In an increasingly digital world, photonics plays a central role in the efficiency of data transfer. Thanks to the use of optical fiber, data can be transported in large quantities, at high speeds (up to 100 Tbit/s), and over much greater distances (up to 80 km) than which was possible using conventional copper wires. The use of optical fiber guarantees minimum data loss and immunity to electromagnetic noise.

Since its creation, AdvEOTec qualify photonic components (laser diodes, photodiodes, imagers, couplers, doublers, modulators…) according to Telcordia standards.

Thanks to its many applications, photonics is now a key factor in defence performance.

Thermal imaging and night vision systems, for example, enable users to detect and identify targets in complex environments, day and night, whether in the air, on land, at sea or in space.

Thanks to the use of laser sources and systems, users can also detect long-distance targets or obstacles (LiDAR), and measure precisely their distance, their speed and their position. Lasers also can be used as weapons, notably for the destruction of enemy equipment.

Finally, quantum technologies also play their role in the protection of communication systems. Indeed, in order to guarantee optimum confidentiality, information is encrypted and transmitted using a photonic technique (QKD), making it impossible to intercept.

Over the years, advances in photonics have made the industrial sector increasingly efficient. Among the applications of photonics in the industry, we mainly find the use of lasers, enabling to engrave, cut or weld many types of materials, more or less fragile, very precisely and quickly.

A new method of products quality control has also emerged in the industry: the automated visual inspection. Thanks to optical sensors and imaging techniques, the products’ conformity and quality are guaranteed in a much more precise, quick and reliable way than with the human control.

Photonics can also be used for safety and users’ protection, notably thanks to the set-up of immaterial barriers around high-risk machines. These barriers, made up of light beams, cause the machine concerned to stop instantaneously if there is an undesirable presence or movement around it, thus minimizing the risk of accidents.

Finally, photonics is widely used in automating production lines. The installation of optical sensors in these lines offers a precise control and monitoring of the production process.

AdvEOTec makes characterization benches, tests benches and environmental tests campaigns for photonic solutions manufacturers.

In terms of energy, photonics enables the creation and use of a more sustainable and eco-friendly energy. Indeed, the light can be converted into electrical signals thanks to photonic sensors which make the use of solar energy using photovoltaic panels, possible.

Beyond solar energy, photonics also serves to monitor the wind (LiDAR), petroleum and geothermal energies. Using optical fiber sensors (FBG), it is possible to measure constraints such as the pressure and the temperature, on materials.

For the nuclear, AdvEOTec took part in the evaluation of an optical fiber sensor designed to monitor the radioactive element.

In our means of transport, and notably automobile transportation, photonics is present in many different forms and at many different levels. We notice, for example, the increasingly common use of LEDs for automobile lighting, the OLED technology integrated in dashboards’ screens, the imaging systems enabling the head-up display, and the set-up of automobile sensors and cameras which are real helps for driving and safety.

In a less visible way, we also notice the presence of optical fibers into the automobile communication systems, which ensures the rapidity of data transmission between the different electronic components of the vehicle.

Finally, motor vehicles also use LiDAR telemetry to detect long-distance obstacles, whatever the atmospheric conditions.

For the railway industry, AdvEOTec participated to the qualification of optical patch cords for its communication network.

Photonics also has a wide place in the aeronautics sector. Used in many ways, it is a real safety and comfort factor within the aircrafts.

Photonics in the aeronautics industry takes many forms. Imaging systems, for example, are used in surveillance and navigation or maintenance contexts. Optical fiber sensors (FBG) enable to measure various stresses, such as the pressure and the temperature. Optical materials and coating are also used, notably for the portholes and the cockpit in order to ensure aircraft comfort. Finally, LiDAR provides the telemetry and the obstacles detection for safety purposes.

AdvEOTec has been involved in the qualification of optical connectors for aircraft leisure applications.

In the space sector, photonics is essential on many levels. Indeed, space vehicles contain many photonic components that are essential to their operation. There are, for example, the star trackers, designed to guide and orient a satellite in space, using the position of surrounding stars as a reference. We also find cameras, major tools of satellites, enabling to capture and record Space or Earth images, and which can be used in many contexts such as defence, agriculture or environmental protection. Another crucial element in the composition of spacecraft is the fiber-optic gyroscope (FOG), used to determine the orientation and position of the craft in all three dimensions.

Among the many applications of photonics in the space sector, there also are the telecoms satellites, non-contact measurement, the atomic clock, etc.

For over 15 years, AdvEOTec selects and evaluates the reliability of all types of photonic components (laser diodes, photodiodes, imagers, couplers, doublers, modulators…) for space applications.

For several years, thanks to the use of photonics, the healthcare sector has been experiencing real technological advances making treatment techniques increasingly efficient. Indeed, the use of light offers significant advantages for the patients, such as accelerating wound healing, light therapy, early detection, monitoring and treatment of diseases, and regulating the biological clock. These benefits are made possible by light-based techniques such as medical imaging (photon-counting spectral scanners), which deliver very high image quality, while protecting the patient with a lower dose of X-rays than conventional scanners.

In this context, AdvEOTec designed and produced Orolight pens for L’OpticRéal. These light sources use circular polarized light for dermatological and immune applications, as well as for physical pain and trauma.

Read more https://orolight.fr/