Applied Industrial Optics Day 3
Sogol Borjian Borojeni
Day 3 started with the AIO/LACSEA joint session, “The Joy of Industrial Photonics”, opened by Kajsa Larsson (Lund University, Sweden) with her talk on “Quantitative NO2 Measurements in an Industrial Sterilization Rig Using Laser Induced Fluorescence”. Initial NO2 measurements look promising and correlate with Monte Carlo simulations. Next, Lorenzo Cocola (CNR IFN UOS Padova, Italy) presented “Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy for Gas Sensing in the Agri-Food Industry”. Lorenzo reviewed three different instrument prototypes for gas sensing in research, manual sampling quality control and full in-line inspection.
Rongchao Pan (IVG-RF, Univ. Duisburg-Essen, Germany) continued the session with his talk on “DLAS-based Measurement of Water Film Thickness in Retro-reflection”. Rongchao introduced a single-ended absorption sensor for measuring liquid water film thickness. “Parameter Extraction of Wide Band SOA Targeting Rapidly Swept Source Sensing Applications” was introduced by Haitham Omran (German Univ. in Cairo, Egypt). Applications include Swept Source OCT and Swept Source Gas Sensing.
Sebastian Wolf (Fraunhofer IPM, Germany) presented “MWIR Upconversion Detection for Infrared Gas Spectroscopy”. Signal upconversion acts as a bridge between MWIR and NIR/SWIR applications, a potentially powerful extension for many laser-based MWIR spectroscopy techniques. We closed the session with a talk on “Analysis into the Laser-induced Breakdown Signal from Combusting Solid-fuel Wood Pellets” by Andrew Williamson (Universitat Bremen, Germany). Practical applications include biomass production and combustion.
After the morning coffee break, the AIO Meeting reconvened and Kort Bremer (Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany) introduced “Optical Waveguide Based Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensor System for Smartphones” as the first topic in the “Goin’ Mobile” session. Kort discussed the fabrication and evaluation of the optical waveguide based SPR smartphone sensor which is a cost-efficient, stable and reusable mobile monitoring sensor with high sensitivity. He also explained the advantages of using the Aptamer-functionalization compared to antibodies for detection. Future applications include detection of biomarkers, gas sensing and quality assurance. Next, Peter Brick (OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Germany) delivered the last talk of the session on “Color Reproduction of Camera Systems with Optimized LED Illumination”. Peter presented a multi-purpose single flash concept and a dual flash concept with CCT adjusted to ambient light.
After the lunch break, we started the first afternoon session, “Better Living Through Photonics”, on Day 3. Abdelmalek Hanafi (BMW Group, Germany) introduced “New High-brightness Laser-based White Light Source for Vehicular Lighting Systems (And Other Applications)”. Abdelmalek talked about the motivations behind the use of laser diodes and he compared laser diodes with other optical lighting systems regarding their automotive functions. For example, laser diodes are more attractive than the LEDs from a size and divergence perspective. He further discussed the challenges of integrating laser diodes into the automobile headlight. He also introduced some of the Driver Assistance Lighting functions such as Dynamic Lighting functions. These laser diodes can be used for other applications with specific lighting distributions as well.
Daniel Föger (Bartenbach GmbH, Austria) continued the session and talked on “Complex Surface Optics Applied in Modern Illumination Concepts”. Daniel discussed the key features of high quality lighting system which include visual quality (light intensity distribution, luminous efficacy and spectral quality) and the biological impact of light on human being and emotional aspects. To meet these requirements, Bartenbach designed the complex surface optics with high precision microfacets. Theses complex surface optics can insert and apply various LED types and show high quality Laser-Induced Damage(LID) properties.
Jörg Reittere (TriLite Technologies GmbH, Austria) closed the session. His talk title was “Software Beam Combiner for Ultra-compact RGB Laser Light Modules with MEMS Mirrors”. Jörg summarized the flawbacks of the previous displays such as loss of resolution and luminance, not being suitable for large scale outdoor displays, and he introduced autostereoscopic displays and their basic operation principles (laser light module, mems mirror, MID (molded interconnect device) package). He further discussed the different generations of displays and RGB laser light modules, their applications and how the beams are combined by a software beam combiner.
After a short break, attendees mingled around the Congress Poster Session, continuing the discussions from today's sessions and meeting the poster presenters from AIO and other Topical Meetings.
Garrett Cole (Crystalline Mirror Solutions LLC, USA) opened the final session of the day, “Start me Up” with his talk on “Crystalline Coatings: A New Paradigm in Optical Coating Technology”. Garrett gave a brief introduction about brownian noise in optical cavities and benefits of using the low-loss crystalline coatings which are a new paradigm in optical coatings. He shared his interesting experiences and how they led him to his current start-up company. Currently, they offer different product lines based on the unique performance advantages of crystalline coatings.
Nicole Reader (The Modern Mirror Inc., Canada) continued the session and talked on “Uncovering the Possibilities at the Intersection of Fashion and Optics: Taking an Idea to Market”. Nicole talked about all of her challenges to start her start-up and where she is now.
Garrett and Nicole then joined Dominik Rabus (Lupyled GMBH, Germany) and Patrick Uebel (Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany)for a panel discussion on the topic “Start Me Up”. Panel sessions are a key part of the AIO culture, providing an opportunity for interesting discussions and potential collaborations.
The AIO committee and some attendees gathered for a late dinner in Heidelberg, marking our last evening together at this meeting.
