Day 3 at Applied Industrial Optics 2014
Arlene Smith, Ph.D.
After a short coffee break in the exhibition hall, attendees gathered for the second morning session - 'QCL HIts the Floor Running'. Dr Mark Witinski (Eos Photonics) spoke about his work in design and manufacture of Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) arrays. QCL arrays provide fast tuning with no moving parts, and have applications in spectroscopy systems for gas phase analysis and pharmaceutical testing. Next, Dr Mariano Troccoli (Adtech Optics Ltd.) shared his expertise in the development of high-power and single-mode QCLs, the fundamental limits, and material- and fabrication-related issues which challenge this technology. In the final talk of this session, Dr Richard Sharp (RedShift Systems Corp) presented a broadly-tunable, mid-IR QCL, based on thermo-optically thin films. With a broad tuning range, this laser shows potential for being more spectrally stable and mechanically robust than alternative solutions. Finally, Mark, Mariano and Richard participated in a panel discussed on the challenges in commercializing QCLs.
After lunch, we went straight to the joint session with AIO and IS - 'Imaging Imaging, Wow'. Hsiou-Yuan Liu (University of California Berkeley) opened the session with a talk on his research in 3D depth measurement using phase-space Fourier spectrograms, which is used to resolve previously unrecognizable, overlapping objects. Next, Andy Lin (Stanford University) described a full-pipeline spectral image simulation system to allow rapid prototyping of imaging systems for computational imaging. Dr David Allen (NIST) spoke about standards and methods for the evaluation of hyperspectral imaging system performance. David showed that the use of actual hyperspectral data sets is key to accurately assessing system level performance. Dr Rajesh Menon (University of Utah) presented his research in broadband diffractive optics for enhancing the efficiency of solar cells, and Kanami Ikeda (University of Electro-Communications) addressed the issue of optical copyright with an optical correlator using a holographic disc. The final talk of this joint session was given by Dr Christoph Mertz (Carnegie Mellon University). He tackled the issue of measuring the 3D shape of challenging (transparent or reflective metallic) objects using structured illumination.
Dr Brandon Redding (Yale University) kicked off the final session of Day 3 - 'Optics, Images, & Field Theory Oh My' with his research on full-field, reflectance confocal microscopy using VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) arrays. Manoj Kumar (Indian Institute of Technology Delhi) described the influence of magnetic field on gaseous flames using Digital Speckle Pattern Interferometry, with Riesz transform for phase extraction. Dr Esteban Vera (Duke University), presenting on behalf of Dr David Brady (Duke University), shared a roadmap for commercial gigapixel cameras, including optical design and sensor considerations.
The final AIO panel - 'Bring Us Your Problems'- followed this session. The panel partipated in a lively discussion on various technical issues encountered by attendees from academia and industry. This type of informal (there was beer!) gathering and exchange of ideas truly reflects the ethos of the AIO meeting. We rounded out the evening in the usual way, with drinks in the hotel bar and dinner together downtown.
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