The Jaz Adjustable Laser Pointer enhances performance in standoff light measurement applications.

The Jaz ALP focuses the Jaz’s collection optics to a precise spot within the sample being measured. The addition of the ALP module to the Jaz stack, along with a separately available Gershun Tube Kit, controls the field of view of the spectrometer from 1° to 28°. A low-power laser pointer pinpoints the sampling area from a distance of 2-14 m as factory calibrated. Greater distances may be achieved with readjustment. Four Torx adjustment screws allow vertical and horizontal control of the laser beam direction. The Jaz-ALP is powered separately from three AAA batteries and includes a power switch with red LED ‘on’ indicator.

The Jaz modular sensing platform is a family of stackable components that share common electronics and communications. Its CCD-array miniature spectrometer can be optimized for a variety of measurements by choosing grating and slit options. A powerful onboard microprocessor with built in display eliminates the need for a PC. Its mix and match accessories, including additional spectrometer channels, battery packs, Ethernet connectivity, software packages, light sources and now the ALP, make the Jaz highly customizable to the unique challenges of virtually any measurement application.

The HTVS technology overcomes the fundamental trade-off between resolution and light throughput in spectrometer design, without the use of moving parts or electronics. It is adaptable to a multitude of spectrometer designs and easily adaptable to different detectors, gratings and other critical spectrometer components, allowing spectrometer manufacturers to customize their designs specifically to customer needs.

Combining Tornado’s technology and optical design expertise with Ocean Optics’ long-standing track record of reliable and cost effective manufacturing, will result in a full line of high performance spectrometers for Ocean Optics’ OEM, distributor and retail customers.

Tornado’s Chairman and CEO, Stefan Larson, Ph.D., stated, “We are very excited to partner with a proven market leader like Ocean Optics. Their world-class manufacturing capabilities and global market reach are a perfect match for our technology.”

HTVS technology routinely increases light throughput of spectrometers by 10-15 times without compromising resolution. Richard Pollard, Chief Revenue Officer at Ocean Optics explains the promise of this technology, “The spectrometers co-developed by the companies will be, by far, the best performing and most cost effective on the market. The new product offerings will enable a novel way of delivering application performance across the board in optical spectroscopy.”

Co-development work is already underway and the first units are expected to be available by Fall 2012. Ocean Optics and Tornado will be attending Analytica, with product information available during the show and shortly thereafter at www.oceanoptics.com and www.tornado-medical.com. Interested parties are encouraged to visit the Ocean Optics Booth in Hall A1, # 127/224 at the New Munich Trade Fair Center in Munich, Germany from April 16-19, 2012.

Ocean Optics’ Vivo NIR Source.

Vivo’s four tungsten halogen sources, arranged for reflection measurements at a 90 degree angle to the detection fiber, can be turned on and off for precision control. The powerful bulb output enables shorter spectrometer integration times than conventional methods-as fast as 1ms with some system setups. An inner cooling fan reduces the risk of overheating the sample to ensure accuracy.

The Vivo can be attached to Ocean Optics’ RTL-stage or other standard for stability and control. Powered by an included universal power supply, the Vivo’s tungsten halogen bulbs are rated for 2,000 hours.

BluLoop broadband visible light source from Ocean Optics.

BluLoop’s four LEDs are packaged in a rugged, small-footprint housing.  Unlike tungsten halogen sources, BluLoop produces “flatter” spectral output in the visible range for more predictable response, especially for color analysis. In addition, BluLoop provides a more constant spectral distribution and strongly reduced instrumental stray light. Its power output is comparable to standard tungsten halogen sources.

Marcio Siqueira, Regional Sales Manager Brazil, Ocean Optics

Based in São Paulo, Brazil, Siqueira will work with customers and distributors throughout Brazil and Latin America, offering educational and sales support for Ocean Optics’ complete product line. He will facilitate the growth of the company in these territories, helping clients select, use and install the company’s spectrometers, chemical sensors, analytical instrumentation, and metrology equipment. Siqueira will also continue to develop Ocean Optics’ distributor network, training new and existing distributors, and increasing the company’s conference and tradeshow presence.

A seasoned sales executive in the analytical equipment market, Siqueira joins Ocean Optics from Hanna Brasil Imp. e Exp Ltda, where he was most recently Sales Manager for Brazil. Prior to that, he gained technical sales experience through positions with Interlab Distr. Scientific Products S / A and Medlab Diagnostic Products Ltda. To serve customers across the region, he speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Siqueira earned a degree in Economic Sciences from Sant’Anna University (São Paulo City, Brazil).

“Brazil is a tremendously exciting market for spectroscopy, with increasing research and development activity,” explains Richard Pollard, Ocean Optics’ Chief Revenue Officer. “Ocean Optics’ expansion into this region, beginning with Marcio’s appointment, will improve support for our customers and partners in Brazil and neighboring countries.”

To learn more about Ocean Optics, customers in Latin America may contact Siqueira at Marcio.siqueira@oceanoptics.com or + 55-11-9847-4707.

Young Investigator award winner, Nathan J. Withers (left) with Ocean Optics’ president, Kevin Chittim.

The Young Investigator Award is presented to a researcher who is no more than five years out of school and submits the best juried paper as part of the Colloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications VII conference. The award was presented during the session on January 23. The honor includes a $1,000 investigator gift and a company grant to the investigator’s advisor.

As part of a research team at the University of New Mexico that included Yekaterina Brandt, Antonio C. Rivera, Nathaniel C. Cook, Leisha M. Armijo and Marek Osinski, Withers was the lead author of the paper “Effects of LaF3:Ce nanoparticles capped with polyethylene glycol on human astrocytoma in vitro.”  The team investigated the cytotoxicity of Cerium-doped lanthanum fluoride colloidal nanocrystals used to improve absorption in radiation therapy.

