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Better glass for optical amplifiers
NewsUpdate Light measurement instruments
Light
Measurement
A light measurement instruments cetalogue for radiometric and photometric applications is available from lntematlonal Light
IL1700 research radiometer and the IL1800 lock-in radiometer for precise low level measurements. Light Inc, 17 Graf Road, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950, USA. Fax: + I 508 462 0759; e-mail: [email protected] International
Laser system improves cell fusion
A
laser system has been developed, according to a recent article in The Nikkei Weekly, which can boost the specificity and efficiency of cell fusion in liquid culture. Cell fusion is a method of combining different kinds of cells with unique properties. For example, immune-system cells are often fused with cancer cells to clone a cell line that survives indefinitely, producing some useful product such as an antibody. However, one of the problems with cell fusion is the generally poor control and low efficiency of the procedure. Numerous cells are treated at the same time and many
Better glass for
gratings included in
optical amplifiers
booklet
A
A technical and ordering information on a variety of booklet giving the latest
P
ower measurements, wave effects, hardware considerations and other factors involved with light measurement are described in a catalogue available from International Light. The catalogue features tutorials describing basic light measurement concepts along with descriptions of instruments, detectors, filters, input optics and accessories. Turnkey system configurations for photometry, radiometry, phototherapy, ultraviolet curing, photoresist, germicidal, ultraviolet hazard, plant growth, laser power, LED, and flash measurement applications are provided. A resource for those involved with light measurements, regardless of their level of expertise, the 36-page catalogue is organized by instruments and applications. Covered in the catalogue are the IL1400A radiometer/ photometer which uses ‘smart’ preprogrammed detectors, the
Plane and concave
unwanted fusion products result. In the laser system developed by an interdisciplinary group from Tohoku University, in Sendai, laser beams act like optical tweezers to grab and move a cell into position next to the desired fusion partner. Pulsed light is then used to punch holes in each cell membrane, creating spaces where the cells can exchange intercellular material and fuse together. According to the group, because a scientist can choose which cells to fuse, the overall procedure is over 1000 times more efficient.
high performance mechanically ruled diffraction gratings is available from Hitachi Scientific Instruments. The booklet covers both plane and concave gratings and regular and variable spaced groove gratings. Concave gratings with variable groove spacing and curved grooves can eliminate the coma-type aberrations normally associated with concave gratings. This significantly reduces astigmatism and offers high resolution. The concave diffraction gratings are available for a wide range of spectrographic equipment, from the soft X-ray (XUV) region of the spectrum to the infrared. The introduction of a variable spaced grating with an average of 2400 grooves mm-’ for XUV applications allows detection of spectra down to 1.5 nm. Different types of mounts are used depending on the application. For UV/visible applications, a Seya-Namioka mount is available. This type of monochromator is used in the new U-3010 series of UV/ visible series of spectrophotometers from Hitachi Scientific Instruments. For high vacuum XUV applications, grazing incidence mounts are used. All grooves in the gratings are produced at extremely high accuracy using a mechanical ruling process equipped with a laser interferometer. Triangular grooves with very smooth surfaces are produced using a diamond burnishing technique. These smooth groove surfaces give minimum stray light. Hitachi Scientific Instruments, 7 Ivanhoe Road, Hogwood Industrial Estate, Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 4QQ, UK. Fax: + 44 (0)118 973 2622
ccording to a report in The Nikkei Weekly, a better type of glass for making an optical amplifier for fibreoptic communications has been developed by the Government Industrial Research Institute, Osaka, Japan, in collaboration with researchers from Kobe University, Japan, and the University of Arizona in the USA. Fibre-optic amplifiers regenerate, that is amplify, the light signal directly, and the signal does not have to be changed into an electronic form. Usually, amplification is achieved by the excitation of erbium ions doped into the fibre. However, although erbiumdoped tibre amplifiers are now typically made using, for example, an oxide glass such as silica, these devices are not very efficient amplifiers. They only work with the 1.5 urn wavelength light used for long-distance optical communications, and not with the 1.3 pm band used for shorter distance tibre links. The glass that has been developed is based on a sulfide compound rather than an oxide compound. Consequently, it can be made into a fibre amplifier that is claimed to outperform existing devices. The sulfide glass contains sulfur, gallium and the rareearth element lanthanum. According to the researchers, a fibre-optic amplifier made with the sulfide glass can amplify a 1.5 urn light signal twice as much as an amplifier made with oxide glass. Therefore, because the signal can travel twice as far before it must be re-amplified, fewer repeater stations are necessary. This makes for simpler designs and allows the optical network to be extended more widely. The institute has said that it hopes to have a practical technology ready in less than ten years.
