Ophir Optronics

Last updated
Ophir Optronics Solutions, Inc.
Company typeOwned by MKS Instruments, Inc.
IndustryOptronics solutions
Founded1976;48 years ago (1976)
Headquarters Jerusalem, Israel
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Kobi Lasri, Reuven Silverman
ProductsLaser measurement instruments, infrared optics, optics for fiber and CO2 lasers, 3D non-contact measurement
Number of employees
360
Website ophiropt.com

Ophir Optronics Solutions is a multinational company that sells optronics solutions. The company develops, manufactures and markets infrared (IR) optics and laser measurement equipment. Founded in 1976, the company was traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange from 1991 until it was acquired, and was a constituent of its Tel-tech index. [1] Headquartered in the Har Hotzvim industrial park in Jerusalem, Israel Ophir owns a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m2) complex that includes the group's main production plant. Ophir has additional production plants in North Andover, Massachusetts and Logan, Utah in the US and sales offices in the US, Japan and Europe. In 2006, Ophir acquired Spiricon Group, a US-based company in the beam-profiling market. Ophir's sales increased sharply from $45 million in 2005 to $74 million in 2007. During 2007, Ophir established a Swiss-based subsidiary (Ophir Optics Europe GmbH) to market lenses and components for surveillance and imaging systems in Europe. In May 2010, Ophir acquired Photon Inc., another US-based beam-profiling company. [2] Newport Corporation, a global supplier in photonics solutions, completed its acquisition of the Ophir company in October 2011. [3] In 2016, metrology firm MKS Instruments bought Newport Corporation, including the Ophir brand, for $980 million. [4]

Contents

In 2017, Ophir Optronics, Ophir Optics Group, released the LightIR range of infrared thermal imaging zoom lenses, designed for UAVs, drones, and handheld devices. [5] At Eurosatory 2018, Ophir introduced another infrared thermal imaging lens to the range, the LightIR 15-75mm f/1.2, for uncooled 10–12-μm-pixel-size long–wave infrared (LWIR) detectors. [6] In 2019, Ophir expanded its family of cooled MWIR long range lenses, adding 900mm and 1350mm FLs, for use in aviation and observation systems. [7]

In January 2020, Ophir's SupIR 50-1350mm f/5.5, an MWIR long range lens for thermal imaging cameras, was named a 2020 SPIE's PRISM Awards finalist in the category of Safety and Security. [8]

Ophir Groups and Subsidiaries

Ophir Photonics Group The Ophir Photonics Group manufactures, calibrates and sells a complete line of laser measurement instruments for analyzing and measuring laser power, energy, beam profile and spectrum used in industry, telecom, medical and scientific research. Products include reliable and accurate laser power and energy meters, laser beam diagnostic instrumentation, laser measurement tools and spectral analysis instruments, which comply with NIST calibration.

Infrared Optics Group The Infrared Optics Group designs and produces optical lenses and elements for military, security and commercial markets. All manufacturing is done in-house, using automated CNC and patented Diamond Turning technologies. Ophir has expanded its optical and mechanical design department to offer lens assemblies and broadened its product lines to include the design and manufacture of optical elements for CO2 high power lasers used in industry for laser cutting and welding machines.

3-D Non-Contact Measurement Group (Optimet) Optical Metrology Ltd., an Ophir subsidiary, has developed new non-contact 3-dimensional measurement systems using its patented conoscopic holography technology. Optimet sensors provide precise 3-D measurements for applications in the motor, dentistry, electronics, steelworks, mechanics and aviation, quality control, in-process inspection and reverse engineering industries.

In July 2008, the FIMI fund invested $23.5 million in Ophir in exchange for five million shares of the company and 1.75 million warrants, exercisable within five years at $5.75 each.

