April 27, 2015

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The CLEO 2015 co-sponsors (APS, IEEE Photonics Society, The Optical Society) and Laser Focus World today announced three winners for this year’s CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award. The CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Awards recognize outstanding companies that have made major contributions to advancing the field of optics and photonics through recently launched products and services. The Innovation Awards allow companies to showcase their latest products and services entering the marketplace, while reaching the top industry decision makers at CLEO – the premier laser conference and exposition.

2015 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award Winners

• AUREA Technology
  First all-in-one picosecond resolution Time Correlated Single Photon Counting Analyzer
  
  Engineered with “high performance, and ease-of-use” innovative mindset, the PICOXEA fully integrates within the same box; the world’s most advanced Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (Geiger-SPAD) and high efficient picosecond pulsed laser source and Time to Digital Converter (TDC) technologies. Moreover, it includes the fast data processing and also the most intuitive Graphical User Interfaces compatible with LabVIEW and most programming languages.

• Inrad Optics
  Stilbene Crystals for Neutron Detection
  
  Crystalline stilbene is an organic scintillator used for radiation detection and is well-suited for discrimination between fast neutrons and a gamma-ray background. A fast neutron is one with kinetic energy above approximately 1 MeV. Fast neutron counting, spectroscopy, and imaging have applications in medicine, industry, research, defense, and homeland security. Inrad Optics produces stilbene using a proprietary low- temperature solution growth technology. This method yields high-quality, low-stress material.
• Northrop Grumman, Cutting Edge Optronics
  Gigashot-HE All-Diode-Pumped Joule Class Laser System
  
  Cutting Edge Optronics’ Gigashot™-HE laser is a high energy, short pulse diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) Nd:YAG laser system. The injection-seeded DPSS laser delivers more than 2 Joules of 532 nm energy in each sub-10 ns pulse at 10 Hz with a near field flat top beam, offering a new level of efficiency for scientific research. With the overall need for higher repetition rates in scientific experiments and the number of world-wide Terawatt and Petawatt laser installations increasing, the introduction of an all diode-pumped high energy laser system is an important step in the advancement of high repetition rate/high energy scientific research.

Winner Comments

“AUREA Technology is honored to receive a 2015 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award,” stated Jérôme Prieur, president and CEO, AUREA Technology. “Our time correlated single photon counting analyzer enable researchers to measure very low light level down to a single photon. This award highlights the value our analyzer brings to the industry.”

Amy Eskilson, president and CEO, Inrad Optics, said “The 2015 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Award highlights the great work our team is doing to bring stilbene from R&D to commercial production. We are proud that this material may enable next-generation detection systems to better protect the American public against nuclear threats.”

David Jones, director of sales and marketing, Cutting Edge Optronics Inc., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation, added “We are thrilled to have the organizers of the CLEO/Laser Focus World/Innovation Award recognize our accomplishments in DPSS-based laser systems. Our Gigashot-HE all-diode-pumped joule class laser system is the next generation of high energy, short pulse Nd:YAG laser systems. Pumping with long-lived laser diodes enables hands-free, ultra-stable operation at high (>100 Hz) repetition rates.”

Award Sponsors

"For fifty years, Laser Focus World has reported on notable advancements in the optoelectronic industry. This year we received a number of potential award-winning submissions presenting significant advances in the field of lasers and electro-optics," said Conard Holton, editor-in-chief, Laser Focus World. "We continue to be amazed by the level of innovative technology advances put forth by award applicants. This year are honored to recognize AUREA Technology, Inrad Optics and Cutting Edge Optronics Inc., a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Corporation, for their significant impact on the optoelectronic industry."

Elizabeth Rogan, CEO, The Optical Society, added “The recipients of the 2015 CLEO/Laser Focus World Innovation Awards have demonstrated the advances in laser technology and underscore how pervasive optics and photonics has become – from basic scientific research to data centers and other applications. This year, we also celebrate our partner’s – Laser Focus World– 50th anniversary. For half a century, they have been chronicling the growth in the global market and advances in the science of optics and photonics – these are essential contributions to fostering the scientific community and future discovery.”

About CLEO

With a distinguished history as the industry's leading event on laser science, the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO) is the premier international forum for scientific and technical optics, uniting the fields of lasers and opto-electronics by bringing together all aspects of laser technology, from basic research to industry applications. The CLEO exhibition showcases the latest products and applications from more than 300 participating companies from around the world, providing hands-on demonstrations of the latest market innovations and applications. The Expo also offers valuable on-floor programming, including Market Focus and Technology Transfer programs.

Sponsored by the American Physical Society's (APS) Laser Science Division, IEEE Photonics Society and The Optical Society (OSA), CLEO provides the full range of critical developments in the field, showcasing the most significant milestones from laboratory to marketplace. With an unparalleled breadth and depth of coverage, CLEO connects all of the critical vertical markets in lasers and electro-optics. For more information, visit www.cleoconference.org. CLEO 2015 takes place 10-15 May 2015 at the San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, California, USA.