Edmund Optics offers versatile UV microscope
Edmund Optics in Barrington, N.J., is offering the Infiniprobe UV video microscopes with continuously focusable design and easy mounting to video cameras. The video microscopes provide a magnification range from 0x to 8x with tight resolution. They are available in either straight (standard) or right-angle versions. They image in the UV wavelength range from 250 and 400 nm. They can be used with two sizes of CCDs. With 1/2-inch-format CCD, the minimum field of view is 0.8 mm; with 2/3-inch-format CCD, the minimum field of view is 1.1 mm. In either case, the minimum working distance is 20 mm. The microscopes come with direct-video C-mount couplings. The microscope weighs 6.5 ounces, measures 34.8 mm at its largest diameter, and is 180.6 mm long. Available accessories include two options that double the magnification. For more information contact Edmund Optics at www.edmundoptics.com.
Northrop Grumman opens facility for high-energy lasers
Experts at Northrop Grumman Corp. today opened a specialized facility for systems integration and production of high-energy laser systems for military uses. Located at the Space Technology sector’s Space Park campus in Redondo Beach, Calif., the Directed Energy Production Facility is for the production of high-energy, solid-state lasers and their integration onto military vehicles. “Powerful military lasers, with their speed-of-light targeting capabilities and cost-effective operation, have the potential to transform the way we equip our armed forces defending our country abroad and protecting it at home against terrorist threats,” says Alexis Livanos, president of Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector. The first work in the facility will be for Phase 3 of the Joint High-Power Solid State Laser (JHPSSL) program, which will build and demonstrate the first 100-kilowatt solid-state laser for battlefield and precision strike missions. The facility will provide the capability to produce fiber lasers even more powerful than 100 kilowatts. There will also be an integration area where electric lasers are integrated onto various military platforms, such as armored combat vehicles. With class 1,000 clean rooms and integrated laser safety systems, the facility can produce several laser systems at the same time.
Salvador Imaging announces color night-vision camera
Salvador Imaging in Colorado Springs, Colo., is introducing a line of high-performance, low-light cameras. The SI-VGA60-EM camera is based on electron-multiplied charge-coupled device (EMCCD) technology and provides 640-by-480-pixel resolution for applications ranging from broad daylight to overcast starlight conditions. Unlike traditional image intensifiers which can only provide monochrome images, the SI-VGA60-EM is available with on-chip, color filters which provide high-quality color imagery as fast as 60 frames per second. The high frame rate and on-chip electronic shuttering gives the camera the ability to capture extremely short exposures. For more information contact Salvador Imaging online at www.salvadorimaging.com
LightPath Technologies introduces athermalized f/1.3 infrared lens
LightPath Technologies in Orlando, Fla., is introducing an f/1.3, 14.9-millimeter-focal-length infrared (IR) lens assembly for uncooled infrared sensors. These lenses are designed as the primary optics for thermal imagers for applications in homeland security, firefighting, predictive maintenance and driver’s vision enhancement. These lens assemblies integrate LightPath’s Black Diamond molded lenses that are a lower-cost substitute for high-volume diamond-turned optics. The passive athermalized design provides temperature stability without adding additional cost. For more information contact LightPath online at www.lightpath.com.
Spectrex introduces optical sensor able to see hydrogen flames
Spectrex Inc. in Cedar Grove, N.J., is introducing the Hydrogen Flame Detector 20/20SH to address the need of a wide range of industrial and commercial facilities that use hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen gas generators, and hydroxyfuels. Most of the existing optical flame detectors are designed for detection of hydrocarbon flames and are based on the fire’s CO2 emission but cannot detect the hydrogen flames that emit in the water-vapor (H2O) band and have no emission in the CO2 range, company officials say. UV and some UV/IR optical flame detectors that can detect the hydrogen flame have a very limited range. Therefore, this special detector that includes sensors with special filters for the detection of hydrogen’s main combustion product, water vapor, at an extended detection range of 100 feet has been developed. The optical sensors and filters have been carefully selected to ensure the greatest degree of spectral matching to the radiant energy emitted by the hydrogen fire and the lowest degree of matching to non-fire stimuli. This highly advanced detector uses programmable algorithms, which check the ratio and correlation of data received by the optical sensors. The microprocessor design allows for unique field programmability, making the 20/20SH a user-friendly diagnostic and maintenance tool for the high-risk industries. As the hydrogen community moves toward commercialization, the new emerging use of hydrogen for automotive transportation requires special safety measures for the unique refilling stations, storage tanks, and special hydrogen fuel cells handling facilities. For more information contact Spectrex online at www.spectrex-inc.com.
