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Other News Items (2000-2003)

ORA Announces CODE V 9.4

December 2003 - ORA is pleased to announce CODE V® release 9.4, which adds powerful system visualization capabilities to this popular optical design program.  The new Interactive 3D Viewing feature empowers users to create detailed 3D renderings (solid, translucent, or wireframe) of an optical system, which can be dynamically rotated, panned, and zoomed. Within the interactive 3D model, surface properties can be viewed and changed with a mouse click, allowing the designer to efficiently modify system parameters. The ability to rapidly visualize and explore system characteristics provides a more powerful means of diagnosing design issues and visualizing complex system geometries.

CODE V 9.4 also provides closer integration with the opto-mechanical design process with the introduction of STEP, SAT, and enhanced IGES file export capabilities for data sharing with CAD solid modeling programs. These new capabilities are particularly useful for complex optical assemblies, such as off-axis systems with folded geometries, lens arrays, and densely packed systems.

CODE V 9.4 is scheduled to ship in December 2003. For more information, please send an email to info@opticalres.com.

ORA Announces CODE V 9.3

May 2003 - The latest release of CODE V® optical design software adds significantly more powerful modeling and programming capabilities, designed to benefit a broad range of users in a variety of industries, such as aerospace, consumer electronics, microlithography and telecommunications.  

CODE V 9.3 delivers a new Application Programming Interface (API) that enables execution of CODE V commands from any application supporting the Windows® COM architecture, such as Microsoft® Visual Basic®, Microsoft Office Applications, C++, or MATLAB®. This API facilitates the creation of user-defined functions and simplifies data sharing with other programs, improving user productivity. 

Numerous enhancements have also been made to CODE V's modeling capabilities, including the ability to apply diffractive properties to any substrate shape, and the ability to create user-defined surface properties. This provides users with more flexibility when specifying surface parameters such as coating characteristics, transmittance/reflectance properties, and polarization effects. CODE V 9.3 also expands the ability to model multi-configuration systems, such as scanners, by increasing the number of allowable system positions in a model to 99.

CODE V 9.3 is scheduled to ship in June 2003. For more information, please send an email to info@opticalres.com.

Dr. Kevin Thompson Elected SPIE Fellow

April 2003 - Dr. Kevin Thompson, Vice President of Optical Engineering Services at ORA, has been promoted to SPIE Fellow. Each year SPIE (the International Society for Optical Engineering) recognizes distinguished individuals in the field of optics and optoelectronics through its Fellows program. Dr. Thompson's significant contributions to the field include the development of new capabilities in optical design software, particularly for nonsymmetrical optical design, sensitivity analysis methods for one-of-a-kind optical systems, holographic optical design tools, and the enhancement of user environments for improving flexibility for state-of-the-art design problems. Dr. Thompson has also played a valuable leadership role, performing as an integral member of small working teams formed to provide state-of-the-art optical hardware functioning in complex, demanding, customer-defined scenarios. As well, Dr. Thompson was the principal optical designer for pioneering designs in EUV lithography, Generation III night vision systems, high performance targeting FLIRs, prototype HMDs with binary optics, and many others. His service to the optics community includes a key optical design role in developing the optical tests for the all of the new mirrors used in the COSTAR and WF/PC II instruments in the first Hubble Servicing Mission in addition to his earlier work on the Space Telescope Fine Guidance System. Dr. Thompson has authored numerous papers for SPIE conferences and served as a conference cochair and proceedings coeditor for the 1998 International Optics Design Conference, cosponsored by SPIE.

For a complete list of 2003's SPIE Fellows, see the OE Magazine Web site.

Kidger Optics Associates to Represent CODE V and LightTools in the United Kingdom and Ireland

January 2003 - Optical Research Associates is pleased to announce that Kidger Optics Associates will represent ORA software, including the CODE V and LightTools products, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, starting in January 2003. Kidger Optics Associates is based in East Sussex, England, and is a provider of high quality, expert optical design services, with more than 40 years of experience in both educational and professional services.

ORA is pleased to be working with Kidger Optics Associates. For more information, please visit Kidger Optics' Web site, www.kidger.com, or contact them directly by email: info@kidger.com.

