Ocean Optics - a Halma PR news blog

Monitor high-speed reactions at up to 1000 scans per second
Dunedin, Florida (January 31, 2008) – To monitor high-speed chemical and biochemical reactions, Ocean Optics has produced its fastest spectrometer to date, the USB2000+ Miniature Fiber Optics Spectrometer. The CCD-array detector with high-speed USB 2.0 port interface can capture and store a full spectrum into memory at 1000 scans per second.

 
The spectrometer measures optical properties within a wavelength band of 200 – 1100 nm.  It can be equipped with a custom selected fixed grating which disperses the light to the 2048-element CCD array detector, producing results at a resolution to 0.35nm with FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) image sharpness.

The USB2000+’s programmable microcontroller allows flexibility in controlling the spectrometer through its digital and analog general purpose input/output interface and can be used in various trigger modes.  The internal non-volatile EEPROM memory chip stores the wavelength calibration to be automatically used by the operating software.

Spectrometer operation is simplified with Ocean Optics’ user interface SpectraSuite software.  The completely modular, Java-based spectroscopy software operates on Windows, Mac OS and Linux.  The USB2000+ connects directly to the computer via the USB cable and does not require an outside power source. 

The USB2000+ can be custom configured with the help of Ocean Optics applications scientists; user choose from 14 gratings, six slits and hundreds of fiber optic accessories to create a system optimized to a specific application.  Upgrading and changing the sampling system is as easy as unscrewing a connector and adding new components or accessories, such as light sources, sampling holders, filter holders, flow cells, fiber optic probes and sensors, collimating lenses, attenuators, diffuse reflectance standards, integrating spheres or optical fibers.

Choice of modules and configurations now available for lab and field work

January 17, 2008 - DUNEDIN, FL – Ocean Optics (www.oceanoptics.com), the industry leader in miniature spectrometers, has announced the release of Jaz, a modular spectroscopy suite that will change the way people think about optical-sensing instrumentation.

Jaz is a family of stackable, modular and autonomous components that share common electronics and communications, operating together or separately. Jaz’s modules combine to form a community of smart sensing appliances that can be utilized in lab, field and remote sensing applications.

Jaz features a crossed Czerny-Turner optical bench with  a linear CCD-array detector and grating and slit options for a variety of configurations. The Jaz OLED display has a wide viewing angle and two user-specified configurations. Additionally, the Jaz boasts Ethernet connectivity for internet-addressable sensing, SD card storage and a battery module to allow untethered measurement and data collection.

Jaz also has a UV-VIS light source module, is RoHS compliant and connects to fiber optic accessories such as cuvette holders and fibers.

Detect O2 presence and levels in medical and pharmaceutical applications
Dunedin, Florida (January 18, 2008) –  To accurately measure oxygen in packaging and other enclosed containers, Ocean Optics, the industry leader in miniature photonics, introduces the RedEye™ Oxygen Patch.  Using a combination of proprietary sensing material and optical sensing technologies the non-invasive patch enables quick readings of the presence or absence of oxygen, as well as provides quantitative measurements.

Accurate measurement of oxygen concentration can have critical implications in medical and pharmaceutical applications–it can assure patient safety in point of care analysis and respiratory settings or indicate a sterile seal on surgical instruments and drug packaging. 

The self-adhesive RedEye patch can be integrated into the surface of sample containers such as blood bags, pill blister packs, or point of care analysis devices like disposable ventilator oxygen attachments, to permit non-invasive, through-the-package oxygen concentration measurements.  Ocean Optics’ proprietary nano-porous sol-gel coating is non-reactive and keeps the sensor immobilized, protected from the package contents.  Depending on the application, the simple presence of oxygen can be visually determined by color change with a handheld LED, or a fluorometer can be used to directly measure the exact oxygen level.

RedEye coatings are capable of monitoring low levels of oxygen in gas (to 0.005%) and dissolved oxygen in liquids (to 20 ppb), as well as the higher oxygen levels present in cell culture and respiratory monitoring.  In addition to medical and pharmaceutical uses, RedEye coatings are available for food, beverage, fuel and other hydrocarbon-based product applications. 

Patches are manufactured to customer size specifications with one of Ocean Optics’ three coating formulations, depending on measurement needs.  The RedEye can be integrated into packaging for continuous monitoring or used externally for post-production and R&D monitoring purposes.

Simple, Elegant System for Measurements of Optical Fibers, Glass and Ophthalmic Lenses to be Featured in Booth# 927

January 17, 2008 - Dunedin, FL – Ocean Optics (www.oceanoptics.com), the industry leader in miniature spectrometers will be introducing its new technology in Optical Transmittance Spectroscopy at this year’s Photonics West in Booth# 927.

