General application description:
- Applications which use single mode laser light in the visible to NIR wavelength range
- Best value proposition in compact systems which require tight specifications but are cost sensitive (e.g. point-of-care systems).
Life Sciences market
- confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, OCT, endoscopy, spectroscopy, optical Biosensors
In several Life Sciences applications such as confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, molecular diagnostics and spectroscopy systems, multiple laser sources are being used. Typically also the position and spot size of the light at the substrate or target is subjected to tight specifications. These systems are currently built using discrete optical components. Our PICs can be beneficial to increase robustness, reliability and compactness in combination with lower system costs
Optical Metrology
- Interferometry (homodyne, hetrodyne, multi wavelength)
- Spectrometry
In many applications for optical metrology one or more lasers are used to measure distances, surfaces or motion. PIC technology can make more compact devices and open the route to new methods of measuring.
Agro-Food market
- sorting systems, quality control systems, quality analysis systems.
In food industry and pharmaceutical industry many product lines contain large sorting machines to detect defects and contaminating products. These machines are typically equipped with a combination of camera vision systems and laser systems. Especially for sorting organic materials, the use of reflected laser light is an efficient way to discriminate different products and contaminations. In these systems our PICs can be used to increase robustness and reliability. The lack of optical alignment of our devices also facilitates easier maintenance of these systems and enables a plug&play configuration.
Electronics/Instrumentation market
- Laser based display applications
Using red, green and blue laser sources for imaging purposes has the advantage over a system using conventional light sources that there is no need for a lens system and that the image is always in focus, at any distance from the combined laser source. Especially when the image is projected on a non-flat surface, for instance a front shield of a car, this has great advantages. For these systems our technology can be used to replace the current discrete component based beam combiners. This will enable more robust systems with smaller form factors and lower cost.
Examples
Fringe Pattern Generator
As an application demonstrating how PICs can be used in corporation with free-space optics, a fringe pattern generator is developed. As the phase of the visible light can be controlled very accurately on the PIC, adjustable fringe patterns can be made and projected on a surface. The example shows the principle of a simple two channel version. But the principle can be extended to more channels, allowing even more flexibility in the number of fringes and the fringe shape and pattern.