ORA Announces CODE V Interface to OptiBPM

July 2002 –The newest release of CODE V, version 9.20, introduces an input/output interface that enables the program to exchange data with OptiBPM, a waveguide optics modeling system. Optiwave Corporation, a leading supplier of waveguide design and modeling software, has plans to support this interface in their OptiBPM software.

With this new interface, users can exchange complex optical field data between CODE V and OptiBPM. The data can be used as input to or output from the free space beam propagation calculations in CODE V. This is particularly useful for users who are performing optical simulations used to design photonics components.

CODE V 9.20 is anticipated to ship in August 2002. For more information, please send an email to info@opticalres.com.

ORA Announces CODE V 9.20

June 2002 - The newest release of CODE Voptical design software adds a number of features and enhancements that deliver more control and flexibility to designers of photonics systems, such as those used in optical telecommunications.  For example, CODE V 9.2 provides a streamlined procedure for analyzing and optimizing fiber optic coupling efficiency, and a more accurate and powerful method for determining Gaussian beam propagation parameters.Beam propagation analysis capabilities are further improved with the introduction of a new input/output interface that enables CODE V to exchange data with other software applications for photonics component simulation.

CODE V 9.2 also provides an expanded range of output options that deliver the software’s results in a format that is easier to understand, more usable, and more readily communicated to others.In particular, a completely new Gaussian beam visualization option plots the cross section of a Gaussian beam as it propagates through a system, simplifying the determination of beam waists and limiting apertures.Output summary tables have also been added to improve the organization and clarity of beam propagation data.

CODE V 9.2 is anticipated to ship in August 2002. For more information, please send an email to info@opticalres.com.

ORA Announces LightTools 3.3

May 2002 - LightTools 3.3 adds important features that simplify and streamline the modeling of complex optical systems.  For example, a new 3D Textures command facilitates the creation of repetitive texture patterns on a surface (i.e., bumps or grooves).  This feature is particularly valuable for modeling the scattering surfaces typically used in backlit LCD displays, such as in cell phones and PDAs.

LightTools 3.3 also adds a new Applications Programming Interface (API) that enables the creation of macros in any software package that supports Microsoft's COM technology, such as Visual Basic, Microsoft Excel and Matlab. This new API offers the programmer a wide range of development tools, supports greater functionality, and also delivers superior performance. Third-party software products can share and manipulate data seamlessly with LightTools’ COM API. A JumpStart library of macros supplied with the program provides existing routines to simplify the creation and analysis of sophisticated systems.

This new version also introduces the LumViewer, an advanced illumination analysis charting capability.  LumViewer displays 3D illuminance charts that can be easily manipulated (rotated, zoomed, and panned), and provide the user more ready access to both qualitative and quantitative views of illuminance data.

LightTools 3.3 is anticipated to ship at the end of May 2002.

ORA Presented with the "Arizona Spirit of Success" Award

February 2002 - ORA was presented with the 2002 Arizona Governor's "Spirit of Success" award, in recognition of ORA's contributions to Tucson's optics industry.

ORA opened an office in Tucson in February 2001. The Tucson office focuses on providing optical design and engineering services.

The Governor's "Spirit of Success Award" is given annually to companies in Arizona based upon their economic impact to the state.

ORA's Expansion Continues with Tucson Office Growth

September 2001 - Continued strong growth in the company’s software and engineering services businesses has prompted ORA to hire key new personnel in its Tucson, Arizona facility. This represents a major expansion for ORA. Many of the recently hired personnel are from the Tucson area.

Jasmin Cote has been hired as a Senior Systems Engineer in Optical Design, and is the lead engineer for photonics engineering services. Cote received his Ph.D. in Optical Science from the University of Arizona. Most recently, Cote was a Lead Optical Engineer at Chorum Technologies in Tucson.

Byron Taylor has been hired as a Systems Engineer in Optical Design, and is developing tools for advanced lithographic applications. Byron received his Ph.D. in Optical Science from the University of Arizona. Most recently, Taylor was Section Manager at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, providing support for equipment required to test CCD-based optical seekers.