Optics vi
& Laser Technology Vol29 No 2 1997
Light
Measurement
A light measurement instruments cetalogue for radiometric and photometric applications is available from lntematlonal Light
IL1700 research radiometer and the IL1800 lock-in radiometer for precise low level measurements. Light Inc, 17 Graf Road, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950, USA. Fax: + I 508 462 0759; e-mail: [email protected] International
Laser system improves cell fusion
A
laser system has been developed, according to a recent article in The Nikkei Weekly, which can boost the specificity and efficiency of cell fusion in liquid culture. Cell fusion is a method of combining different kinds of cells with unique properties. For example, immune-system cells are often fused with cancer cells to clone a cell line that survives indefinitely, producing some useful product such as an antibody. However, one of the problems with cell fusion is the generally poor control and low efficiency of the procedure. Numerous cells are treated at the same time and many
Better glass for
gratings included in
optical amplifiers
booklet
A
A technical and ordering information on a variety of booklet giving the latest
P
ower measurements, wave effects, hardware considerations and other factors involved with light measurement are described in a catalogue available from International Light. The catalogue features tutorials describing basic light measurement concepts along with descriptions of instruments, detectors, filters, input optics and accessories. Turnkey system configurations for photometry, radiometry, phototherapy, ultraviolet curing, photoresist, germicidal, ultraviolet hazard, plant growth, laser power, LED, and flash measurement applications are provided. A resource for those involved with light measurements, regardless of their level of expertise, the 36-page catalogue is organized by instruments and applications. Covered in the catalogue are the IL1400A radiometer/ photometer which uses ‘smart’ preprogrammed detectors, the
Plane and concave
unwanted fusion products result. In the laser system developed by an interdisciplinary group from Tohoku University, in Sendai, laser beams act like optical tweezers to grab and move a cell into position next to the desired fusion partner. Pulsed light is then used to punch holes in each cell membrane, creating spaces where the cells can exchange intercellular material and fuse together. According to the group, because a scientist can choose which cells to fuse, the overall procedure is over 1000 times more efficient.
high performance mechanically ruled diffraction gratings is available from Hitachi Scientific Instruments. The booklet covers both plane and concave gratings and regular and variable spaced groove gratings. Concave gratings with variable groove spacing and curved grooves can eliminate the coma-type aberrations normally associated with concave gratings. This significantly reduces astigmatism and offers high resolution. The concave diffraction gratings are available for a wide range of spectrographic equipment, from the soft X-ray (XUV) region of the spectrum to the infrared. The introduction of a variable spaced grating with an average of 2400 grooves mm-’ for XUV applications allows detection of spectra down to 1.5 nm. Different types of mounts are used depending on the application. For UV/visible applications, a Seya-Namioka mount is available. This type of monochromator is used in the new U-3010 series of UV/ visible series of spectrophotometers from Hitachi Scientific Instruments. For high vacuum XUV applications, grazing incidence mounts are used. All grooves in the gratings are produced at extremely high accuracy using a mechanical ruling process equipped with a laser interferometer. Triangular grooves with very smooth surfaces are produced using a diamond burnishing technique. These smooth groove surfaces give minimum stray light. Hitachi Scientific Instruments, 7 Ivanhoe Road, Hogwood Industrial Estate, Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 4QQ, UK. Fax: + 44 (0)118 973 2622
ccording to a report in The Nikkei Weekly, a better type of glass for making an optical amplifier for fibreoptic communications has been developed by the Government Industrial Research Institute, Osaka, Japan, in collaboration with researchers from Kobe University, Japan, and the University of Arizona in the USA. Fibre-optic amplifiers regenerate, that is amplify, the light signal directly, and the signal does not have to be changed into an electronic form. Usually, amplification is achieved by the excitation of erbium ions doped into the fibre. However, although erbiumdoped tibre amplifiers are now typically made using, for example, an oxide glass such as silica, these devices are not very efficient amplifiers. They only work with the 1.5 urn wavelength light used for long-distance optical communications, and not with the 1.3 pm band used for shorter distance tibre links. The glass that has been developed is based on a sulfide compound rather than an oxide compound. Consequently, it can be made into a fibre amplifier that is claimed to outperform existing devices. The sulfide glass contains sulfur, gallium and the rareearth element lanthanum. According to the researchers, a fibre-optic amplifier made with the sulfide glass can amplify a 1.5 urn light signal twice as much as an amplifier made with oxide glass. Therefore, because the signal can travel twice as far before it must be re-amplified, fewer repeater stations are necessary. This makes for simpler designs and allows the optical network to be extended more widely. The institute has said that it hopes to have a practical technology ready in less than ten years.
Optics vi
& Laser Technology Vol29 No 2 1997