The Optical Transmittance Spectrometer (OTS) is a compact system designed for accurate, repeatable real-time transmittance measurement of optical lenses and other optical components. The OTS is particularly useful for measuring tint color, photopic transmittance and UV cutoff of ophthalmic lenses and for characterizing photochromic, eletrochromic and sun lens materials.

The OTS covers the 380-1000 nm wavelength range and accepts samples from 10-76 mm diameter and 25.4 mm thickness. The system comprises several components:

- High-resolution miniature linear CCD-array spectrometer configured for 380-1000 nm

- High-power, 20-watt tungsten halogen light source

- Fiber optic integrating sphere for collecting signal transmitted through the sample

- Optics for improved beam collimation and spectral sensitivity distribution

- Sample fixture (z-stage) to hold sample in place and exclude ambient light

- Short optical fiber to channel signal from the integrating sphere to the spectrometer

The Ocean Optics team will be introducing this new technology and performing experiments for booth visitors. Additionally, the company will provide on-site quotes and technical support for the full range of products throughout the entire conference.

New Family of Miniature, Back-Thinned FFT-CCD Detector Spectrometers to be Featured in Booth# 927

January 17, 2008 - Dunedin, FL – Ocean Optics (www.oceanoptics.com), the industry leader in miniature spectrometers will be introducing its new family of Maya 2000 high-sensitivity back-thinned 2D FFT-CCD spectrometers at this year’s Photonics West in Booth# 927.

Particularly suited to low light-level, UV-sensitive applications, the Maya 2000 and the Maya 2000-Pro offer greater than 90% quantum efficiency, high dynamic range and excellent UV response at prices under $6,000.

While the Maya 2000 and Maya 2000-Pro offer similar performance for most parameters, the Maya 2000 has a slightly faster readout time while the Maya 2000-Pro provides a better dynamic range and signal-to-noise. Both spectrometers feature:

- 90% quantum efficiency

- USB 2.0 interface

- Low-noise electronics

- 14 grating options

- Detector collection lens option for enhanced signal collection

- Fully programmable strobe signals (single or continuous)

Maya 2000 Series spectrometers are ideal for low light-level applications such as fluorescence, DNA sequencing and Raman analysis.

The Ocean Optics team will be introducing this new technology and performing experiments for booth visitors. Additionally, the company will provide on-site quotes and technical support for the full range of products throughout the entire conference.

New Technology Enhances Signal in LIBS Applications

January 17, 2008 - DUNEDIN, FL – Ocean Optics (www.oceanoptics.com), the industry leader in miniature photonics, has today announced the production of the first commercial LIBS system employing a microwave cavity for signal enhancement. The system known as LAMPS^TM uses a proprietary microwave cavity design housed inside a sample chamber and separate power supply. The laser and microwave operation are controlled by Ocean Optics LIBS software or by an external TTL trigger. Precise timing and control is not required.

In laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), a single pulse from a high-intensity laser is focused on the sample area, exciting the sample and creating plasma – into which a trace amount of the sample has been ablated. As the plasma decays, excited elements in the plasma emit light at wavelengths that are distinct to each element. This emission is collected by a probe and sent to a high-resolution, multi-spectrometer system for analysis. Each scan provides full spectral analysis from 200-980 nm – the region in which all elements emit energy – with optical resolution of 0.1 nm (FWHM) and sensitivity to parts-per-billion. 

Materials applications include analyzing the composition of metal alloys used in products, monitoring laser welding plumes and identifying different compositions of metals in recycling centers. Additional applications include environmental monitoring, forensics and biomedical studies, military and safety needs and art restoration and conservation projects.

The plasma formed by laser ablation is injected into the cavity where the free electrons react with the microwaves. This produces greater signal strength, duration, and reproducibility for better quantitative analyses for most sample matrices. Sensitivity improvements > 1000 fold are reported. Now applications for a wide variety of analytes requiring greater sensitivity and less ablative sample damage are made possible with LAMPS.

Cash prize and grant to be awarded at BiOS Conference in San Jose, California

January 17, 2008 - Dunedin, FL – Ocean Optics (www.oceanoptics.com), the industry leader in miniature spectrometers, has announced the winner of their Young Investigator Award and will be presenting a cash prize and grant January 20, 2008 at the 4:50 pm session at this year’s BiOS Conference in Convention Center Room A5.

The award is presented to the author of the best juried paper during the Colloidal Quantum Dots for Biomedical Applications session, who is no more than 5 years out of school.

This year’s cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to Graduate Student, Allison M. Dennis of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and author of Quantom dot-fluorescent protein FRET probes for protease activity. Additionally, Ocean Optics will award a $1,000 grant to Dennis’ advisor, Professor Gang Bao, Ph.D., the university’s Robert A. Milton Chair in Biomedical Engineering.

“Supporting and encouraging young scientists is something near and very dear to our hearts,” says Rob Randelman, President of Ocean Optics. “Young investigators represent the promise of our industry.”