Keeping up with the speed of light
Precise control of light where it is needed
Real-time Neutral Density Filters for Professional Cameras
In the filming industry, Neutral Density filters are necessity for reaching the desired F-stop in all types of lighting conditions. Normally this means a cameraman has to swap out expensive pieces of glass or filters placed in front of the camera lens to achieve the desired effect. This eliminates the ability to seamlessly change F-Stop during filming and is not possible if the camera is attached to a moving object such as a drone. AlphaMicron has teamed up with a leading professional motion picture camera company to develop a prototype filter that changes the F-stop electronically. As one filmmaker commented:
“It feels a little like magic when you see it: Click a button and you can seamlessly hop between 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 1.5 and 1.8 ND increments on a single piece of 4×5.65 glass.”
Light Valves
Programmable spatial filters are used in inspection tools to allow for a dynamic light based quality assessment. In these systems, which can vary from a patterned Silicon Wafer to an Emitted gas from a industry chimney stack, a laser light is projected on the material. Scattered light is examined and information is obtained based on its intensity pattern. In these case, it is important to be able to shape either the incident or the detected beam to accommodate predictable local changes in transmission such as a pattern on a silicon wafer.
Working with KLA-Tencor, AlphaMicron invented and commercialized a system that was able to operate in the UV region of to spectrum and provide a highly sensitive, robust system for in-line wafer inspection. A similar product was developed for remote sensing of air quality in factory emissions. The system can be used for other light valve applications such as telecommunications and fiber optics.
Intense Light Protection
Alphamicron is partnering with two major Federal contractors to deliver new technologies under the US Air Force’s Flash and Laser Airborne Protection Systems (FLAPS).
The FLAPS program intends to develop materials and processing methodologies to conduct exploratory and advanced research and development of technologies to control, manipulate and protect aircrew against intense light.
The team from AlphaMicron, UES and Universal Technology Corporation (UTC) is working with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to increase aircrew survivability to flash-blindness and intense light threats through innovative research and development solutions and to advance the current photonic materials technologies, interactions and applications.