Les Foo has been hired as a Senior Systems Engineer in Optical Design, and is focusing on the design of advanced EUV lithographic systems. Foo received his M.S. in Optical Science from the University of Arizona. Most recently, Foo was involved in the design of laser scanning systems at ETEC Systems in Tucson.

Bryan Stone has been hired as a Senior Systems Engineer, and is developing innovative algorithms for modeling the propagation of light through optical systems. Stone received his Ph.D. in Optics from the University of Rochester. Most recently, Stone was a Staff Scientist at Corning Tropel in Rochester, New York.

The number of full-time employees at ORA is now 80, which is a record for the company.

European Training Sessions: CODE V and LightTools
Strasbourg, France, November 5-8, 2001

Optical Research Associates, in association with its European representatives, Optoprim (France) and OEC (Germany), is pleased to announce four days of software training for ORA's European customers. With the cooperation of the Laboratoire des Systèmes Photoniques, these sessions will be held at the Département d'Education Permanente de l'Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg (DEPULP), which is located at 21 rue du Maréchal Lefebvre F-67100 Strasbourg.

In order to accommodate the needs of CODE V and LightTools customers of various interests and levels, several different activities are planned. The first day will be an all-day CODE V Users’ Group which is free for all CODE V customers. The remaining days will be split into parallel sessions for CODE V and LightTools training, which are described in more detail below. These seminars will include hands-on workshop sessions on PCs. The cost for either of these seminars will be 300 Euros per person, per day (900 Euros for all three training days). Lunch and refreshments will be supplied on all four days.

ORA Releases Next-Generation CODE V

August 2001 -- The ease of use of advanced optical design software takes a major step forward with the release of CODE V® version 9.0 by Optical Research Associates (ORA®). Specifically, this new version of 
CODE V unveils a completely new user interface designed to make both novice and advanced users more productive and efficient. 

The new interface presents an environment familiar to users of other popular Windows®-based applications, and includes functionality such as multiple windows, undo, context-sensitive help, right-click menus, and copy and paste capabilities. Data entry spreadsheets, tool bars, and interactive output windows help simplify and organize the often-complex tasks of optical system modeling, analysis and optimization. A New Lens Wizard aids newer users by automating the creation of optical systems, and provides access to a library of over 2,000 patents and other samples that serve as design starting points. Advanced optical designers can take advantage of extensive customization features, which enable menus, tool bars and other interface elements to be modified to meet specific user needs or preferences. CODE V's command line interface and macro programming language are also fully integrated with the graphical user interface, allowing simplified access to these powerful tools.

CODE V 9.0 will be available in September 2001.

ORA awarded International SEMATECH contract to advance 157nm microlithography system modeling

July 2001 - International SEMATECH has contracted with Optical Research Associates (ORA®) to extend the capabilities of their CODE V optical design software to support analysis of advanced optical systems for 157 nm microlithography. Specifically, this will involve the development of novel algorithms for the modeling of birefringent crystalline materials.

The existing capabilities in CODE V allow the simulation of uniaxial birefringent crystals and symmetric, stress-induced birefringence. This contract calls for ORA to extend these capabilities to accurately simulate the inherent behavior of transmissive materials such as CaF2. These materials exhibit complex, multi-axial, angle dependent birefringence effects at 157 nm. Because of the extreme performance demands placed on 157 nm microlithography systems, this level of increased modeling accuracy is critical in enabling the semiconductor industry to successfully transition their process to this wavelength. Work is scheduled for completion in November, 2001.

LightTools 3.2 Expands Backlit Display Modeling

July 2001 -- LightTools® Version 3.2 is the latest release of ORA's popular illumination design and analysis software package. This version incorporates a host of new features specifically aimed at strengthening the program’s modeling and analysis capabilities for backlit displays, such as those used in automotive instrument clusters and LCD panels for computers, cell phones and PDA’s. For example, this release adds the ability to simulate the scattering of light throughout the volume of a material, rather than just on its surface. Materials may be modeled as Mie scatterers or with a user defined function. Typical applications that will benefit from this include modeling of the lightpipes used in automobiles and the plastic diffusers utilized in LCD backlights.

