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January 2000 |
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Kicking off the new millennium, SPIE's Photonics West technical symposia and exhibition will fill the San Jose (CA) Convention Center, January 22-28. More than 12,000 are expected to attend from all over the world: 5,000 technical attendees, 4,000 for the exhibits only, and 3,000 exhibitor representatives. Companies displaying products in the exhibit hall, which is completely sold out, number around 550. Eighty-five conferences are scheduled, making up four symposia: BiOS 2000, the International Biomedical Optics Symposium; Lase 2000, concentrating on High-Power Lasers and Applications; Optoelectronics 2000, featuring Integrated Optoelectronic Devices; and Electronic Imaging 2000, centering on its Science and Technology. The opening shot is what SPIE is calling "Saturday Night Hot Topics" on January 22. From 7:30 to 9 pm, a group of conference chairs and other presenters at BiOS talk about leading developments in the application of photonics to medicine. Other special events take place throughout the week. On Monday from 2-5 pm, a working session will consider the new draft standard on optical glass that will replace MIL-G-1748. From 7-9 pm, a technical group meeting on research, engineering, and applications of holography takes place, as does a workshop called "Transitioning Optical Coherence Tomography to Industry and Health Care." Tuesday through Thursday sees two-hour (8-10 am) workshops on the future of optoelectronic markets, sponsored by the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association: Optical Communications (Jan. 25), Electronic Imaging (Jan. 26) and Defense Applications (Jan. 27). A technical group meeting on Wednesday (4-6 pm) centers on Electronic Imaging, and two on Thursday on High-Speed Photography, Videography, and Photonics (12-1:50 pm) and Laser Communications (7:30-9 pm). BiOS 2000 focuses on the following biomedical programs:
Among the subjects treated are diagnostic and therapeutic cardiovascular interventions; innovations in breast cancer diagnosis and minimally invasive therapy, including laser-interstitial thermotherapy; optical methods for tumor treatment and detection, including photodynamic therapy; and biomedical applications of free-electron lasers. Micro- and nanotechnology for biomedical and environmental applications is a highlight of the Clinical Instrumentation conference, which also includes a Critical Review called "Matching the Energy Source to the Clinical Need." Critical Reviews convene a group of invited recognized experts, each of whom presents an extended invited paper on his or her specific field. The collection of presentations is intended to be an authoritative overview of the technology. Biomedical spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, and other novel techniques are a key focus of the Optical Diagnostic Technologies conference. Lase 2000, drawing a bead on high-power lasers and applications, has two programs:
In the first, a Critical Review on novel materials and crystal-growth techniques for nonlinear optical devices is followed by a conference on nonlinear materials, devices, and applications. Other conferences include solid-state lasers, laser resonators, gas and chemical lasers and intense beam applications, high-power electrical lasers and beam control, and free-space laser communication. In the second, laser applications in microelectronic and optoelectronic manufacturing are stressed, along with laser plasma generation and diagnostics. Optoelectronics 2000, encompassing Integrated Optoelectronic Devices, has three programs:
These will be introduced by a series of plenary presentations. On Monday at 8:30 am, the subjects are "Atom Interferometry in Materials Research" and "Two-Dimensional Photonic Bandgap Lasers and Waveguides." Following at 9:15 are "Progress and Commercialization of InGaN- based Violet/Blue Laser Diodes" by a representative of the Nichia Corp. of Japan, and "Plastic Optoelectronics." On Tuesday at 8:00 am the subject is "Soliton Telecommunications." Following at 8:40 is "Polymers in Integrated Photonics -- Applications Where They Have the Advantage," and at 9:20 am "Innovative Photonic Components Technology for Communications Systems." In the first of Optoelectronics 2000's programs there are presentations on micro- and nano-photonic materials and devices, the research, manufacturing, and applications of light-emitting diodes, organic photonics materials and devices, rare-earth-doped materials and devices, and sol gel optics, among others. The second program includes papers on laser diodes in industrial measurement, imaging, and sensors applications, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, and photodetector materials and devices, among others. In the third, there are presentations on WDM and photonic switching devices for network applications, diffractive/ holographic technologies and spatial light modulators, and photonics packaging and integration, among others. Concurrent with these programs, running from Sunday, Jan. 23, through Friday, Jan. 28, there are 87 courses and 6 workshops in the Continuing Education Program, for which CEUs -- Continuing Education Units, a nationally recognized unit of measure -- are awarded to registrants who complete the courses. A special pavilion will be devoted to the Electronic Imaging 2000 symposium, sponsored by SPIE and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology. The symposium's 26 conferences are organized into eight programs: 2D Displays; 3D Capture and Display; Electronic Imaging Systems and Image Processing Methods; Document Imaging, Sensor, and Camera Systems; Image Sequence and Data Analysis; Multimedia Processing and Applications; Optical Security and Anti-counterfeiting; and Image and Video Communications and Processing. The sessions Tuesday through Thursday will be launched each day by a plenary presentation: "Evolution of Digital Photography" (Tues.), "The Co-evolution of Humans and Computers" (Wed.), and "Multispectral Imaging: Fundamentals and Applications" (Thurs.). Individual conferences deal with such topics as projection displays; liquid crystal materials, devices, and flat panel displays; holographic materials; stereoscopic displays and applications; applications of artificial neural networks in image processing; sensors, cameras, and systems for scientific/industrial applications; Internet imaging; security and watermarking of multimedia contents; and optical security and counterfeit deterrence techniques. Product Forums: "Town Squares" In recent years, SPIE has introduced a talked-about series of Product Forums, which take place in the areas called "Town Squares" set aside in the exhibit hall. In a Product Forum, an exhibiting company demonstrates new and successful products in half-hour question-and-answer sessions. This year, in the Laser Town Square, Laser Science introduces its m-TEA carbon dioxide laser (10:30 am Tuesday); QED Technologies demonstrates the innovative polishing technique for high-precision plano, spherical, and aspherical optics using magnetorheological finishing (11:30 am Wednesday); the market research firm ElectroniCast presents an analysis and 10-year forecast of the global consumption of optical fiber, planar waveguide, and free-space signal and interconnect components (12:30 pm Tuesday); and New Focus shows real-time manufacturing testing using a swept wavelength laser (2:30 pm Tuesday), among other events. In the Photonics Town Square, Arris International presents a Product Forum on new materials for the new millennium (12:30 pm Tuesday); Breault Research Organization shows off ASAP 6.6, the latest version of its well-known optical modeling and analysis software (10:30 am Wednesday); and OFC's Diamond Turning Division demonstrates the efficiencies obtained using diamond-turning optical systems having comachined datums for ease of alignment (12:30 pm Wednesday), among other sessions. In the Electronic Imaging Town Square, GF Measurement demonstrates how the digital projection of light by digital micromirror devices invented by Texas Instruments (Dallas) opens up new possibilities in optical data projection (10:30 am Tuesday); Kodak Microelectronics Division shows its BluePlus line of high-performance CCD image sensors (11:30 Tuesday); and Foresight Imaging stages a demonstration of its automatic configuration software Auto-SYNC, among other sessions. Symposium registration fees include admission to all conference sessions, either one or two proceedings volumes, one abstract book, plenaries, panels, poster sessions, receptions, coffee breaks, and exhibits admission. For more information, or to register, contact SPIE at (360) 676-3290; fax: (360) 647-1445; e-mail: pw@spie.org; web: www.spie.org/info/pw/.
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