Water Polution & Bio Sensor

    Global Market Forecast produced by ElectroniCast Corp., predicts the global consumption of photonic (optical communication) switches and switch matrices to be over $16 billion by year 2010, primarily driven by the fiber optic communications. The private networks and military market segments will also continue to be major users. [http://www.electronicast.com/pr/pr080201a.htm].
    Several military and civilian applications heavily rely on the lasers, optical components and systems for a variety of tasks, including surveillance, target acquisition and tracking, advanced LADAR systems, Optical Phased Array Antennas, free-space and fiber-based optical communication systems, etc. Ability to manipulation the light beam propagation direction is very important attribute these systems need to have in order to exploit the full potential of advanced optical technologies. Conventional laser beam steering and switching devices cannot provide reliable modules that can satisfy air-borne and space-borne applications. The mechanical gimbals steering mirrors, standard voice-coil actuated and other electro-mechanical devices employed to perform beam steering are very bulky, slow in response, prone to misalignment, and consume too much power. Advanced, low power, large dynamic range optical beam steering, pointing, and switching technologies to exploit the full potentials of current and future optical systems are in very much in demand.
Emerging technologies such as micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS), and thin-film electrooptic (EO) devices have promise to offer excellent performance with significantly reduced size and power requirements. MEMs-based devices combine mechanical, electrical, magnetic, thermal, or other physical phenomena to steer the light, and are the most mature and widely used. However, MEMs-based technologies have their own issues, such as precise mirror control over the life span of the device. The concerns about moisture require hermetic packaging for ground and low altitude applications. Further, the involvement of moving components and multiple electrical driving sources severely limits MEMs-based applications in the context of reliability and robustness. Neither MEMs-based nor bulk electro-optic (EO) material-based devices can meet such requirements as packaging reliability and robustness, high speed, large scanning angles, low driving power and small payload.
    A promising technology for the high-speed steering of an optical beam without any moving parts is beam deflection based on the electro-optic effect and thin-film nonlinear optical materials. Omega Optics Inc. is developing a miniaturized semiconductor-based “EO prism” beam deflector that can also function as a 1´N (N = 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64) switching device. The thin film devices provide reduced driving voltage and response time operation as compared to the bulk EO crystal-based counterparts. Nanosecond (10-9) or better response/switching time with driving voltage well below 100 volts are achievable. The thin-film prism arrays based approach provides a large steering angle equivalent to having 64 resolvable spots. Thus, a 1´64 switching device is realized. The employed semiconductor EO thin-film has a transparent spectrum from UV to IR, and therefore the device is operational over broad optical spectrum including optical communications wavelengths covering S, C, and L bands. Further, these have potential applications in fiber-optic switching networks, advanced laser radar (LADAR), photonic phased-array antenna, optical sensors, and laser printers. The advantages Omega’s beam steering device and or optical switch include simplified operating scheme, low driving voltage, large steering angles, large routing channels, high response/switching speed, small size, low cost, and high reliability.
    These devices are advantageous wherever there is a need for low power fast optical beam steering with large scanning angle. A laser beam switching device with large number of switching channels, low driving voltage, fast slew rate, light weight, simplified fabrication scheme, and compact structure would find wide commercial applications in fiber optic communication, laser radar, laser printing, optical mass storage and other far reaching applications. The developed device will be based on commercial microelectronic fabrication process, and can easily interface with other components. This draws the interest of industry to this promising technology.