Ocean Optics - a Halma PR news blog

Color changer produces even deeper blues and more robust reds for dramatic lighting effects
Dunedin, Florida (April 22, 2008) – To meet the increasing demand for more dramatic and saturated lighting options, the SeaChanger Color Engine product line has added the Studio Dichroics Series CYMG hexachromic color changer.  Compatible with all beam-shaping ETC Source Four accessories, the SeaChanger Studio produces rich, vibrant lighting hues for broadcast and film, club and corporate event lighting, and subtractive gobo mixing applications. 

The four-filter CYMG color engine attaches to the reflector housing of any Source Four Ellipsoidal and uses robust dichroic filter technology to create a virtually endless palette of stable, reproducible colors that do not shift or fade with time or temperature.  Color transitions from clear to 100% saturation are possible in less than one second.

The SeaChanger Studio’s patterned filters allow users to control color, intensity and saturation with unprecedented levels of precision.  Users can configure filters in up to 4 billion combinations to create a nearly infinite variety of colors, with an emphasis on deeper blues and truer reds.  The deeper colors are ideal for creating impact for all in-studio and broadcast applications.  The extra saturation is especially useful for modern theater, concert series and event production, where lighting designers are constantly challenged to create more spectacular effects.

The filters have a higher transmission efficiency than gels and other filter materials, and their resistance to temperature and humidity eliminates the need for noisy fans that may interfere with production audio.  Each SeaChanger is a self-contained unit with internal power supply and is controlled via 4-channel DMX, RDM device, or its front-panel membrane keypad with three-digit LCD display. The SeaChanger Studio is compatible with either HMI or tungsten lighting, and will accommodate a variety of stage lighting accessories.

To learn more, call 727.545.0741, send an e-mail to SeaChanger@OceanOptics.com, or visit the SeaChanger website at www.SeaChangerOnline.com.

Choice of stackable modules for lab and field work in optical sensing
Dunedin, Florida (April 9, 2008) – Ocean Optics, a global leader in miniature photonics, has developed a family of modular optical sensing instruments easily adaptable for the field, lab or process environments. 

Jaz is a family of stackable, modular and autonomous components that share common electronics and communications, able to operate together or separately.  By incorporating a powerful microprocessor and onboard display, the need for a PC is eliminated, freeing the Jaz for applications outside the lab.  Ethernet connectivity for Internet-addressable sensing, SD card for data storage and battery module enable completely untethered measurements and data collection.

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 RoHS compliant platform expands to include a UV-VIS light source, rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery and up to eight spectrometer modules, allowing the system to be customized to changing application needs.  The Jaz also accommodates fiber optic accessories such as cuvette holders and fibers.  The OLED display has a wide viewing angle and two user-specified configurations. 

Miniature, back-thinned FFT-CCD detector spectrometers an economical choice for high sensitivity applications
Dunedin, Florida (February 28, 2008) – For applications requiring high sensitivity, good UV response and wide dynamic range, Ocean Optics has introduced the Maya2000-series high-sensitivity back-thinned 2D FFT-CCD spectrometers.  Two new spectrometers, the Maya2000 and Maya2000 Pro, were designed to offer good value and performance for applications not requiring long integration times.

Particularly well suited to low light-level, UV-sensitive applications, such as fluorescence, DNA sequencing and Raman analysis, the Maya2000 and the Maya2000 Pro offer greater than 90% quantum efficiency, high dynamic range and excellent UV response. 

Both spectrometers feature a USB 2.0 interface, low-noise electronics, 14 grating options, and a detector collection lens option for enhanced signal collection.  Fully programmable strobe signals allow for the selection of single or continuous strobes to suit application needs.  The Spectrometers are controlled with Ocean Optics’ completely modular, Java-based SpectraSuite software (Windows, Mac OS and Linux compatible). 

While the Maya2000 and Maya2000 Pro offer similar performance for most parameters, the Maya2000 has a slightly faster readout time while the Maya2000 Pro provides a better dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio.

