The beginning of truly integrated lasers; optical
clock based on an aluminum ion; laser ablation
to preserve great art.
Yvonne Carts-Powell
10 Optics Innovations
Toptica Photonics: Helping lasers leave the
laboratory.
Wilhelm Kaenders
12 Conversations in Optics
OPN talks with Gérard Mourou, CPA inventor
and CLEO 2010 keynote speaker.
14 Light Touch Pyrotechnic lasers. Stephen R. Wilk
16 The History of OSA
Close encounters of the Townes kind.
John N. Howard
8
Dominick Reuter/MIT
19 The Laser’s First Light
Trends and highlights from May 1960.
Patricia Daukantas
4 President’s Message
6 Letters
48 OSA Today
50 Book Reviews
52 Product Profiles
55 Marketplace
56 After Image
16
OSA Historical Archives
Please recycle
this magazine.
34
OPN Optics & Photonics News (ISSN 1047-6938), Vol. 21, No. 5 © 2010, Optical Society of America. OPN is published monthly except bimonthly July-August by the Optical
Society of America, 2010 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington, D.C. 20036; 202.223.8130; Fax 202.223.1096; Email opn@osa.org; Web www.osa-opn.org. OPN was
published as Optics News from 1975-1989. (CODEN OPPHEL; GST #133618991; IPM #0895431). OSA is a not-for-profit society founded in 1916. Authorization to photocopy
items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the Optical Society of America, provided that the base fee of $6 per copy is paid
directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress St., Salem, Mass. 01970-5575. For those organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by CCC, a separate system of payment
has been arranged. The fee code for users of the Transactional Report Service is 0098-907X/99 $6. Permission is granted to quote excerpts from articles in this publication in scientific works with the
customary acknowledgment of the name of the publication, page, year and name of the Society. Reproduction of figures and tables is likewise permitted in other articles and books provided that the
same information is printed with them and notification is given to the Optical Society of America. 2010 nonmember and library subscription rates (domestic): $100/year. Membership in the Optical Society
of America includes $7 from membership dues to be applied to a member subscription. Periodicals Postage paid at Washington, DC, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to OPN Optics & Photonics News, 2010 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington, DC 20036. Subscriptions, missing copies, change of address: Optical Society of
America, Subscription Fulfillment Services, 2010 Massachusetts Ave., N. W., Washington, D. C. 20036; 800.766.4672. Back numbers, single issue, and foreign rates on request. Printed
in the United States. OSA is a registered trademark of the Optical Society of America. ©2010. The content and opinions expressed in feature articles and departments in Optics &
Photonics News and its occasional supplement, OPN Trends, are those of the authors and guest editors and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or the Optical Society of America.
2 | OPN Optics & Photonics News
www.osa-opn.org