This latest version also adds the ability to specify the absorption characteristics of a material as a function of wavelength. This enables the accurate modeling of colored and tinted materials, such as those used in color filters in an automotive instrument cluster. Another related new feature in LightTools Versions 3.2 is the ability to produce an accurate RGB output display for a model. The ability to view system output in true color (rather than in arbitrarily assigned false colors) is particularly valuable for designers of instrument panels, projection displays, and architectural lighting systems.

ORA Named a Key Optics Infrastructure Provider by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray

June 2001 - Optical Research Associates (ORA®), Pasadena, CA, has been named by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray as one of 12 key optics infrastructure providers in the emerging optical networking market. In the U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray report, "Optics Manufacturing & Capital Equipment Equity Research: Key Enablers in the Tera Era," ORA is the only company included that provides tools for free-space optical component design.

"Receiving this recognition from an organization as respected as U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray reaffirms ORA’s leadership position in the rapidly developing optical telecommunications industry," stated ORA President and CEO Robert Hilbert. "We believe that, as ORA continues to develop innovative technologies and to expand and diversify its customer base, we will remain a technology leader in this highly competitive and exciting market."

Gregory Konezny, vice president and senior Optical and Electronic Manufacturing Technologies analyst at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray authored the in-depth industry piece. Konezny expects the companies featured in the report "to grow rapidly as optical component and networking vendors increasingly look to third parties for technologies and services to improve manufacturing throughput and yields." The report was published this year; more information is available on U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray’s research Web site at www.gotoanalysts.com.

ORA is the world's leading developer of optical software, providing users with the CODE V® and LightTools® software packages. ORA is also the largest independent supplier of optical design and engineering services, with more than 4,000 completed projects since the company was founded in 1963.

About U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray

U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp, provides a full range of investment products and services to businesses, institutions and individuals. The company’s investment banking business has grown exponentially in the last several years by focusing on the needs of growth companies in the health care, technology, financial institutions, consumer and industrial growth sectors. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray has a national reputation for its expertise in fundamental research and equity and debt financing. U.S. Bancorp offers a comprehensive range of financial solutions through U.S. Bank, First American Asset Management, U.S. Bancorp Libra Investments and U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. Securities products and services offered through U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, Inc., member SIPC and NYSE, Inc., a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp.

OPTOPRIM to Represent ORA Software in France

February 2001 - Optical Research Associates is pleased to announce that OPTOPRIM will represent ORA software in France, starting March 1, 2001. OPTOPRIM is based in the Paris suburb of Malakoff and specializes in the distribution and support of optically related products. Their staff includes an optical engineering graduate of the Insitut d'Optique, who will be the primary contact for CODE V and LightTools.

ORA's previous representative in France, Photonetics, was acquired in late 2000 by the Danish company GN Nettest, and has changed its business focus from optical product distribution to fiber optics systems. OPTOPRIM has experience with a variety of technical products for optical applications, including software.

ORA is pleased to be working with OPTOPRIM. For more information, please visit OPTOPRIM's web site, www.optoprim.com, or contact them directly by email: info@optoprim.com.

ORA Opens Tucson Office

February 2001 - To support continued and vigorous growth of business opportunities, Optical Research Associates (ORA®), headquartered in Pasadena, CA, has opened a new, fourth office in Tucson, Arizona. This office will focus on providing optical design and engineering services. Officially opened on February 5, 2001, ORA Tucson is currently involved in projects centering on semiconductor microlithography, optical telecommunications, and remote sensing.

"Having a presence in Tucson will enable us to develop closer ties to local photonics companies, as well as with the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center and its staff, which is an excellent center for innovation with superbly trained graduates," said ORA CEO Robert Hilbert.

