OPTICS THAT DEFEND,
BUILD, CURE AND DISCOVER...
FOR THIS WORLD
AND BEYOND.
www.lacroixoptical.com
870-698-1881 Batesville, Arkansas
• • •• •
PRECISION OPTICS FLEXIBLE QUANTITIES EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE
For three generations, LaCroix Optical has been manufacturing precision
optics from next-generation aerospace and sophisticated military applications, to
the latest scientific and medical device technology.
• High volumes or prototypes—Made in the USA
• Cost effective alternative to offshore optics suppliers
• Intellectual property and technical data remain secure stateside
• Short lead times available
• Advanced metrology
• Custom coatings—UV to SWIR
• Exceptional customer service
• Attention to detail and quality in every optical component we ship
Quality insured, domestically produced precision optics since 1947
Custom Manufacturer of Precision Optics
Wavelength (nm)
Transmission (dB)
5220 5230 5240 5250 5260
0
- 2
- 4
- 6
- 8
- 10
-12
Wavelength (nm)
Transmission (dB)
200 µm 30 µm
5252.1 5252.7
Loss = 0.29 sB/cm
k = 0.165
R = 0.115
Qin = 4× 105
Measured
Fitted
5253.3
0
- 2
- 4
- 6
- 8
- 10
-12
newsbreaks
Substrate-blind platform speeds photonic integration
Photonic-device designs often cannot be transferred between
different platforms due to substrate-specific constraints, mean-
ing that photonic-integration technologies on common sub-
strates (CMOS on silicon or III-V optoelectronics on indium
phosphide) are well-developed, while designs on unconvention-
al materials like polymers, metals, or optical crystals are still in
their infancy. But by using transition metal oxides and high-in-
dex amorphous chalcogenide glasses, researchers from the Uni-
versity of Delaware (Newark) collaborating with international
researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF; Orlan-
do), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Cambridge),
the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of South-
ampton (England) have developed a substrate-blind platform
that can tolerate deposition on a host of relevant substrates
without requiring epitaxial growth and can be performed at
temperatures <250°C.
The substrate-blind integration process was demonstrated
on three emerging substrate platforms: infrared (IR) optical
crystals, flexible polymer materials, and 2D materials like gra-
phene. The glasses were deposited on these substrates using
thermal evaporation or solution-based processing and then
patterned as waveguides, resonators, or gratings via photo-
lithography or direct nanoimprinting. For microdisk resona-
tors fabricated on mid-IR transparent calcium fluoride (CaF2)
crystals and flexible polymer substrates, quality (Q) factors
of 4 x 105 and 5 x 105 at wavelengths of 5. 2 μm and 1550
nm were achieved—world re-
cords for planar mid-IR resona-
tors and flexible resonator de-
vices. Complex 3D structures
can also be fabricated through
sequential multilayer glass de-
position and patterning. Ref-
erence: Juejun Hu, SPIE News-
room, October 2014; doi:
10.1117/2.1201410.005643.
