January 2000 Issue
Feature Articles
A Millennium of Liquid Crystals
Liquid crystals—the mysterious expression used to describe the class of materials that can flow yet remain ordered—have a surprisingly long history reaching well back into the last millennium. In this fly-over of the field of liquid crystals, we will see the high points and be introduced to some of the scientists who trekked through the details.
by Eileen M. KorenicOptical Coherence Tomography: High Resolution Imaging Using Echoes of Light
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a fundamentally new type of optical imaging modality that performs high-resolution, cross-sectional tomographic imaging of the internal microstructure in materials and biological systems, by measuring the echo time delay and magnitude of backscattered light.
by James G. Fujimoto, Wolfgang Drexler, Uwe Morgner, Franz Kartner, and Erich IppenCirrus, Ice Crystals, and Halos
Understanding how cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus clouds and the recognition of ice's presence are intimately tied to halos.
by David K. LynchDepartments and Columns
Research and Industry News
Marine organisms and light: affecting our climate? / Hooked on photonics / Glowing mice illuminate effective cancer therapies / Duke free-electron laser breaks 2,000-angstrom wavelength barrier / Advanced Solid-State Lasers (ASSL) previewed / Remote sensing: eye in the sky helps farmers diagnose fields / Laser-polarized gases open lungs to imaging
Laboratory Notebooks
How to maintain a laboratory notebook so that the entries could be used as evidence to prove the date of conception of an invention, as well as due diligence in developing it.
End of an Era?
A look back at the previous six-year “era” in science and technology policy.
Akhmanov Laser Graduate School
A review of the Akhmanov Laser Graduate School (LGS), held at Moscow State University (MSU), September 20-26, 1999.
How to Create a Multimedia Article for Optics Express
An author describes the lessons learned while preparing the graphics and the multimedia portions for their electronic paper.
Partial Polarization, Stokes Parameters, and the Poincaré Sphere
How a frequency domain analysis leads to a compact expression for the degree of polarization of a polychromatic beam of light in terms of its Stokes parameters.
Diffractive Optics for a Keplerian Viewfinder
A discussion of the design of Keplerian viewfinders.
Post-Deadline Papers from OSA 1999
Silicon eye using MEMS micro-mirror / Photonic analog-to-digital conversion based on over-sampling techniques / Axial resolution in digital interference holograms by wavelength scanning / Free-space electro-optic detection of continuous-wave terahertz radiation / Fabrication and characterization of a binary sub-wavelength lens with 60 nm features for operation at 600 nm
New Product Development at OSA
In this issue, we report on the efforts made over the last year to build an effective infrastructure to handle new product development.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Also in this Issue
From the President
2000 OSA President Erich P. Ippen outlines upcoming events and the goals of his term as OSA President.
Book Reviews
Reviews of Principles of Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy by K.K. Lee / Microoptics Technology: Fabrication and Application of Lens Arrays and Devices by Yakov Sidorin / Handbook of Thermo-Optic Coefficients of Optical Materials and Application by David Edwards / Optical Methods of Engineering Analysis by M.F. Mahmood
![An artist’s rendering of a pulse of circularly polarized light hitting a 2D semiconductor. [Illustration by S. Alvey / University of Michigan]](https://opnmedia.blob.core.windows.net/$web/opn/media/images/articles/2025/0125/departments/202501-cover-web.jpg?ext=.jpg)
