Hamamatsu’s Quantaurus-QY can measure the quantum yield and other properties of photoluminescent materials. The device performs absolute—not relative—measurements quickly, with no need to prepare reference samples. It can be used to analyze thin films, powders, solids, and solutions. Among its features are a xenon lamp and a monochromator that create the excitation light source, an integrating sphere with an optional nitrogen gas flow, and a high-sensitivity CCD sensor. The system also has dedicated software for selecting excitation wavelengths and for making a variety of measurements and analyses that include photoluminescence quantum yield measurement and spectrum, and excitation spectrum. Two models are available: the standard C11347-01 for wavelengths from 300 to 950 nm, and the near-IR C11347-02 for 400- to 1100-nm wavelengths. Hamamatsu Corporation, 360 Foothill Road, Bridgewater, NJ 08807, http://www.hamamatsu.com

CVI Melles Griot has expanded its BeamAlyzer knife-edge beam-profiler product family. The new additions include a high-speed USB 2.0 interface capability for the three-blade BeamAlyzer and the seven-blade Super BeamAlyzer product lines. The silicon detector versions 13 SKP 722 and 13 SKP 724 cover the 190-nm to 1.1-mm (UV to near-IR) range. The indium gallium arsenide detector versions 13 SKP 752 and 13 SKP 754 are optimized for 0.8- to 1.8-mm IR-range operation. The series of beam diagnostics systems provide real-time measurement and display of continuous-wave, fiber-optic, and diode-laser-beam profiles. The BeamAlyzer is designed to provide flexibility, speed, and user-friendliness for various beam measurements, including width, shape, position, power, and intensity. Applications include beam alignment, Gaussian fit analysis, and beam position measurement. CVI Melles Griot, 200 Dorado Place Southeast, Albuquerque, NM 87123, http://www.cvimellesgriot.com

The 2011 Femtosource Fusion and Synergy families of ultrafast lasers have been released by Femtolasers Produktions. They feature dispersive-mirror (DM)-based ultrafast titanium:sapphire oscillators that, according to the company, combine performance, stability, and ease of operation. Applications include terahertz spectroscopy, optical coherence tomography, and high-peak-power nonlinear physics. The efficiency of the DM cavity and the radical reduction in the number of the laser components result in maximum passive stability of the system and low cost of ownership. The new Synergy and Fusion families share the same platform; the Synergy accommodates a variety of pump lasers, and the Fusion comes with an integrated pump laser in combination with the company’s Greenalign active stabilization. Femtolasers Produktions GmbH, Fernkorngasse 10, 1100 Vienna, Austria, http://www.femtolasers.com

Leica Microsystems has extended its automated high-content screening solution to cover applications to wide-field fluorescence systems. The Leica HCS A enables fast and efficient multiposition experiments, which can range from automated-image recording routines to complex multidimensional research with simultaneous image export for immediate examination by external analysis software. Intelligent algorithms can analyze images rapidly and send the new target coordinates and recording parameters via the computer-aided microscopy interface to the screening system. The company’s wide-field or confocal system switches immediately from the primary scan to a predefined high-resolution secondary scan. Based on the LAS AF Matrix M3 software, the Leica HCS A package can be used for microtiter plates, spotted arrays, tissue microarrays, and lab-on-a-chip applications. Leica Microsystems Inc, 2345 Waukegan Road, Bannockburn, IL 60015, http://www.leica-microsystems.com

The new IR Power TOPLED SFH4250S from Osram Opto Semiconductors achieves a typical radiant intensity of 22 mW/sr and a total radiant flux of 70 mW in continuous operation at a 70-mA driving current. The component’s high radiance enables very compact lighting units to be created; in existing designs, it allows the effective range to be increased significantly. The technology has been applied to chips with an edge length of 300 µm in the case of the SFH4250S. The new Stack Power TOPLED allows pulsed operation at up to 1-A pulse current; it can reach 220-mW/sr radiant intensity and 700-mW total radiant flux. The new component is beneficial for applications in which compact lighting units illuminate large areas with IR light. The stack technology for thin-film chips has been tested and validated in many applications, from night-vision systems in vehicles to sensors in mobile end-user devices. Osram Opto Semiconductors Inc, 1150 Kifer Road, Suite 100, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, http://www.osram-os.com