LightTools 3.1 Ships

March 2001 -- Optical Research Associates has shipped LightTools version 3.1.0 to all customers. ORA demonstrated the capabilities of this release at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers Conference in Detroit. This latest version of ORA's powerful LightTools illumination software  has many features that apply to automotive and other applications. These include:

  • Ability to apply special "optical property zones" to simulate textured surfaces as used in back-lit displays
  • Probabilistic ray splitting for faster and more accurate analysis of light pipes
  • Source definition by spectral range, for more accurate polychromatic illumination simulation
  • Chromaticity (CIE) calculations and display, important for display analysis
  • Receiver data filtering, to view illumination data based on source, wavelength, angle, and many other factors

This version also includes numerous improvement in the areas of user interface, complex surface modeling, macro language features, and supplied utility macros for various applications.

CODE V 8.60 Ships

March 2001 - Optical Research Associates has shipped CODE V 8.60 to all customers. ORA demonstrated CODE V 8.60 at the recent OFC conference in Anaheim. This release has a number of new features aimed at optical telecommunications component design and analysis. These features include:

  • Diffraction-based coupling efficiency analysis that includes polarization effects
  • Pre-defined error function for direct optimization of coupling efficiency
  • Pre-defined coupling efficiency criteria for tolerance analysis
  • Improvements to diffraction beam propagation including the ability to track energy losses

ORA has also introduced a new CODE V manual, "The CODE V Photonics Modeling Guide." This brief tutorial and case-study document is aimed specifically at new users of CODE V who wish to design and analyze components for telecom systems. An introductory chapter of this manual has been placed on-line as the CODE V Photonics FAQ.

OEC Represents CODE V and LightTools in Germany

February 2001 - ORA has established a relationship with Optics & Energy Concepts (OEC) of Munich, Germany, to represent CODE V throughout Germany and other German speaking countries. OEC is a company that specializes in optical software and design engineering services. They have been applying this expertise to the support of ORA's LightTools software since last summer, and with the addition of new staff members, they are now prepared to support CODE V customers at the same high level.

Our previous representative in Germany, Photonetics GmbH, was acquired in late 2000 by the Danish telecom firm GN Nettest. As a result, they have changed their business focus to telecom and away from product distribution and support. We are pleased to be able to extend our relationship with OEC to include CODE V. OEC can now offer its customers a full range of optical software and engineering services. Please contact OEC for more information.

Doug Nutter Joins ORA as Vice President of Business Development

January 2001 - Doug Nutter has joined ORA as Vice President of Business Development. In this position, he will be involved in identifying and leveraging value-added business opportunities building on ORA’s diverse activities in CODE V® and LightTools® software products, engineering services, and intellectual property development. "ORA has a proven leadership position in solving world class optical challenges. We are well positioned to target solutions at the optical needs of the growing telecom industry," said Mr. Nutter.

Mr. Nutter has 23 years of experience in high technology business marketing, operations and management with GE. Recently he served as President of Exatec, LLC, a joint venture between GE and Bayer A.G. He holds a B.S. in Physics from MIT.

"Doug's broad range of skills and experience will be invaluable to us as ORA continues to expand and diversify," stated ORA CEO Robert Hilbert. "His guidance and energy will be critical in helping us take advantage of the extraordinary business opportunities now present in the optics field."

ORA Forms New Photonics Systems Engineering Group

December 2000 - ORA has announced the formation of a new Photonics Systems Engineering (PSE) group within its Optical Engineering Services Group. The PSE group will focus primarily on supplying optical design and consulting services to the telecommunications market. The group will be led by Dr. John Rogers. Dr. Rogers, formerly Assistant Director of the Optical Engineering Services Group, has been promoted to Director of Photonic and Imaging Engineering in recognition of his leadership in this area. He holds a Ph.D. in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona, and has extensive experience in the design and testing of micro-optics and diffractive components.

"Over the past year, we’ve experienced tremendous growth in the demand for telecommunications and other photonics system design services," notes ORA CEO Robert Hilbert. "However, we’ve found that the telecommunications market segment has unique needs and characteristics, in terms of both technological expertise and service. Forming this new group enables us to optimize our support for this increasingly important market."

