Focus on photonics, spectroscopy, and spectrometry

Hübner Photonics has announced that its C-Wave laser series has qualified for use with the TriVista spectrometer system from S&I Spectroscopy & Imaging. The companies expect that the combination of Hübner’s widely tunable CW single-frequency lasers, which cover wavelengths from 450 nm to 3.5 µm, with S&I’s triple-grating TriVista will lead to advances in resonance Raman spectroscopy and microscopy, especially for the challenging low-frequency Raman range of less than 10 cm⁻¹. Most tunable lasers require elaborate filtering to suppress unwanted amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) that can cover the weak Raman signals. During qualification, the C-Wave revealed no detectable ASE. The C-Wave’s narrow linewidth, stable emission frequency, and high spectral purity allow for recording low-frequency Raman bands at or below 5 cm⁻¹ from the excitation wavelength even without filtering the excitation beam. Hübner Photonics Inc, 2635 N 1st St, Ste 202, San Jose, CA 95134, https://hubner-photonics.com

Light Conversion developed its Cronus-3P laser source specifically for advanced nonlinear microscopy. Based on optical parametric amplifier technology, the Cronus-3P provides μJ-level sub-85 fs pulses at repetition rates of up to 2 MHz. It is tunable from 1.25 μm to 1.8 μm, which covers the biological transparency windows at 1.3 μm and 1.7 μm for three-photon microscopy. The source features integrated group-delay-dispersion control to ensure optimal pulse duration at the sample, automated beam resizing and collimation, and optional automated beam steering for laser-pointing stability. Light Conversion, Keramiku St 2B, LT-10233 Vilnius, Lithuania, https://lightcon.com

Waters has introduced its Arc Premier System, the first liquid chromatography system optimized for chromatographic separations on 2.5–3.5 μm columns to also feature Waters’s new MaxPeak High Performance Surfaces (HPS) technology. The hybrid organic–inorganic surface technology, exclusive to the company’s MaxPeak Premier Systems and Columns, forms a barrier between the sample and metal surfaces. Without compromising performance, it mitigates or eliminates nonspecific adsorption and maximizes reproducibility and efficiency of separations. The new system complements the company’s MaxPeak Premier Columns to eliminate time-consuming and costly passivation and deliver high-quality, accurate sample data. The removal of analyte-to-metal interactions can result in up to a fivefold improvement in detector sensitivity, depending on the degree of metal sensitivity, and a tenfold improvement in assay-to-assay precision. Waters Corporation, 34 Maple St, Milford, MA 01757, www.waters.com

Teledyne Princeton Instruments, a business unit of Teledyne Digital Imaging, has brought to market its Cosmos large-format, backside-illuminated CMOS cameras optimized for astronomy. Specific applications include time-domain astrophysics, orbital-object tracking, and exoplanet research. The cameras incorporate Teledyne’s proprietary LACera image-sensor technology, which delivers greater than 90% quantum efficiency for high sensitivity and proprietary low-noise architecture with up to 18-bit readout. According to the company, that level of performance was not previously available in wafer-scale sensors. Cosmos is offered in three sensor sizes: 3000 × 3000 pixels, 6000 × 6000 pixels, and 8000 × 8000 pixels. It provides more than 50 frames/s for capturing dynamic events, global shutter, glow-reduction technology, 0.7 e⁻ read noise for detection of faint objects, and deep cooling to ensure low dark current. Teledyne Princeton Instruments, 3660 Quakerbridge Rd, Trenton, NJ 08619, www.princetoninstruments.com

MPB Communications now offers single-frequency (SF) visible Raman fiber amplifiers (VRFAs) that achieve output powers of up to 4 W in the 525–650 nm spectral range. The VRFAs provide a diffraction-limited beam with excellent pointing stability, low-phase and low-intensity noise, and minimal spectral broadening. The system consists of a polarization-maintaining Raman fiber amplifier (RFA) pumped by an ytterbium fiber laser. They are housed in a compact, air-cooled platform. High-power SF emission from the RFA is frequency-doubled by a single-pass, second-harmonic generator (SHG). To eliminate vibration transfer and simplify experimental setup, the SHG and RFA can be mounted away from the pump laser. The SHG output can be either fiber coupled or free space. The higher-power VRFA systems address the evolving needs of quantum physicists studying quantum degeneracy, atomic clocks, ultracold atomic clouds, and trapped Rydberg ions. They also have applications in spectroscopy, atomic interferometry, optics, lithography, and gravitational measurements. MPB Communications Inc, 147 Hymus Blvd, Pointe-Claire, QC H9R 1E9, Canada, www.mpbc.ca

