Diffraction gratings, like the one shown above, offer a nearly endless array of applications, from telecommunications to audio distribution to weapons systems.

Rayvel’s products and technologies are appropriate for a wide variety of industrial, scientific and government applications, including:

Analytical Spectroscopy
Photonics can be used for non-destructive testing of liquids and gases. Laser light can be beamed through the test medium and reflected off a diffraction grating. A detector then creates a spectral “fingerprint” of the reflected light. The chemical composition of the tested material can then be determined. Systems are currently used by utility companies, government agencies, and environmental consultants. The market for consumer based, home testing systems is also promising.

Optical Networking
Optical communications transmit, receive, and switch audio, video, text, and data via information encoded on light signals. The Wave Divisible Multiplexing (WDM) and Dense Wavelength Divisible Multiplexing (DWDM), under which allows multiple channels of data to be carried over a single optical fiber, requires filtering and switching that diffraction gratings can provide. Examples of components that utilize diffraction gratings include Add-Drop Multiplexers, signal monitors, dispersion compensators and gain flatteners.

Optical switching devices
Communications Industry Researchers Inc. projects the U.S. market for optical switching components at $2 Billion by 2004. Solid-state switching technology based on the electroholographic effect is a promising alternative to current microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). A holographic grating can be written into a crystal that appears only under an applied voltage, reflecting an incident beam onto a new path. In the absence of the voltage, the crystal is transparent, and the light travels through undeflected. Applications include flat screen displays. Switches are also being developed using a combination of gratings and liquid crystals. By applying a voltage, the switch reorients the crystals to control both the wavelength and the attenuation of light. The attenuation is directly proportional to the applied voltage. The ability to attenuate signals provides additional functionality such as equalization of WDM and multicast signals.

Government Products
Authenticity of government documents and license plates can be guaranteed by applying holographic laminates and seals.  Holographics also has the potential of encoding information on a document, such as an individual’s medical history. Please contact us for more information.