Fast Electrically Focus Tunable Lens

When you are reading this post, when you are looking around, your eyes will automatically focus on the spot by reshaping our eye lens. With glass lenses as used in optics, you can achieve that only with moving a lens-system back and forward.

Optotune has introduced now a commercial tunable lens which reshapes its surface and allows continuously focusing between 20mm to 120mm by an external voltage. In the manual version you can even go from -40mm to 40mm, so from concave to convex!




This could find applications in material processing, ophthalmology or microscopy. For further applications have a look at their application homepage

Interesting is also the microscopy application:



Have fun!

Wavelength Conversion Calculator

APE (standing for Angewandte Physik & Elektronik GmbH, a german company in Berlin) has a nice small (and free) wavelength converter on their homepage. It allows you to directly calculate the sum frequency and difference frequency generation, the wavelengths relations in an optical parameteric oscillator (OPO) as well as in coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy. Furtermore, the conversion between wavelength, wavenumber, and frequency as well as different characterizations of pulses (dispersion) can be calculated.

The calculator page is in english and very userfriendly. Enjoy.

Prism Awards 2011

The finalists for the prism awards for photonic innovations by the SPIE has been anounced:

Finalists Prism Awards

Take the time to look at the finalists in the 9 different categories. The awards will be presented at the next SPIE Photonics West in January.

Video Showing the Inside of a Ti:Sa Laser

I was quite surprised to find such a video showing in detail a titanium saphire laser from a company. Let's see how long it stays at youtube ;) .



Have fun watching it!

SWAMP OPTICS... & lectures

The ones of you working in the field of ultrafast lasers know what I mean with Swamp Optics, for the other ones it is a company for ultrashor laser pulse measurements. SWAMP Optics was founded by Rick Trebino, the inventor of FROG and GRENOUILLE (which is french and means frog). As you imagine, FROG and GRENOUILLE stands for some types of pulse measurement devices... and their strongest competitor is the SPIDER. Well well... Recently I got aware that SWAMP also stands for something, namely "simply wonderful apparatus for measuring pulses"...

Aside from that, the homepage includes a real good choice of tutorials about pulse measurement devices: Swamp optics Tutorials and also the lectures from Prof. Trebino are available: lecture files. It is really worth to read it. Have fun!

Seen in twitter.

"We don't allow faster than light neutrinos in here" said the bartender. A neutrino walks into a bar."

Jokes are coming out in reaction to the announcement of CERN that they have found neutrinos that travel faster than the speed of light. Einstein theories have been challenged several times, but the theory always proved to be right, so we'll wait a bot, before changing our courses.

InTech - Open access publisher of Scientific Books and Journals

Founded in 2004, InTech is a open access book (and some journals) publisher covering the field of science and technology. Since then, they have published already over 550 books with over 2.5 millions of downloads (counting the chapter downloads). In 2010 its publishing program was expanded into the field of medecine.

Concerning the field of Optics and Lasers, 16 books have been published so far. Although the titles of the books sounds general, the chapters are already dedicated to a specific research topic, which makes it not very suitable for non-expert who are looking for an overview or introduction. However, if you work in the same field, it is probably worth to have a look into it.

Sam's Laser FAQ

The homepage of "Sam's Laser FAQ" looks on the first moment very old and strange but actually, it is a real treasure about lasers. Sam's Laser FAQ exist already since 1994 by Samuel M. Goldwasser and is updated until today. One has to understand this page as "a practical guide to lasers for experimenters and hobbyists". It is a huge page and the navigation is a bit unusual but nevertheless it is worth to spend some time on it. Have a look on the "comprehensive table of contents". There are tons of chapters and sections as well as many many pictures, covering the scope from different types of lasers to possible experiments to do by oneself. Actually, there is a certain change that you find your laser which you uses in the lab and how you can repair it ;). What is missing on the page is a section about pulsed lasers, especially fs or ps laser as well as amplifications schemes. However, Sam's Laser FAQ addresses mainly hobbiest and for them it is a true treasure... and many hearts of scientists will jump faster if they see the pictures ;).

ps: check out the laser equipment gallery

Scitable by nature education

What is Scitable: "Scitable is a free science library and personal learning tool brought to you by Nature Publishing Group" according to the NPG. It is on the one hand a communication platform for scientists and on the other hand an education resource. Currently, the research topics are concentrated on biology. However, there are two large and extensive topics about

English Communication for Scientist

and

Guide to Life Science Career

which are relevant for all scientists. It is definitely good invested time to have a closer look on these two topics if you are writing a paper or thinking about staying in science. Especially to recommend is the "Writing Scientific Papers" and "Effective Writing" page. But also the "Personality Assessment" is interesting to read, doesnt matter if you plan to stay or not in science.

The homepage is very well and serious done. It is a pleasure to read it and one can really say that one has learned something :) .

ps: It is nice that they are using some PhD Comics strips ;).

Jobs at ICFO, Spain (Barcelona)

Originally, I planned to write about the famous ICFO which stands for "Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques" or in english: the Institute of Photonics Science; but when I visited the homepage, I found a big announcement of seeking researchers. Therefore, now a post about both issues.

(from ICFO page)

ICFO is located in Barcelona (Spain) and was founded 2002. Currently it has around 250 staff members, around 20 research groups and 50 different laboratories. In 2014, the expansion phase should be finished with around 300 staff members and occupying 9000 square meter. The main research lines are biophotonics, nonlinear optics, quantum optics and nano optics. The probably most well known professor is Niek van Hulst, working in the area of nanophotonics (nanoantennas, single molecule ultrafast photonics).

