An excimer-laser-based technique has been developed that enables deposition of thicker films for increased durability. The new method can be used with a wide range of materials, including polymers.

The Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar provides comprehensive market perspective with data segmented by application and laser technology from three photonics industry leaders: Laser Focus World; Industrial Laser Solutions; and Strategies Unlimited.

Inadequate pulsewidth has long been perceived as a barrier for high-power femtosecond fiber lasers to compete with solid-state lasers; fortunately, pulse and spectral shaping techniques are tearing that barrier down.

Diode-pumped solid-state is in for short-range defense; diode-pumped alkali vapor lasers are in the running for boost-phase missile defense.

Researchers from UWM and the US Naval Research Laboratory are using deep-energy quantum wells and tall barriers to suppress carrier leakage.

At one time, adaptive optics (AO) was too complex for most non-optics specialists to use; now, plug-and-play AO for microscopy is here, freeing biologists to concentrate on their own area of expertise.

Early laser users had few wavelength options. Now with new laser emission lines, harmonic generation, tunable lasers, and nonlinear wavelength conversion, users can get (almost) anything they want.

Dual-camera systems are the most common way to capture stereo image pairs, but other methods do exist.

Precise knowledge of lens centering errors will have direct impact on the imaging quality of an optical assembly or subassembly.

Remote sensing maps invasive weeds.

Disparate technologies are being employed in the development of miniaturized autofocus lenses.

Finished wood surfaces are analyzed for defects using off-the-shelf cameras, frame grabbers, and lighting products.

Advanced ultrafast amplifiers combine high power, excellent beam quality, and high repetition rates in a turnkey system without cryogenic cooling.

The subwavelength structure of optical metamaterials gives them their unique properties—and also makes them challenging to fabricate.