Optical Archive

Investigating indistinguishable single-photon sources in the visible range.

Exploring mechanical solutions to reduce the effects of turbulence on the Zygo Verifire™ interferometer

The solar steam turbine is a design that uses a femtosecond laser-processed superwicking metal sheet to generate electricity via steam generation. Team Thermo wishes to thank the following for their…

An indoor lighting system designed to simulate the sun.

The Hybrid Endoscope/Microscope project is a senior design project that aims to design and build a system that combines the endoscope’s view and the microscope’s view during ENT surgery.

Development of a telehealth platform that provides digital optical prescriptions, making high quality vision accessible to everyone.

A 360° tessellated, parallax-reduced, cinema camera system.

The Nanostructure AR coating project aims to Investigate and model nanostructure AR coatings on OptiLayer and OptiRE software.

Make a low cost system to measure mini-scale object displacement.

L3Harris Technologies is an American defense company that builds a variety of mechanical, optical, and electrical systems. The Rochester division designs and builds systems for space applications. Optical space telescopes are widely used in both Earth and astrophysical observations and play a major role in scientific and national security. For optical telescopes to function properly and take clear images, their optics must be precisely aligned to focus light. However, during the launch of the telescope, the relative positions of these optics can change. The goal of the project is to build a mechanism to finely adjust the position of these optics to enhance resolution and accuracy of the telescope images. This improved image quality has significant implications for both terrestrial and space observations with applications to scientific research and national security.

Several optomechanical applications have a need for a 360° kinematic mounting system capable of withstanding thermal loading due to heat generation from electronic devices. It is advantageous for optical systems to have a repeatable and controlled, known distance between devices such as optics, sensors, light sources, mirrors or assorted non-optical sensors. The team was able to design a thermally stable spaceframe solution, capable of reducing movement of any assembled components to minimal displacements on the order of microns.

Cataracts, a hardness and opacifying of the lens, is the leading cause of curable blindness worldwide, with the majority of cases occurring in developing countries where trained ophthalmologists are scarce. Our project is to develop a device to be used for a simplified cataract surgery that will insert a cylindrical intraocular lens into the cataract. By simplifying the procedure, more healthcare providers can be trained to perform the procedure, increasing the accessibility of cataract treatment in developing countries.