Prosilica releases high-resolution Gigabit Ethernet camera
Prosilica in Burnaby, British Columbia, is offering the GE2040 high-resolution Gigabit Ethernet camera. Incorporating Kodak’s KAI-4021 progressive-scan CCD sensor, the GE2040 runs 15 frames per second at 2048-by-2048-pixel resolution over its Gigabit Ethernet interface. Monochrome and color models are available with C-mount or F-mount. The camera measures 4 by 5 by 6.5 centimeters, and has an electronic shutter. Features include external trigger and sync, general-purpose I/O, region of interest readout, various binning modes, and direct RGB24 output. Applications include PCB inspection, flat-panel-display inspection, gauging, medical imaging, traffic, and public-security applications. GigE Vision, an interface standard for Gigabit Ethernet cameras that provides for plug-and-play interconnectivity between compliant components, is capable of sustained data rates of 124 megabytes per second over standard Cat5e cable as long as 100 meters. For more information contact Prosilica online at www.prosilica.com
JPSA offers laser- and motion-control software
J P Sercel Associates (JPSA) in Manchester, N.H., is introducing JPSAControls32 system-control software to meet the control and programmability challenges of micromachining and wafer processing with lasers. JPSAControls32 is an engineer-level user interface that controls system devices and software components for system setup and programming. JPSAControls32 is Windows-based software with features such as a system configuration editor for editing of system software settings and CAD file translation capability of .dxf files, for automated programming of complex designs. JPSAControls32 provides project management utilities that permit system software to “remember” settings for an unlimited number of different production tasks. JPSATools32 Module provides user access control for three levels: Operator, Maintenance, and Setup. The program provides setup and control of motion, including linear stages, rotary stages, motorized beam-delivery system components (mask changers, rectangular variable apertures, variable attenuators, beam stops, etc.) and laser fire mechanisms. It also provides high-level programming language that permits users to program complex automation sequences that integrate motion control, digital I/O, and laser functions and then save them in files. For more information contact JPSA online at www.jpsalaser.com.
Ultracompact, light shortwave-infrared camera
Sensors Unlimited, a Goodrich company in Princeton, N.J., is introducing the KTX shortwave-infrared (SWIR) camera for military applications. The camera measures 3.8 cubic inches and weighs 90 grams. The indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) KTX camera offers wide dynamic range imaging in partial starlight to direct sun illumination. It is designed for low-light conditions and day/night operation, delivering clear, real-time video images, and is for passive surveillance and for use with lasers. Originally developed for the U. S. Army’s Soldier Mobility and Rifle Targeting System, the new KTX SWIR camera is also available for industrial and commercial OEM use. SUI’s KTX camera features high sensitivity in the 900-to-1700-nanometer wavelength range with a 320 × 240-pixel format on a 40-micron-pitch focal-plane array. The low-power (less than 1.6 W), all-solid-state SWIR imager operates at room temperature and features onboard nonuniformity corrections, auto gain, and enhanced display algorithms. Available in either the compact OEM module or enclosed in a robust housing, both camera packages include a C-mount lens adapter and lens. The KTX also features simultaneous Camera Link digital output, providing high quality 12-bit images for image processing and transmission. The KTX camera is for integration into unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, robotic, handheld and portable systems. Applications include all low-light-level imaging tasks, such as covert surveillance, imaging spectroscopy, astronomy, emission microscopy, and machine vision. For more information contact Sensors Unlimited online at www.sensorsinc.com.
