May 2004 Issue
Feature Articles
Advances in Efficiency, Speed Reported at OFC 2004
Researchers unveiled impressive results in component design and system performance at OFC 2004. Highlights included record low loss in a hollow photonic bandgap fiber and all-optical packet switching at a staggering rate of 160 Gbit/s.
by Jeff HechtDiagnosing Glaucoma With Laser Precision
Three laser-based technologies are being applied with success to the diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness.
by Odette CallenderHolographic Bragg Reflectors, Photonic Bandgaps and Photonic Integrated Circuits
New developments in materials, guided-wave optics and lithography have enabled fabrication of centimeter-scale guided-wave photonic structures with nanometer-scale feature size. Potential application areas include photonic transport and processing.
by Thomas W. Mossberg, Christoph M. Greiner and Dmitri IazikovKey Enabling Technologies for Future Networks
New optical network enabling technologies are poised to trigger a paradigm shift in communications that can lead us down the path to ubiquitous service broadband networks.
by Keen--iicchii SSaattooRelativistic Optics: A Gateway to Attosecond Physics
Compact lasers can now produce intensities so large that laser-matter interactions are dominated by the relativistic character of the electrons. The new field of relativistic optics offers a gateway to attosecond physics and nonlinear quantum electrodynamics.
by Gérard A. Mourou and Victor YanovskyDepartments and Columns
Early Laser Development
India’s Diverse Centers of Optics Marked by Excellence in Research
Nonlinear microscopy and biomedical optics were among the topics of a series of lectures given in India last year by OSA Fellow Barry R. Masters. The trip was funded in part by a $2,000 grant from the United States Advisory Committee to the International Commission for Optics (USAC-ICO). USAC-ICO is supported by OSA, SPIE and the IEEE/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society.
New Congressional Caucus Focuses on Research and Development
Rep. Judy Biggert has teamed up with New Jersey Democrat Rush Holt, one of the few scientists in Congress, to send members of both houses a broader message about the importance of R&D.