Toptica’s new FemtoFiber pro UCP is a tunable ultracompressed pulse system that provides a supercontinuum between 980 and 1400 nm and more than 30 mW of output power. It features pulse durations below 25 fs; according to the company, that is the shortest pulse width commercially available from a mode-locked fiber laser system. The system is suitable for biophotonics, pump-probe experiments, and femtosecond spectroscopy. The FemtoFiber pro UCP is based on saturable absorber mirror mode-locking technology and a subsequent core-pumped fiber amplifier. That technology ensures self-starting and stable mode-locking under all laboratory conditions. All-fiber construction protects against environmental changes. The system includes two motorized prism compressors, so that pulse durations in the range down to 13 fs can be achieved. The standard repetition rate is 80 MHz, but 40 MHz is also available. Toptica Photonics Inc, 1286 Blossom Drive, Victor, NY 14564, http://www.toptica.com

Bruker Corp has introduced the Icon, a new 1-tesla desktop magnetic resonance imaging scanner whose design combines simplicity with compact dimensions. To create an economical MRI instrument for routine preclinical and molecular imaging in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications, the company incorporated its AVANCE III spectrometer technology; ParaVision, its preclinical MRI software; and Aspect Magnet Technologies’ cryogen-free permanent magnet. The ParaVision software allows the Icon to access a wide range of acquisition and processing tools for in vivo and material sciences MRI. Optional software modules enable the scanner to perform the latest MRI applications, such as relaxometry mapping, fast echo-planar imaging, ultrashort echo-time lung imaging, and contrast agent research. Bruker BioSpin Corporation, 15 Fortune Drive, Billerica, MA 01821-3991, http://www.bruker-biospin.com

Shimadzu has developed the LCMS-8030 to help laboratory researchers working on hundreds of samples a day meet the challenge of detecting more target analytes with greater sensitivity. The new device features ultrafast multiple reaction monitoring transitions and enables data acquisition with up to 500 different channels per second. The improvements to the electronics provide mass spectrum measurement speeds of 15 000 Da/s. Along with the ultrafast 15-ms polarity switching, that yields a high information acquisition speed without signal deterioration or the sacrifice of sensitivity or resolution. By forming a pseudopotential surface, UFsweeper technology accelerates ions out of the collision cell. The resulting high-efficiency collision-induced dissociation and ultrafast ion transport reduces sensitivity losses and crosstalk. In addition, RF power capability minimizes pauses between each transition. Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc, 7102 Riverwood Drive, Columbia, MD 21046, http://www.ssi.shimadzu.com

Edmund Optics has introduced high-resolution, large-format lenses for line scan and large area scan cameras. According to the company, at a maximum aperture of F4, the lenses provide twice the amount of light throughput of comparable lenses at F5.6 in which the iris is half closed. The lenses are designed to reduce chromatic aberrations and yield excellent sharpness and contrast even at maximum apertures. Seven standard lens options are available in designs capable of achieving a wide magnification in the 0.33–3.0× value range. Each lens cell includes locking, variable iris, and front-filter threading. Focusing and mounting options are available for the most common camera interfaces for many of the magnification options. Edmund Optics Inc, 101 East Gloucester Pike, Barrington, NJ 08007-1380, http://www.edmundoptics.com

Andor Technology has launched the iXon X3 range of high-performance electron-multiplying CCD camera. The new instrument offers OptAcquire, which allows users single-click optimization of an array of camera acquisition parameters for the best possible performance under a wide range of conditions. The X3 range also offers count convert functionality allowing real-time data acquisition in units of electrons or incident photons. Other features include spurious noise filters, a cropped sensor mode to significantly boost frame rates, improved photon counting capabilities, and real-time data averaging. The X3 now also carries a standard seven-year warranty on Andor’s UltraVac vacuum head. Andor Technology plc, 425 Sullivan Avenue, Suite 3, South Windsor, CT 06074, http://www.andor.com

Wenzel Group subsidiary Wenzel ScanTec has incorporated the Blu-Scan blue laser scanning sensor into its MobileScan3D, a laser scanning machine for portable applications. Because the system offers full computer numeric control automatic scanning, the acquired data set is much more accurate than the same data acquired using a portable arm. The sensor also produces automatically structured and ordered data and minimizes subsequent data cleanup and processing time. It projects a finer line—a laser thickness of 50 µm—than the previous generation of red laser sensors. It has higher resolution and is more tolerant to surface textures. Among the sensor’s advantages over red laser technology are more power, constant laser-line thickness through the measurement area, and less speckle because of its shorter wavelength, which also provides improved focus and the thinner projection line. Those improvements result in higher data collection rates, higher resolution data, and more accurate processed images. Wenzel Group GmbH and Co KG, Werner Wenzel Strasse, D-97859 Wiesthal, Germany, http://www.wenzel-cmm.com

Ultrafast laser oscillator

Ultrafast laser oscillator

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Large-format imaging lenses

Large-format imaging lenses

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Blue laser scanning sensor

Blue laser scanning sensor

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