Photonics/Optics
Optics
Latest Stories
Articles RF & Microwave Electronics
How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of Age and Driving Innovation in Defense
Though laser technology has advantages over radio, and those advantages are growing as innovation accelerates, what is essential to realize is that they need not be in competition.

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Spatial Calibration for Accurate Long Distance Measurement Using Infrared Cameras
All commercially available camera systems have lenses (and internal geometries) that cannot perfectly refract light waves and refocus them onto a two-dimensional (2D) image sensor. This means that all digital images contain elements of distortion and thus are not a true representation of the real world.

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Towards Greater Sensitivity: A Brief FTIR and Infrared-Based Cavity Ring Down Spectroscopy Comparative Study
Cavity Ring-Down spectroscopy (CRDS) is a newer IR absorption-based technique made possible by the use of tunable pulsed lasers. Rather than using a broadband (blackbody) emitter as is done with traditional IR techniques, a pulsed laser is tuned across wavelengths into an optical cavity.

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Determining Optical Material Parameters With Motion in Structured Illumination
Ellipsometry measures the amplitude ratio and the phase difference between polarized light reflected from the surface of a film and determines the refractive index or thickness by fitting the experimental data to an optical model that represents an approximated sample structure.

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Deep Image Prior Amplitude SAR Image Anonymization
Synthetic Aperture Radar images are a powerful tool for studying the Earth’s surface. They are radar signals generated by an imaging system mounted on a platform such as an aircraft or satellite. As the platform moves, the system emits sequentially high-power electromagnetic waves through its antenna.

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Free-Space Quantum Communications in Harsh Environments
The project aims to explore the possibility of all-weather secure quantum communication using macroscopic quantum states of light.

INSIDER Propulsion
Filtered Rayleigh Scattering Enables Laser-Optical Measurement of Turbofan Thrust
Pratt & Whitney and Virginia Tech announced a pioneering new technology for calculating thrust using lasers to enable high-fidelity measurement of key...

News Software
Making Sense of Next-Gen ADAS Sensing
“I don’t expect [SAE] Level 3-capable vehicles to ship in significant numbers until 2030,” asserted Rudy Burger, of Woodside Capital Partners, during May’s AutoSens 2023 conference in...

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Overcoming Performance Limitations of Distributed Brillouin Fiber Laser Sensors
Distributed fiber sensors are a powerful tool for structural health monitoring and environmental sensing due to their ability to remotely monitor the strain at 1,000s of locations using low-cost optical fiber.

Briefs Materials
Electro-Optic Materials Research
Here, a summary of the main lines of effort for the Electro-Optics Materials Research program including its goals and major accomplishments of the past five years.

Articles Manufacturing & Prototyping
Lidar Vs. Everybody in the Onboard Sensor Race
Despite the industrywide realization that SAE driving automation Levels 4 and 5 are not imminent and instead long-term goals, development continues on the sensors that power current and...

Technology Report RF & Microwave Electronics
Lumotive’s New LCM Underpins Next-Gen Lidar
“The future happened yesterday” is an appropriate description of the rapid pace of development in automated-driving technology. The expression may be most accurate in sensor tech where,...

INSIDER Photonics/Optics
AFTC Gains New Test Capability
As weapon system designers continue to innovate for the defense of the nation, the Air Force Test Center must advance the test capabilities available to develop and prove the superiority of those systems...

Articles Photonics/Optics
Designing Multi-Channel Microwave Radio Systems Using Optical Interconnects
Imagine if it was possible to build multi-channel microwave radio systems leveraging optical rather than copper interconnects.

News Software
Keeping Your Silicon Cool
Onboard electronics continue to evolve rapidly. Components are smaller. Systems are more complex. The sophisticated electronics components that make up modern vehicles require precision heat dissipation for...

Briefs Photonics/Optics
Modeling Optical Time and Frequency Generation and Transfer Systems
The research was closely tied to work that was led by Nathan Newbury at NIST, and the principal goal was to support the development of advanced laser sources.

News Software
SAE International Extends Call for Abstracts, Seeks Submissions for AeroTech Conference
Engineering Events staff at SAE International in Warrendale, Pennsylvania, have extended the call for abstracts through September 21 for the...

Articles Aerospace
Designing A/D Converters for the James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has four infrared cameras to view the stars.

Articles Electronics & Computers
The Next Generation of Mission-Critical Communications Infrastructure is Here
The critical role of spectrum superiority in the success of battlefield campaigns is evidenced by the enormous investments being made in electronic warfare (EW)...

INSIDER Photonics/Optics
Optical Flow Visualization Applied to Jet Engine Testing
Working together with a local business and academic professionals at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) team members at...

Application Briefs Unmanned Systems
Armed Drone System
The SMART SHOOTER system successfully completed live firing tests and is currently under advanced stages of development.

Briefs Test & Measurement
Multimode Optical Fiber Sensing
Although a vast majority of fiber optic strain sensors use single mode fiber, multimode fiber has a higher nonlinear threshold that enables higher light levels and lower noise.

News Imaging
Single-chip digital imaging radar heads for 2022 production
The Jeep Grand Cherokee fitted with new single-chip digital imaging radar technology is cruising a residential street in metro Detroit in February. Recent heavy snowfall has...

News Sensors/Data Acquisition
Expanding ADAS Roles for Radar and Cameras
Cameras and radar have become so widely used in advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) that it’d be easy to label them as commodities. The well-known technologies, in use in the automotive...

News Sensors/Data Acquisition
Uhnder and Spartan to Partner on Hi-rez Radar
Two new players on the hardware and software side of advanced high-resolution automotive radars have announced a partnership. Austin, Texas-based Uhnder, which lays claim to the first...

INSIDER Aerospace
Research Could Lead to Noise Reduction in Aircraft Engines
Through a Small Business Innovative Research contract awarded to MetroLaser, Inc., by the U.S. Navy, a system is being developed to measure the gas velocity of engine exhaust to...

INSIDER Imaging
Mounted Troops to Get High-Tech Situational Awareness Tools
Mounted armored vehicles such as the Bradley have long been used as heavy weapons platforms with long range sensors to hunt targets and provide armored transportation to...

News Power
Valeo Debuts New Lidars, EV Tech at CES 2022
The breadth of Valeo’s news announcements during CES 2022 effectively showcased just how much the show has turned into an automotive tech event. From autonomous driving technologies to...

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Webcasts
Software
Leveraging Electronics Digital Twins on AWS to Accelerate...
Defense
Choosing a Silicone for Operation in Harsh Thermal Environments
Sensors/Data Acquisition
A Guide to Unlocking Precision and Efficiency with 3D Scanning...
Electronics & Computers
Introduction to the Integration of Electronics Switching and...
Energy
Miniaturized Solutions for Battery Development