ORA® Wins $1.1M NIST Award for Photonics Software Development

October 2000 - Optical Research Associates (ORA®), Pasadena, CA, has been awarded over $1.1 million for the development of advanced optical analysis software algorithms by the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The ATP, which selects recipients through an annual award cycle, provides cost-shared funding to industry for high-risk R&D projects that have the potential to spark important, broad-based economic benefits for the United States. In granting the award, the ATP acknowledged that the ORA proposal, entitled "Fundamental Algorithms for Free Space Photonic Component Design and Tolerancing" could reduce manufacturing costs for photonics components by an average of about 3 percent, or $100 million annually, on a national basis through improved designs.

The primary focus of ORA's research will involve the development of faster, more accurate software tools with comprehensive capabilities for working with advanced photonic systems, particularly those found in next-generation telecommunications networks. This includes developing tools that can accurately simulate and increase the yields of photonic components, analyze and assign fabrication and alignment tolerances, and evaluate the impact of new technologies and component designs. A central challenge will be to write algorithms that take into account the full range of materials and optical effects; for example, no tools presently exist to accurately model, in a practical computing time, the propagation of polarized light through birefringent and gradient index (GRIN) materials. The new algorithms will address free space (versus guided-wave) propagation in both sequential and nonsequential analysis modes (in which one input beam can propagate along one or many possible paths). This effort will also include the development of simulation tools for physically larger objects, where Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods are proving to be too computer intensive to be practical.

"The great thing about the Advanced Technology Program is that it attracts visionary projects: the challenging, difficult-to-achieve, potentially far-reaching technologies that well may be the foundations of new industries or American products," noted Commerce Secretary Norman Y. Mineta in announcing the awards. "In partnering with industry on this research, the ATP is making a real contribution to the technological advances that fuel our economy."

"We’re proud that our proposal was one of the 54 accepted, from over 400 submitted," said ORA President Robert Hilbert. "Recently, telecommunications has emerged as one of the most economically significant applications for photonics technology. We believe that this development work will play a significant role in keeping the United States at the forefront of this technology."

Robert Hilbert Elected CEO of ORA®

October 2000 - Robert S. Hilbert has been elected Chief Executive Officer of Optical Research Associates (ORA®), Pasadena, CA. Hilbert has been with the company for 25 years, and has served as President since 1991. Hilbert succeeds Thomas I. Harris, who founded ORA in 1963, and has been its senior officer since that time. While retiring as CEO, Harris will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors, and plans to continue making technical contributions to ORA's products and services on a part-time basis.

"I'm extremely pleased to pass the leadership of ORA to Bob Hilbert," stated Thomas Harris. "He’s been an important member of our team for many years, and deserves credit for much of the growth that ORA has enjoyed. Most important, he understands the core values that have always driven ORA, and will continue to emphasize customer success as our highest goal."

LightTools 3.0 Ships

Fiber optic detail - OpenGL renderingAugust 2000 - LightTools 3.0 has been shipped to all current customers. LightTools 3.0 incorporates a new OpenGL rendering engine for faster, more realistic display of 3D models. Also included in this version is the ability to use the mouse to rotate, pan, and zoom the LightTools 3D display. Version 3.0 also features more general scattering capability in the form of BSDF support (bi-directional scattering distributions function). This allows modeling of anisotropic scattering, and features have also been added for aim areas to support importance sampling in regions of interest for analysis. This can greatly improve the speed of ray tracing for models incorporating scattering surfaces, making the program more useful for stray light as well as general illumination applications. Spline-surface ray tracing has also been speeded up, and methods for defining splines directly within LightTools are now available (previously splines were supported only through CAD imports). LightTools 3.0 also ships with several useful new macros, including a macro to define a coating as a multi-layer stack, automatically creating the performance-based coating files that the program uses.

In the LightTools Illumination module, improvements have been made in plotting, with Cartesian as well as polar plots now available. Various modifications to illumination simulations now allow them to be more efficient, by specifying aim areas and weighting factors for importance sampling.

With these improvements, LightTools can now model more optical systems than ever while becoming even easier and faster to use.

New OEC Web Site Online

August 2000 - Optics & Energy Concepts (OEC), the Munich-based company which represents LightTools in Germany, has a new web site.  In addition to information about LightTools, the web site, http://www.oec.net, also describes OEC's research and engineering capabilities in non-imaging optics. It also contains valuable educational background material and references on these and related topics.  Most of the web site is in English and would be useful to anyone with an interest in non-imaging optics.