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.

CYMG color changers’ dichroic filter technology withstands temperatures where traditional gels melt

Dunedin, Florida (November 20, 2007) – Already a popular choice for theater and stage lighting, the SeaChanger xG Color Engine from Ocean Optics is now making waves in the architectural design community in an installation at the SAIC campus in McLean Virginia.  The CYMG color changer for ETC Source Four Ellipsoidal Spotlights uses robust dichroic filter technology, which requires no cooling, to create a virtually endless palette of stable, reproducible colors that do not shift or fade with time or temperature.

The main building of SAIC’s Virginia campus features a dramatic multi-story steel entrance.  The soaring grid of metal work is highlighted at night by shifting colored lights.  For the first year of the display, the architectural feature was lit by ETC Source Four Spotlights paired with traditional gel scrollers.  However, this configuration required constant maintenance as the lights overheated and melted the gels. 

With the help of lighting equipment experts Barbizon Capitol, SAIC went looking for a new architectural lighting solution.  “The challenges this space presented were its size and use requirements,” explained Tom Morris, SeaChanger Sales Specialist. “They needed a powerful light source to illuminate the large, multi-story space, which could also operate for eight hours per night without overheating.  The Source 4 and SeaChanger combination was the ideal solution.”

SAIC runs the eight SeaChangers and white Source Four 750 watt fixtures on an ETC Unison rack.  A timed event runs from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week, bathing the building in a continually shifting assortment of colors.

The SeaChanger’s dichroic filters provide higher transmission efficiency than gels and other filter materials, and their resistance to temperature and humidity means they stay cool, without noisy cooling fans.  The SeaChanger employs four patterned filters: cyan, yellow, magenta and a neutral density (dimmer) filter.  Users can configure filters in up to 4 billion combinations to create a nearly infinite variety of colors, from delicate pastels to deep, saturated primaries.  The xG model’s novel “Extreme Green” filter combines with the CYM color wheels to produce hexachromic colors, expanding the available gamut to include deeper reds, blues and greens.

The SeaChanger installs quickly and easily without tools.  The lightweight unit incorporates an internal power supply and 6-channel DMX controller and integrates easily in multiple architectural settings including corporate, school, museum and recreation venues.  It supports the Remote Device Management protocol and can be programmed for stand-alone operation. 

For more information on SeaChanger, contact Tom Morris at 727.545.0741 or SeaChanger@OceanOptics.com, or visit the product website at www.SeaChangerOnline.com. SeaChanger is also available through a network of theatrical lighting distributors.

CYMG color changer part of Whitney Museum’s exhibition commemorating 40th anniversary

Dunedin, Florida (July 26 2007) – To help set the tone for its “Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era” exhibit, the Whitney Museum of American Art has turned to lighting technology from Ocean Optics’ SeaChanger. The SeaChanger Wash provides an unprecedented level of color intensity and saturation that references the immersive psychedelic environments of the time.

New York-based lighting designer Ku’uipo Curry created the lighting installation, working with Whitney Assistant Curator Henriette Huldisch. Entering the third floor of the museum, visitors are bathed in a shifting swirl of rich light. This first impression sets the mood as they plunge into the American popular culture of the time in the form of psychedelic rock posters, multimedia rooms, archived filmed light shows, and a psychedelic chapel.

The challenge Curry faced in crafting the display was to create an ambience without overpowering the art and other exhibits. “I did not want to create a light show or turn the Museum into a disco or rock concert,” she explained. “I wanted rich high-chroma light that shifted slowly between colors in a very fluid and elegant way–somewhere between a concert and a lava lamp.”

In order to replicate the morphing, supersaturated effects created by ‘60’s lightshow designers mixing colored pigments live, Curry sought out a modern equivalent that would bring the same soft texture of light and found the SeaChanger Wash. Ocean Optics donated eight units to the Whitney Museum to be used throughout the run of the show.