Ocean Optics’ own history as a company founded on research innovation drives its philosophy of rewarding academic efforts. “This award, along with our Blue Ocean Grants and Challenges program (www.blueoceangrants.com), aims to recognize the role of fundamental research in shaping the photonics world,” said Rob Morris, Director of Marketing at Ocean Optics. “This year’s SPIE participants affirm the promise that young investigators represent for scientific discovery, innovation and industry growth.”

The Maya2000 Pro-VIS-NIR Scientific-grade spectrometer from OceanOptics.

The Maya2000 Pro-VIS-NIR has a low-etalon, scientific-grade detector that provides high quantum efficiency from ~400-1100 nm. Other features include triggering functions for providing accurate timing and synchronization between the spectrometer and other devices.

Three low-jitter trigger modes and normal (free-running spectral acquisition) operating modes are possible. Applications include pulsing a light source when acquiring a spectra and synchronizing spectral acquisition to coordinate with samples moving through a process stream or sensors reaching a certain temperature level. 

In addition, Maya2000 Pro-VIS-NIR supports RS-232 communications and has a 30-pin connector and 10 user-programmable digital I/Os. Its enhanced onboard programmable high-speed FPGA controller enables triggering and provides other performance advantages.

To create the winning video, Giddings made an arduous two-day trek to the summit of Japan’s Mt. Fuji. Using two Ocean Optics’ USB4000 spectrometers he captured spectral data of the light at the top of the summit from dawn to dusk over three days. The short video captures Giddings’ first impressions of the “Spiritual Light” of the Mt. Fuji sunrise -the fabled sunrise which earned Japan the moniker “The Land of the Rising Sun.”

Axel Emmermann (a repeat Runner-Up winner from 2010), was awarded the First Runner-Up video prize for Jaz – The Versatile One, demonstrating how to customize the slit size on Ocean Optics’ Jaz spectrometer. Winner of the Runner-Up prize, Bill Hughes, enlisted the help of his students at Park Forest Middle School to create The Archaic Technology Blues, illustrating the need for Ocean Optics’ equipment to engage his tech-savvy students.

Grand Prize winning photo Field Plot of Dreams, from Mina Talajoor, Duke Pauli and Jay Kalous.

The Grand Prize photo, Field Plot of Dreams, from Mina Talajoor and researchers Duke Pauli and Jay Kalous, documents a project aimed at combating world hunger. Using the Jaz spectrometer, the group is measuring light reflected off the canopies of wheat and barley to identify plants with the most advantageous characteristics for breeding.

Four additional photos were awarded prizes. Paul Tanner won the First Runner-Up prize for his entry Color, capturing the high tech process of matching ear prosthesis color pigment to that of human skin, using an Ocean Optics spectrometer and light source. The entries honored with Runner-Up prizes were: Susan DeVries, Male 15 Gets Probed; John Giddings, Telelumen at Mt. Fuji Summit Setup B; and Thomas Mazanec, Climbing for Eagle Egg Measurements.

All of the winning videos and photos can be seen on the contest website at www.oceanphotochallenge.com.

An Ocean Optics optical pH sensor system takes pH measurement of wine sample.

Ocean Optics’ optical pH sensor systems consist of a fiber optic probe that accommodates pH reactive patches, plus a light source, spectrometer and software. Indicator material patches and probes can be optimized for monitoring pH in a variety of samples and conditions, from clear and lighter-colored samples such as alcohols and solvents, to turbid and optically dense samples such as slurries and surface waters. Sensing patches can be applied directly to fiber optic probes or to cuvettes and other substrates.

In food, beverage and environmental testing environments, the often colored or muddied solutions make pH measurement a challenge. The R1000-4 probe design greatly increases back reflection from reflective pH patches, increasing signal-to-noise ratio for more accurate results. The combination of the R1000-4 probe and Ocean Optics reflective patches enables accurate, non-intrusive pH measurement for applications from fermentation monitoring of beer and wine, to testing of lake and river water.

Spectrometers from Ocean Optics will enable rapid sample analysis on Mars.

Ocean Optics supplied three modular HR2000 high-resolution miniature fiber optic spectrometers that were configured for analysis of Martian rock and soil composition using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). A laser mounted to the mast unit of the ChemCam instrument can fire at targets up to nine meters away, generating a series of laser pulses, the light from which is collected for the LIBS analysis.

The modular design of the HR2000, with selectable optical bench options such as detector, grating and entrance aperture (slit), made it an ideal choice for the mission. Each ChemCam spectrometer is configured to detect elemental signatures over a different wavelength of light: 240-336 nm, 380-470 nm, and 470-850 nm. The use of the three spectrometers simplifies the design and creates redundancy, as many elements under study have spectral lines in more than one of the spectral ranges covered by the three units.

Another reason the HR2000 was chosen for this mission was its reliability – a must for remote space operation where maintenance is impossible. Because the spectrometer contains no moving parts to fail, it can withstand the G forces associated with space travel. Additionally, the spectrometers were modified to handle extreme temperature ranges, radiation, shock and vibration.

The Curiosity Rover has been described by NASA as having the most advanced scientific instrumentation ever used to study the surface of Mars. With the analysis enabled by Ocean Optics’ equipment, sample analysis is exponentially faster. On prior missions, the time required to determine composition of a single sample was two to three days; ChemCam’s output is anticipated to be one dozen compositional measurements per day.

This is not the first space voyage for Ocean Optics equipment. In 2009, the company also collaborated on the ALICE spectrometer, which was instrumental in detecting the presence of water ice on the moon. Other NASA researchers have utilized Ocean Optics spectrometers for applications both on Earth and in space.