ORA Active at SPIE San Diego

July 2000 - Optical Research Associates will have a substantial presence at the SPIE Annual Meeting in San Diego, July 30 through August 4, 2000. Highlights will include:

  • Exhibit booth where the latest versions of ORA's software will be presented, LightTools 3.0 and CODE V 8.50. Information on optical engineering services will also be available.
  • Announcement of winners of ORA's first optical design contest for students.
  • Presentation of technical papers by staff engineers Keith Doyle and Eric Fest.
  • Three SPIE optics education sessions by Mark Kahan.
  • SPIE short course "Design of Efficient Illumination Systems" by Bill Cassarly.
  • Presentations at the Lens Design Technical Group by Matthew Rimmer (modeling fiber optics systems in CODE V) and Bill Cassarly (modeling light pipes and fibers in illumination systems).

Additional details on many of these activities can be found below.  We hope you will stop and visit our booth in San Diego and attend any of the presentations that may interest you. For more information, contact ORA.

CODE V 8.50 Offers Improved Coupling Efficiency, Tolerancing

July 2000 - CODE V Version 8.50 will be released soon. This new version offers a number of technical improvements that are especially valuable in photonics and telecommunications applications. The fiber coupling efficiency calculation (CEF) has been expanded to allow user definition of the input wave front by several methods, in addition to the original PSF calculation. Now you can define the fiber input as a Gaussian beam, with general intensity and phase distributions (.INT files), or with complex field data from the diffraction beam propagation option (BPR).

User-defined tolerancing has also been improved. This tolerancing method allows you to use any quantity that CODE V can calculate in a macro as a tolerance performance criterion. Manufacturing errors could be chosen from a large pre-defined set, but new types of errors could not be defined. Since photonics systems often include specialized devices such as Faraday rotators, the new user tolerancing routines allow the definition and inclusion of new macro-defined manufacturing errors (such as change in retardance of a polarizer) as well. Graphical output has also been added.

Other improvements include new types of INT files (two-dimensional data distributions used to define phase, intensity, and other properties). These now include coating thickness variation files as well as files to vary birefringence as a function of surface position. Polarization ray tracing is now usable in optimization, not only in diffraction analysis. Gradient index can now be defined in a global coordinate system, simplifying modeling for devices such as beam-splitter cubes where the index distribution of several surfaces must match up precisely.

These technical improvements continue to expand the range of optical systems that can be modeled, designed, and analyzed with CODE V.

Error Analysis of Photonics Device

July 2000 - In a paper to be presented at SPIE in San Diego, ORA's Keith Doyle and William M. Bell of Topsfield Engineering Services perform a multi-tool analysis of a photonics device called an optical circulator. The paper, "Thermo-elastic wavefront and polarization error analysis of a telecommunication optical circulator," is based on simulations performed in MSC's NASTRAN and in C&R's Thermal Desktop software, with optical analysis done in CODE V.

NASTRAN was used for thermal and thermo-elastic analysis, with results converted into Zernike polynomial .INT files for import to CODE V. CODE V was used for both transmission analysis (including stress birefringence .INT modeling, new in CODE V 8.50) and fiber coupling efficiency. CODE V's ability to import surface deformations and stress birefringence changes combined with its polarization modeling capabilities to allow very sophisticated analysis of the perturbed system. This is a good demonstration of ORA's engineering and software capabilities for telecommunication device design and analysis. This paper is part of the session "Current Developments in Optical Engineering IX."


Stress Distribution in beam splitter cube (NASTRAN model)

Paper on Modeling Anisotropic Scattering Surfaces

July 2000 - ORA's Eric Fest and David Jenkins will present a paper at SPIE in San Diego on the scattering methods developed for LightTools 3.0. The paper, entitled "Modeling Anisotropic Scattering Surfaces in Illumination Software," is part of the session "Scattering and Surface Roughness III." Here is a brief abstract of this paper:

Many surfaces scatter light in an anisotropic way, that is, for a normally incident beam, the distribution of scattered light varies as a function of the azimuthal angle of the scattered direction. Examples of surfaces with anisotropic scattering characteristics are brushed metal reflectors and certain types of diffusers. A model, based on an anisotropic scatter model proposed by Ward, is introduced. The ability to fit this model to various sets of measured BSDF data is investigated. Ray tracing simulations are performed using the fitted parameters, and the results are compared with experiments.