In December 2016 Haaretz reported that Ophir Optronics was subject of British intelligence gathering, as it was believed connected to Israeli defense fiber optics systems. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forward-looking infrared</span> Type of thermographic camera

Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photonics</span> Technical applications of optics

Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Photonics is closely related to quantum electronics, where quantum electronics deals with the theoretical part of it while photonics deal with its engineering applications. Though covering all light's technical applications over the whole spectrum, most photonic applications are in the range of visible and near-infrared light. The term photonics developed as an outgrowth of the first practical semiconductor light emitters invented in the early 1960s and optical fibers developed in the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermographic camera</span> Imaging device using infrared radiation

A thermographic camera is a device that creates an image using infrared (IR) radiation, similar to a normal camera that forms an image using visible light. Instead of the 400–700 nanometre (nm) range of the visible light camera, infrared cameras are sensitive to wavelengths from about 1,000 nm to about 14,000 nm (14 μm). The practice of capturing and analyzing the data they provide is called thermography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night-vision device</span> Device that allows visualization of images in levels of light approaching total darkness

A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The device enhances ambient visible light and converts near-infrared light into visible light which can be seen by the user; this is known as I2 (image intensification). By comparison, viewing of infrared thermal radiation is referred to as thermal imaging and operates in a different section of the infrared spectrum. A night vision device usually consists of an image intensifier tube, a protective housing, and may have some type of mounting system. Many NVDs also include a protective sacrificial lens, mounted over the front lens (ie. objective lens) on NVDs to protect the latter from damage by environmental hazards, and some can incorporate telescopic lenses. The image produced by an NVD is typically monochrome green, as green was considered to be the easiest color to look at for prolonged periods in the dark. Night vision devices may be passive, relying solely on ambient light, or may be active, using an IR (infrared) illuminator to visualize the environment better.

Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerr-lens modelocking</span> Laser mode-locking method

Kerr-lens mode-locking (KLM) is a method of mode-locking lasers via the nonlinear optical Kerr effect. This method allows the generation of pulses of light with a duration as short as a few femtoseconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser safety</span> Protocols for safe use, design and implementation of laser technology

Laser radiation safety is the safe design, use and implementation of lasers to minimize the risk of laser accidents, especially those involving eye injuries. Since even relatively small amounts of laser light can lead to permanent eye injuries, the sale and usage of lasers is typically subject to government regulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multispectral imaging</span> Capturing image data across multiple electromagnetic spectrum ranges

Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, i.e. infrared and ultra-violet. It can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its visible receptors for red, green and blue. It was originally developed for military target identification and reconnaissance. Early space-based imaging platforms incorporated multispectral imaging technology to map details of the Earth related to coastal boundaries, vegetation, and landforms. Multispectral imaging has also found use in document and painting analysis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury cadmium telluride</span> Alloy

Hg1−xCdxTe or mercury cadmium telluride is a chemical compound of cadmium telluride (CdTe) and mercury telluride (HgTe) with a tunable bandgap spanning the shortwave infrared to the very long wave infrared regions. The amount of cadmium (Cd) in the alloy can be chosen so as to tune the optical absorption of the material to the desired infrared wavelength. CdTe is a semiconductor with a bandgap of approximately 1.5 electronvolts (eV) at room temperature. HgTe is a semimetal, which means that its bandgap energy is zero. Mixing these two substances allows one to obtain any bandgap between 0 and 1.5 eV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspheric lens</span> Type of lens

An aspheric lens or asphere is a lens whose surface profiles are not portions of a sphere or cylinder. In photography, a lens assembly that includes an aspheric element is often called an aspherical lens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autocollimator</span> Optical instrument for non-contact measurement of angles

An autocollimator is an optical instrument for non-contact measurement of angles. They are typically used to align components and measure deflections in optical or mechanical systems. An autocollimator works by projecting an image onto a target mirror and measuring the deflection of the returned image against a scale, either visually or by means of an electronic detector. A visual autocollimator can measure angles as small as 1 arcsecond, while an electronic autocollimator can have up to 100 times more resolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nondispersive infrared sensor</span> Infrared detector without diffracting element dispersing the IR wave lengths

A nondispersive infrared sensor is a simple spectroscopic sensor often used as a gas detector. It is non-dispersive in the fact that no dispersive element is used to separate out the broadband light into a narrow spectrum suitable for gas sensing. The majority of NDIR sensors use a broadband lamp source and an optical filter to select a narrow band spectral region that overlaps with the absorption region of the gas of interest. In this context narrow may be 50-300nm bandwidth. Modern NDIR sensors may use Microelectromechanical systems (MEMs) or mid IR LED sources, with or without an optical filter.

