOE, Shenzhen, China
5 September — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at CIOE, Shenzhen, China
12–13 September — EPIC Meeting on New Space at European Space Agency, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
23 September — EPIC VIP Networking Reception at ECOC, Dublin, Ireland
26 September — EPIC Meeting on Next Generation Lightguides, OLED and R2R Manufacturing at LpS
Bregenz, Austria
9 October — EPIC TechWatch at Photonex, Coventry, United Kingdom
10–11 October — EPIC Meeting on System Integration at PBF, Almelo, The Netherlands
17–18 October — EPIC Meeting on VCSEL Technology and Applications at Sony, Stuttgart, Germany
18 October — EPIC Networking Lunch + Distributor Introductions at Laser World of Photonics, Mumbai, India
22–25 October — EPIC Delegation to Singapore
30–31 October — EPIC Meeting on LIDAR for Automotive at Anteryon, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
7–8 November — EPIC Meeting on Wafer Level Optics at SUSS MicroOptics, Neuchatel, Switzerland
11–12 December — EPIC Meeting on Photonics for Cancer Diagnostics and Treatment at NKI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

EPIC events and meetings are designed to address critical photonics manufacturing issues. Participants are decision makers and industry experts, representing
the entire value chain from research, design, manufacturing, and the needs of the customer. Mainly on invitation, EPIC members are always welcome! 

www.epic-assoc.com
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