Contents
Business Business News
The latest business news from the world of photonics Profile – Opco Laboratory
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Warren Clark meets the team at this US-based optics specialist Applications
Feature: Digital holographic microscopy
Nadya Anscombe on whether this niche technology will ever become affordable
Technology Technology News
The latest technology developments in photonics Feature: Raman spectroscopy
Feature: Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs)
Greg Blackman on how and why this tuning technique is important in a range of applications
Product Focus: Optical software
A round-up of the latest optical software packages Review: Laser World of Photonics
Following our preview in the May issue, more highlights from last month’s exhibition
Products
The latest photonic products from around the world Suppliers’ Directory
Find the suppliers you need fast with our handy suppliers’ directory
Technology Focus: EUV Lithography
Following our EUV feature a couple of months ago, there has been a major change in the industry, as Greg Blackman discovers
EDITORIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM Tel: +44 (0)1223 211170 Fax: +44 (0)1223 211107 Editor Warren Clark
editor.electro@europascience.com Feature Writer Greg Blackman
greg.blackman@europascience.com Assistant Editor Stephen Mounsey
stephen.mounsey@
europascience.com Contributing Editor Nadya Anscombe
nadya.anscombe@
europascience.com Circulation/readership enquiries Viv Ruskin
subs.electro@europascience.com
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Electro Optics is audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
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Stephen Mounsey discovers new approaches that are bringing this technology to industrial production lines
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LEADER WARREN CLARK
A change of mood
Two years is a long time in photonics. Following the grim shoe-gazing of 2009’s event, this year’s Laser World of Photonics was the culmination of a turnaround in fortunes that has exceeded expectations – both in terms of speed and longevity. The cyclical nature of the photonics industry meant that there was always a belief that the good times would return; that it happened so rapidly was a surprise. That the upward curve has been so sustained has been nothing short of staggering. Anecdotally, senior figures in the industry
believed that the curve would begin to flatten at the turn of the year, once inventories had been restocked and balance had been restored. However, in the aisles of Messe Munich last month, many were pleasantly baffled to report that growth had continued well into 2011. At the CEO roundtable session, the panel
predicted that the photonics industry would enjoy ‘ongoing growth, with bumps along the way’, and that the best way any company could protect themselves from the worst effects of any future downturn would be to diversify ‘to smooth out the hills and valleys’. Those that have emerged stronger this time around did so precisely because they had fingers in many pies, so were not overly exposed to the fall in industrial revenue. There was also a feeling that there may
be consolidation ahead, though perhaps not as much as one might expect for an industry that is so fragmented. But, as the panel pointed out – and the theory was backed up throughout the halls of Laser World of Photonics – the industry will always need small, innovative companies to drive it forward.
ADVERTISING Advertising Manager Jon Hunt
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CORPORATE TEAM Chairman Dr Tom Wilkie
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Electro Optics is published 10 times a year by Europa Science Ltd, The Spectrum Building, The Michael Young Centre, Purbeck Road, Cambridge CB2 8PD, UK Tel: +44 (0)1223 211170 Fax: +44 (0)1223 211107 Web:
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Cover images: Lyncée Tec / PHI
www.electrooptics.com
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