The latest version of Renishaw’s Virsa Raman system includes features designed to expand the use of Raman spectroscopy to new samples, applications, and environments. Remote fiber-optic probes let users analyze samples away from the laboratory microscope. LiveTrack focus-tracking technology and the new Monitor software module allow for easy real-time analysis on large samples that have irregular surfaces, change shape as they undergo phase changes, or move. Windows-based Raman Environment (WiRE) software, version 5.5, adds two features that, used with the Monitor module, complement the Virsa system: Live reaction monitoring allows users to process and analyze a constant flow of Raman data in order to observe changing chemical concentrations or other sample properties; the partial least squares (PLS) analysis module allows users to generate and test PLS models and predict values in real time for materials that exhibit a spectral change, such as in concentration or crystallinity. Renishaw plc, 1001 Wesemann Dr, West Dundee, IL 60118, www.renishaw.com

Ibsen Photonics has presented new electronics for its Freedom 305 and 315 OEM spectrometers. The electronics convert the analog video signal from the diode-array detector to a robust digital signal that can be read out over a standard interface such as USB or serial peripheral interface (SPI). The digital image sensor board DISB-315 offers a frame rate that is six times as fast as the previous versions. It supports the low-noise S10420 BT-CCD detector arrays from Hamamatsu, features programmable lamp and shutter control, and comes with the same SPI as the company’s other DISBs, which makes it easy to integrate into instruments. If the spectrometer requires the use of a standard FTDI FT4222H chip, a compact DISB–USB bridge can be added and stacked on top of the DISB-315. Ibsen Photonics A/S, Ryttermarken 17, DK-3520 Farum, Denmark, https://ibsen.com

Excelitas has added the X-Cite NOVEM to its fluorescence illumination product line. The LED illuminator is suitable for complicated imaging applications that require high excitation power and individual wavelength control. Those applications include slide scanning, live-cell imaging, fluorescence in situ hybridization, ratiometric imaging, and general fluorescence microscopy. The light-guide-coupled, nine-channel, wavelength-switching X-Cite NOVEM illuminator offers spectral ranges for applications from 340 nm to 785 nm. Preinstalled filters simplify system setup, and the device’s high power reduces scan time for multiplex imaging. Available in four standard wavelength combinations, the X-Cite NOVEM features individual LED control, efficient cooling, and quiet operation, even when running at full capacity. Excelitas’s patented LaserLED Hybrid Drive technology provides increased excitation in the 500–600 nm band range. Excelitas Technologies Corp, 200 West St, 4th Flr E, Waltham, MA 02451, www.excelitas.com

With the release of its Ultris X20 and X20 Plus models, Cubert has upgraded its 3D hyperspectral Ultris cameras to cover a wavelength range of 350–1000 nm. The innovative cameras, which are based on light-field technology, now offer UV, visible, and near-IR coverage. That capability may enable such applications as plant-water detection for vegetation analysis, real-color characterization, bathymetry, and water-quality and fluorescence analysis. Weighing less than 350 g, the lightweight Ultris X20 is also suitable for mapping applications by unmanned aerial vehicles. It offers scan rates of more than 3200 lines/s, a constant full width at half maximum of 10 nm across all channels, more than 160 spectral bands, and a native image resolution of 410 × 410 pixels. The high-resolution Ultris X20 Plus features a pan sensor, which allows the camera to achieve an image resolution of more than 1800 × 1800 pixels. Cubert GmbH, Science Park II, Lise-Meitner Str 8/1, D-89081 Ulm, Germany, https://cubert-gmbh.com