Photothermal spectroscopy is a group of high sensitivity spectroscopy techniques used to measure optical absorption and thermal characteristics of a sample. The basis of photothermal spectroscopy is the change in thermal state of the sample resulting from the absorption of radiation. Light absorbed and not lost by emission results in heating. The heat raises temperature thereby influencing the thermodynamic properties of the sample or of a suitable material adjacent to it. Measurement of the temperature, pressure, or density changes that occur due to optical absorption are ultimately the basis for the photothermal spectroscopic measurements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser beam profiler</span> Measurement device

A laser beam profiler captures, displays, and records the spatial intensity profile of a laser beam at a particular plane transverse to the beam propagation path. Since there are many types of lasers—ultraviolet, visible, infrared, continuous wave, pulsed, high-power, low-power—there is an assortment of instrumentation for measuring laser beam profiles. No single laser beam profiler can handle every power level, pulse duration, repetition rate, wavelength, and beam size.

Infrared vision is the capability of biological or artificial systems to detect infrared radiation. The terms thermal vision and thermal imaging, are also commonly used in this context since infrared emissions from a body are directly related to their temperature: hotter objects emit more energy in the infrared spectrum than colder ones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy</span> Technique to analyze the infrared spectrum of matter

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) is a technique used to obtain an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a solid, liquid, or gas. An FTIR spectrometer simultaneously collects high-resolution spectral data over a wide spectral range. This confers a significant advantage over a dispersive spectrometer, which measures intensity over a narrow range of wavelengths at a time.

The technique of vibrational analysis with scanning probe microscopy allows probing vibrational properties of materials at the submicrometer scale, and even of individual molecules. This is accomplished by integrating scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and vibrational spectroscopy. This combination allows for much higher spatial resolution than can be achieved with conventional Raman/FTIR instrumentation. The technique is also nondestructive, requires non-extensive sample preparation, and provides more contrast such as intensity contrast, polarization contrast and wavelength contrast, as well as providing specific chemical information and topography images simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infrared Nanospectroscopy (AFM-IR)</span> Infrared microscopy technique

AFM-IR or infrared nanospectroscopy is one of a family of techniques that are derived from a combination of two parent instrumental techniques. AFM-IR combines the chemical analysis power of infrared spectroscopy and the high-spatial resolution of scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The term was first used to denote a method that combined a tuneable free electron laser with an atomic force microscope equipped with a sharp probe that measured the local absorption of infrared light by a sample with nanoscale spatial resolution.

Active thermography is an advanced nondestructive testing procedure, which uses a thermography measurement of a tested material thermal response after its external excitation. This principle can be used also for non-contact infrared non-destructive testing (IRNDT) of materials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debabrata Goswami</span> Indian chemist

Debabrata Goswami FInstP FRSC, is an Indian chemist and the Prof. S. Sampath Chair Professor of Chemistry, at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. He is also a professor of The Department of Chemistry and The Center for Lasers & Photonics at the same Institute. Goswami is an associate editor of the open-access journal Science Advances. He is also an Academic Editor for PLOS One and PeerJ Chemistry. He has contributed to the theory of Quantum Computing as well as nonlinear optical spectroscopy. His work is documented in more than 200 research publications. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Fellow of the Institute of Physics, the SPIE, and The Optical Society. He is also a Senior Member of the IEEE, has been awarded a Swarnajayanti Fellowship for Chemical Sciences, and has held a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship. He is the third Indian to be awarded the International Commission for Optics Galileo Galilei Medal for excellence in optics.

References

  1. Tel Aviv Stock Exchange
  2. Ophir Photonics Press Release
  3. Newport Corporation Press Release
  4. "MKS Instruments buys Newport in $980M debt-financed deal". optics.org. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  5. "Ophir Optics Unveils Lightweight Continuous Zoom Lens for UAVs". Unmanned Systems Technology. 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  6. "Ophir LightIR Continuous Zoom Lens for Uncooled LWIR Cameras - Novus Light Today". www.novuslight.com. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  7. "Ophir® IR Optics Expands Its Family Of Cooled MWIR Long Range Lenses, Adding 900mm And 1350mm FLs Suited For Aviation And Observation Systems". www.aviation-defence-universe.com. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  8. "Finalists". PRISM AWARDS. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
  9. "U.K. Intelligence Called Israel 'True Threat' to Middle East". Haaretz. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.