Using patented dichroic filter technology, the units can create a virtually endless palette of stable, reproducible colors that do not shift or fade with time or temperature. SeaChanger’s dichroic filters provide higher transmission efficiency than gels and other filter materials, and their resistance to temperature and humidity eliminates the need for noisy fans. Its novel xG “Extreme Green” filter combines with the CYM color wheels to produce hexachromic colors, expanding the available gamut to include deeper reds, blues and greens.

“The combination of the super soft light of a Fresnel lens, and gentle shift between high-chroma, rich, saturated colors were just right for this design. The texture of the light is correct, and the chromas and saturation are perfect,” according to Curry.

The SeaChanger Wash’s four-filter color engine and Fresnel lens barrel attach easily to the reflector housing of any ETC Source Four® ellipsoidal spotlight. A manual zoom allows users to adjust the field of view from 20? to 70?. Color transitions from 0-100% saturation in less than one second are possible. Each self-contained unit is controlled via 4-channel DMX, RDM device, or its front-panel membrane keypad with three-digital LED display. The SeaChanger Wash is compatible with 575W or 750W HPL and HID lamps, and will accommodate a variety of stage lighting accessories.

In addition to the exceptional light and color quality, the units have functioned well from a practical standpoint. “The units have been on eight to ten hours a day, five days a week, since May and have performed beautifully,” noted Curry.

The show was programmed with an ETC Express™ 48/96 lighting console, and controlled for the run of the show with an ETC Express LPC (Lighting Playback Controller), both donated by ETC. Curry programmed a stack of cues which use contrasting combinations of washes of light and rainbow effects that shift and fade. The Express LPC kept cue stacks in order so that museum staff were able to easily turn the exhibit lighting on and off daily.

ETC also donated three 90° Source Four spotlights, used in the exhibit’s second floor entry. Working with glass gobos from InLight GoBos, Curry used the units to create a pool of textured light that resembles the effect of gasoline on water. The 90° Source Fours worked with the short lighting grid at the Whitney to deliver full coverage. The project was managed by the Lighting Syndicate LLC.

The Whitney Museum of American Art ‘s “Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era” exhibition traces the explosion of contemporary art and popular culture that was brought about by the civil unrest and pervasive social change of The 1960s and early 70s. It celebrates a new psychedelic aesthetic that emerged in art, music, film, architecture, graphic design, and fashion with works by Joshua Light Show, Isaac Abrams, Lynda Benglis, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Indiana, Yayoi Kusama, and Andy Warhol, among others. Curated by Christoph Grunenberg at Tate Liverpool and originally presented there, the show toured to the Kunsthalle Schirn Frankfurt and the Kunsthalle Wien prior to the Whitney. The exhibition runs through September 16, 2007.

About SeaChanger
The SeaChanger Color Engine (www.SeaChangerOnline.com) is a product of Ocean Optics, a leading supplier of solutions for optical sensing. The company’s Thin Films Division designs and manufactures patented dichroic filters for entertainment, architectural and display products, and produces precision optics and coatings for lighting envelopes, fixtures and scientific applications. The SeaChanger’s patterned dichroic filters are precise enough to project even large-format still images with remarkable resolution and clarity while the “colored light” products use the most robust, highest-transmission dichroic filters available.

About Whitney Museum
The Whitney Museum of American Art is the leading advocate of 20th - and 21st -century American art. Founded in 1930, the Museum is regarded as the preeminent collection of American art and includes major works and materials from the estate of Edward Hopper, the largest public collection of-works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and Lucas Samaras, as well as significant works by Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Georgia O’Keeffe, Claes Oldenburg, Kiki Smith, and Andy Warhol, among other artists. With its history of exhibiting the most promising and influential American artists and provoking intense critical and public debate, the Whitney’s signature show, the Biennial, has become the most important survey of the state of contemporary art in America today.

About Ku’uipo Curry
Ku’uipo Curry is a New York-based lighting designer who designs for the performing arts, performance art and art installations. She has a BA in Art History from Wellesley College, and studied Theatrical Lighting Design at MIT.