From Microscope to Telescope

Subic telecom undertakes P212M fiber optic project

Subic Telecommunications Company Inc. (Subictel), a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company, is set to increase its capacity for data services in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone with the implementation of its fiber optic-project worth more than P200 million.

Subictel general manager Henry Abes said the telecommunications company will soon be part of PLDT's Domestic Fiber Optic Network, the country's most extensive fiber optic network.

The P212-million project, Abes added, will be completed by PLDT before the year ends.

"This will increase the Internet bandwidth capacity of Subictel, provide better quality of service, and allow for new services such as bundled voice, data and video," said Abes.

"Subic Bay Freeport Zone, in particular, will now become a much more attractive haven for ICT (information and communications technology) investments such as call centers and BPOs-companies that need high bandwidth services and reliable connections," he added.

Abes said the new network will span 285 kilometers of fiber optic cables that will form several redundant loops covering Angeles, Clark, Porac, San Fernando, Guagua, Lubao and Floridablanca in Pampanga, and Dinalupihan in Bataan, Subic Town in Zambales, and Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Olongapo.

Subictel has just connected another 45-mbps bandwidth pipe from PLDT, which enables them to double last year's bandwidth capacity.

Abes said with the installation of the fiber optic network, their bandwidth capacity will increased further to 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) or STM-16 to meet increasing demands of customers.

The 2.5 gbps bandwidth is enough for 30,240 simultaneous voice calls.

"The fiber backhaul connectivity that we are building is very robust. It has multi-loops to provide the redundancy in case of fiber breaks. We also have IP radio facilities for additional redundancy insurance," said Abes.

Aside from the capacity, redundancy is a very important requirement for prospective locators in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Abes said Subic's connection to the PLDT DFON in a series of rings, will reroute to other connections and will save them costly service disruptions.

Edmund Optics Introduces Stereo Zoom Microscopes

The new E-Zoom Series of Stereo Zoom Microscopes provide a superb ergonomic design and precision performance at an affordable price. Edmund Optics has designed these microscopes to be durable enough to withstand the rigors of the factory floor environment or for demanding laboratory or production applications. The microscope’s rugged housing is completely sealed to prevent any contaminants like dust, oil and water from interfering with its performance. In addition to being very rugged, it is specifically designed to operate consistently across a wide degree of temperature and humidity extremes.

Edmund Optics has designed the E-Zoom microscope to dissipate electricity almost immediately to prevent electrostatic discharge, avoiding any damage to sensitive samples. This allows for easy assembly and inspection of electrical components.

The company offers two zoom ratios for increased flexibility. The E-Zoom4 features a 4:3:1 zoom ratio with a magnification range of 0.7X to 3.0X. The E-Zoom6 features a 6:3:1 zoom ratio with a magnification range of 0.8X to 5.0X. The E-Zoom6V features the same optical specifications as the standard E-Zoom6, but with an innovative trinocular port with a C-Mount for electronic imaging with any Z/x” sensor C-Mount cameras. Each microscope includes a pair of 10X eyepieces with built-in diopter adjustment, allowing simultaneous viewing of the sample and reticle. Reticles are sold separately.

The E-Zoom microscopes feature long working distances ranging from 43.5 mm to 211 mm for the various models and magnifications to 200X with the 20X eyepieces and a 2.0X supplemental lens. Ideal for QA labs, the E-Zoom microscope series offers a range of offline inspection applications including circuit board, biological samples and gemology. The microscopes can also qualify parts quickly and accurately.

The E-Zoom microscopes, which come standard without a stand, have several mounting options. A basic stand offers a rack and pinion mount with a full 8.5” of focusing movement, allowing large and small samples to be inspected without the need to change stands. For more robust mounting solutions, Edmund Optics offers a rack and pinion head designed to integrate with its boom stands.

All E-Zoom microscope models, eyepieces, lenses and stands are available, in stock and ready to ship immediately to serve your microscopy needs.

Avo Photonics

Avo Photonics, specialists in optical packaging, is pleased to announce that Dr. Jeff Perkins has joined the company as VP of Operations. Dr. Perkins will be responsible for management of Avo Photonics' overall production services such as bar scribe and break, die and wire bonding, hermetic sealing, laser welded fiber attach, burn-in, life-testing, and laser characterization along with a host of specific free-space, military/medical focused processes.

"With our increased success in volume optical component contract manufacturing, Avo Photonics is delighted to expand its customer support with the addition of Dr. Perkins," said Dr. Joseph Dallas, COO. "His high-energy and attention to details is the perfect fit with the existing Avo team and we are assured continued quality growth through his contributions."

Dr. Perkins has broad experience in high-volume optical component production as well as quality operations. He comes to Avo Photonics from JDS Uniphase where he served as Senior Technical Manager of Process Development and Automation, Operations, and then Product Development. In these roles, Dr. Perkins established and propagated process platforms into new product development teams to insure that new products were designed for automation, initiated focused efforts on product cost and yield improvements, and directed design models for TOSAs utilizing both direct modulated and electro-absorption modulated lasers; uncooled TOSA platforms for VCSEL, FP and DFB datacom applications; and a ROSA platform implemented for both PINs and APDs, spanning multiple bit rates, and 850/1310/1550nm transmission.

OFS Fibers Improve High-Power Performance In Tight Bends

OFS Specialty Photonics has introduced four multimode step-index fibers that have been optimized to enhance the performance characteristics of the fibers in laser power delivery under tight bend. HCXtreme fibers are designed for use with higher power lasers in medical applications such as Lithotripsy, BPH treatment, and laser-based cosmetic procedures.

"Advances in laser technology and the increasing flexibility of the scopes used to introduce many of these fibers make it critical that fibers can handle higher energy at extreme bends," said Mick Speciale, OFS Medical Market Manager.

Available in core diameters of 272µm, 365µm, 550µm, and 940µm, HCXtreme fibers are coated with a fluoroacrylate coating that is similar to the coating used in the HCS optical fiber product line. This coating has a lower refractive index than that of silica, so it also acts a second cladding that will guide light in the silica cladding of the fiber. The active performance of these fibers depends on the launch condition and the type of laser used.

Recent studies by OFS Specialty Photonics demonstrate that fibers with a low bend loss and optimized low-index coating are better suited for handling higher energy at extreme bends. "The combination of a low bend loss design and optimized coating that has an increased laser-induced damage threshold has been shown to increase the reliability of fiber under power and tight bends," added Speciale.