CONFERENCE
REVIEW: Optics East features nanotechnology and ITCom
Gail Overton
Optics East 2004, sponsored by SPIE, the International Society for
Optical Engineering, was held Oct. 25-28 in Philadelphia, PA-a city known
for its contributions in pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, biomedical
optics, and robotics. Technical conferences paralleled those areas with
programs on semiconductor and nanotechnology applications, information
technology, and communications (ITCom), optomechatronics (the fusion of
optical and photonic devices with electromechanical systems), and robotics
technologies and architectures.
The focus this year on nanotechnology and ITCom produced several plenary
sessions that discussed the pervasiveness of these technologies throughout
multiple industry sectors. Symposium chairs Achyut Dutta from Banpil
Photonics (San Jose, CA) and Werner Weiershausen from T-Systems Nova
(Frankfurt, Germany) were instrumental in bringing experts from the field
of nanotechnology to present their views on the importance of this
technology to biological sensing, electronics, and manufacturing.
Nanotools
The implications of nanotechnology can even extend to the use of biological
agents as nanoscopic tools of the future. Jonathan D. Trent of the NASA
Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, CA) likened the bones of animals used
as weapons by early man to the biologically manipulated proteins that are
now being used as nanotools to perform a variety of functions. “Just as we
use wood as a structural element without having to understand how
photosynthesis works,” said Trent, “we can isolate complex protein groups
on the nanoscale and use them to develop nanotools even without understanding
the functionality of these proteins.” Examples of nanotools include
nanosized tubes fabricated from chains of engineered protein molecules that
can assemble in a particular order to create hollow tubes that can trap
both organic and inorganic ions (such as gold), either holding the elements
in place and creating long strands of atoms or nanowires, or holding other
biological entities in place as a kind of nanoscale test tube.
Disruptive technologies
Plenary and workshop sessions for the ITCom industry focused on new
disruptive optical-component technologies for telecommunications, the
convergence of SONET (synchronous optical network), SAN (storage-area
network), and DWDM (dense wavelength-division multiplexing) networks via
increased management and control automation, and U.S. government support of
programs that stimulate technological innovation in the private sector.
Drug discovery
A well-attended special event at the exhibition was “Drug Discovery:
Capabilities and Opportunities for Photonics.” The session began with a
talk by Robert Herzberg of GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (London, England
and Philadelphia, PA) on its strategy for marrying the diverse disciplines
of chemistry, biology, optics, robotics, and information technology to
realize the potential of high-throughput screening technologies. Here,
screening of multiple diseases and drug assays can be improved through such
techniques as fluorescence polarization and fluorescence-correlation
spectroscopy, as well as improvements in laboratory robotics. The session
concluded with a discussion of the dynamics, opportunities, and challenges
that are presented for funding drug discovery in the pharmaceutical
industry.
Technical paper presentations and short courses covered topics in optics
and optomechanics, optoelectronics, homeland security, biomedical
technologies, nanotechnology, and sensors, among others (see figure). Mohsen Kavehrad from Pennsylvania State University’s
Center for Information and Communications Technology Research (University
Park, PA) presented a paper in the next-generation communication-networks
conference on multirate laser pulses-with wave forms shaped like
dolphin-chirp sound pulses-that offer a new way of helping free-space
optical signals penetrate clouds, fog, and other adverse weather conditions
that sometimes hamper the success of this method. On the
nanotechnology side, researchers from Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
and the Hahn-Meitner Institute (Berlin, Germany) presented a paper,
“Stretching DNA in nanochannels”-one of the nanotool applications that was
described by Jonathan Trent from NASA in the plenary talk.
This year, 100 exhibitors participated in the event, up from 89 in 2003.
The conference topics will consolidate in 2005 into three symposium areas:
sensors (chemical, nano-, bio-, fiberoptic, robotic, and industrial),
photonics in life sciences, and photonics in communications and information
technology.
“The Optics East conference should continue to grow with the continued
focus in 2005 on sensors, photonics in life science, and photonics in
ITCom-three fields that continue to expand alongside innovations in
nanotechnology, optoelectronics, and robotics,” said Marilyn Gorsuch, events
manager for SPIE. - Gail Overton
M. Saif Islam and colleagues at the Quantum Science
Research group of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories (Palo Alto, CA) have
developed a solution to the long-standing issue of interconnecting 1-D
semiconductor nanowire devices with conventional integrated-circuit
elements, using processes compatible with mass manufacturing. They
fabricated two opposing vertical and electrically isolated semiconductor
surfaces using optical lithography along with wet and dry etching. Then
they grew lateral nanowire devices from one surface and epitaxially
connected them to the other, forming mechanically robust bridges. The work
was presented in the conference on nanosensing at Optics East 2004.
Laser Focus World December, 2004
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