SPIE Short Courses for Optics Education

July 2000 - ORA has always supported optics education at all levels. ORA's Mark Kahan will present three short courses at SPIE in San Diego, one aimed at teachers, another at intermediate age students, and a third intended for younger students. All three short courses will cover the fundamentals needed to understand basic optical concepts. They will also show some examples of how these concepts are used in various applications, as well as how they can be demonstrated in the classroom. The sessions will concentrate on concepts and understanding, not math, and will use simple experiments to show how to demonstrate the basic properties of light and light sources, and the fundamental properties of lasers.

OEC Represents LightTools in Germany

July 2000 - ORA has a new representative for LightTools in Germany and Austria.  Optics & Energy Concepts (OEC) is a Munich-based company which specializes in non-imaging illumination and light transfer solutions.  One particular specialty of OEC is the design of free-form surfaces, including the development of unique design methods and specialized software.  Because of their interest in non-imaging optical design, OEC is very well suited to represent and support LightTools and LightTools Illumination in the German-speaking areas of Europe.  OEC will also offer optical engineering design services to its clients (these services are independent of ORA's engineering services and are contracted separately from LightTools software).  The combination of illumination design capabilities and LightTools software will allow OEC to tailor their services to the needs of each customer. 

Note that Photonetics GmbH will continue to provide sales and support for CODE V in German speaking areas of Europe, though they will no longer offer LightTools.  You can reach OEC by email, or find complete contact information for both OEC and for Photonetics GmbH on the international information page.

Photonics Applications of CODE V at OFC 2000

CODE V 1:4 fiber coupler
February 2000 - To highlight some of the capabilities of CODE V for photonics device modeling, ORA will be participating in a software workshop at OFC 2000 (Optical Fiber Communications Conference) at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD.  This workshop (W205) is entitled "Simulation tools for system, device and network modeling" and will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Monday, March 6, 2000 (note that this special software workshop is part of the technical program, not part of the exhibits -- ORA will not have a booth at this conference).  ORA will be one of a number of software companies making brief presentations of their programs' photonics capabilities.  This will be followed by discussion and demonstrations for attendees in a poster/tabletop format.

Photonics devices include fiber optic couplers, optical interconnects, filters, multiplexors and other devices that are used in optical communications and electro-optical applications.  CODE V  has several capabilities specifically oriented to the design of such systems,  including gradient index, diffractive optical elements, multi-layer coatings, polarization, non-sequential surfaces, and diffraction beam propagation. CODE V's powerful macro language also helps in specialized modeling and analysis of photonics devices.  ORA will present and demonstrate some of these applications at the OFC workshop.

ORA has prepared a white paper that provides examples of photonics components that can be modeled with CODE V. You can download this paper as an Adobe Acrobat file.

ORA Presentations and Exhibit at SAE 2000

January 2000 - ORA will be presenting at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2000 World Congress on Wednesday, March 8, 2000. ORA will present two technical sessions:  

  •  "Analysis of Single Lens Arrays Using Convolution," by Andrew Riser and William J. Cassarly
  •  "Automated Design of a Uniform Distribution Using Faceted Reflectors,"  by William J. Cassarly, Stuart R. David, David G. Jenkins,  Andrew Riser, and Thomas L. Davenport (Univ. of Arizona)

The conference will be held in Detroit, Michigan from March 6 to 9, 2000. ORA will also be exhibiting at this conference.  Please visit our booth to learn more about our technical presentations, and to find out about new macros and applications for LightTools Illumination. For more information about SAE exhibits, please see http://www.sae.org/congress.

Earlier News Items

News items from 1995 to 1999, including applications of LightTools for plastic optics, recognition by NASA of ORA's contributions to the U.S. space program, early awards for LightTools, recognition of educational value of ORA's "Optics for Kids" web site, and more.

 

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