As you already can see from the picture, ICFO is searching new members in all areas and all positions. An overview of positions you can find on the job page (date: 29th July 2011). ICFO has a very good infrastructure and allows you top research.

further pages:
wikipedia-ICFO

El laser, la luz de nuestro tiempo

For the 50th anniversaire of the laser in 2010, the OSA student chapter of Salamanca, together with the optics group in Salamanca, has written a book that communicates clearly the concepts and applications of lasers to the general public.

(picture from the OPN book rewiew)

A review by the OPN (Optics and Photonics News, published by OSA) can be found here. As the title of the book already suggests, it is written in spanish. An english version is currently discussed. The book is for free (you have read correctly) but only limited copies exist. If you are interested in one, please contact osal (at) usal.es

One of the copies is already in my hands and I can tell you that even after 5 years working in many optic areas, the book still had some nice and interesting suprises for me :). Have fun!

HyperPhysics - Optics

No new special physics but an interesting homepage of the Georgia State University.

HyperPhysics

HyperPhysics explains concept in physics and was originally built for high school physics teachers. Nevertheless it is useful for students or independent learners as well. The site design could need an update. However, you should not be scared because of that. The site is maintained and still under continuous development by Carl Rod Nave (I guess that he is also the founder) and has over 3 million users per year.

The "light and vision", respectively optic, part presents a interesting and good overview about the general concepts in optics.

Light and Vision

The concepts are well explained and contain often some examples. For the ones who want to repeat or getting quickly an overview about general optic concepts, this site is ideal.

If you search for detailed nonlinear optic or laser physcis/ technology, you should visit this post: Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology

Have fun!

Photonics Clusters

On the SPIE (International Society for Optical Engineering) homepage I found an interesting page which lists a lot of photonics cluster all over the world.

Photonics Clusters

In total they listed over 30 photonics clusters with over 700 member organizations. As photonics cluster SPIE refers as

"Optics and photonics clusters are concentrations of optics-related firms and universities that maintain strong research and workforce ties, create quality jobs, share common economic needs, and work with government and stakeholders to strengthen the industry."

(from SPIE Photonics Cluster page)

Most of the clusters are located to a region of the country. Especially a lot of clusters exist in germany. Most of the cluster homepages are well made (even, some links on the SPIE page are not working anymore). Spend some time to visit the cluster page in your region. Even, the clusters are not directly relevant for university research groups, they still have some interesting information for you (and if it is only the member and job list ;) ).

some clusters:
Spanish cluster (Southern European Cluster in Photonics and Optics (SECPhO) )
BayernPhotonics (Germany)
Optics Valley France
Rochester Regional Photonics Cluster, Inc. (USA)

have fun!

Art+Science.

This blog is mainly for lasers and things related to research but in this entry i would like to comment
some other uses of light and lasers.

Watching light itself is appealing and it is part of the art. In the FastLight festival in the framework of the
150 years of MIT you can see a great example of mixture between science, technology and art.

This is the link --> http://arts.mit.edu/fast/fast-light/

Enjoy with the light.

50 and 1 years of laser

Very nice talk at MIT celebrating the
50 years of the laser.

The museum of sciences of MIT hosted this nice talk
Check it out !

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/839

IONS-9 has started!

IONS-9 in Salamanca, Spain has started (7.-9. april)! Check their facebook page for the latest information and pictures (click here).

(official group picture IONS-9, picture from IONS-9 facebook page)

(Prof. Dr. Luis Roso discusses the CPLU lasers; picture from IONS-9 facebook page)

The next IONS-10 will be hold in Southampton from the 10.-13. august this year. Don't miss it ;).

Shaking test for a laser...

If you work with homebuild lasers then this video looks quite crazy... It shows a shaking test with a femtosecond laser.



The video was made by Femtolasers Produktions GmbH with one of their turn key laser-systems (Integral).

There is even a more impressive video by Toptica, where they have left falling a laser onto the floor (if i remember correctly) but unfortunately I havent found it yet on the internet nor their homepage. If you have it, please post it!

Attosecond laser - the world's fastest laser

By chance I found this video over an attosecond laser at the Max-Planck-Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in the group of Prof. Dr. Ferenc Krausz (www.attoworld.de). The video is on public level and nice to watch.



Additional information you can find in the press release (click) or at Attoworld.
Enjoy!


btw... did you found the mistake in the video? Everyone has once a bad day ;)

IONS-9 in Salamanca!

Don't miss it! Present and discuss your research with other young scientists.


IONS stands for International OSA Networks of Students and has the aim to connect you with young researchers in optics and photonics. Therefore there is no special conference topic but you can present your results and research to young scientists. Discuss, and get informed about the projects of other young scientists. More about the IONS, what they do and where the next IONS will be held you can find out here.

The next IONS in europe will be held in Salamanca, Spain, from the 7. - 9. April 2011 and is organized by the OSAL student chapter. Registration is free and open until the 25. february. For travel grants one can apply until the 7. february. Please check the IONS-9 Salamanca homepage for more information and details, or the IONS-facebook page. The poster can be downloaded here (2MB).

Check the IONS page and register today!

Optics & Photonics Focus

It is time to know this page, in case you have overlooked it like me.

Optics & Photonics Focus

It is a magazine (sponsored by EPS and OSA) presenting recent interesting and important developments in the fields of optics and photonics. The topic selection over the last years is well done and you will find many interesting articles respecively reviews. They have a nice length to read and are not too specific written, accessible for a wide range of readers. Have a look at the archive

OPFocus Archive

All articles are online available. Take time for an overview, and perhaps you even have a suggestion for them what to present next!