Optronic Laboratories : Light Measurement Experts

If you are running Microsoft Vista, Office ’97 will not work with the direct reporting feature.  Vista will work with Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007.  This applies to all applications software.  Most people who have Vista are not using Office ’97 and there is no fix for this combination. Vista users should not run ’97 if they require use of the direct reporting feature.

Tim Eastham,

Software Engineering Manager

Many times confusion arises as to how Efficiency and Luminous Efficacy are calculated.  Both of these calculations are a ratios of measured output (either lumens or watts) to input power.  More specifically, Efficiency, sometimes called “Power Efficiency” is calculated by taking actual measured optical “WATTS” from your sample and dividing this by the electrical power driving you sample.  This result is reported as a percentage.  On the other hand, if you were looking to report the Luminous Efficacy of your sample, you would calculate this by taking the ratio of the measured Luminous Flux and again dividing this  by the electrical power driving your sample.  Reported units, in this case, would be lumens/watt.

Depending on what instrument manufacturer you are working with, the software may or may not report the actual input power (Watts). If the input power it is not reported directly, you can obtain the power if you know the current and voltage, usually read directly from your power supply, by simply multiplying the supplied current in Amps by the measured voltage.  This will give you the electrical power supplied to the sample.

As a quick example, consider a high powered LED driven at a typical current of 350 mA  (0.350 Amps).  The measured voltage as reported by your meter is 3.582 V.  Multiplying the current and voltage,  0.350 A * 3.582 V = 1.2537 Watts. The “Measured” optical output is reported to be (0.15378 W, 43 Lumens).  Dividing 0.15387 W by 1.2537 Watts gives us a ratio of 0.1226 or 12.26%.  To calculate Luminous Efficacy, simply take 43 Lumens and divide this by 1.2537 Watts to get 34.3 lm/W.

Got questions? Fill out our contact form on our website or give me a call!

Alan Tirpak, Applications Engineer

Energy ministers meeting recently in Luxembourg have given final approval to an EU-wide ban on incandescent light bulbs that would begin in 2010. The switch to energy-saving bulbs, first ordered at last year’s Brussels summit as part of an aggressive energy policy to fight climate change, was approved at the negotiations leading up to a meeting of European heads of state, being held next week. More at: http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/10/11/eu-bans-incandescent-light-bulbs/

Source: Red, Green and Blue

Nick Holonyak, Jr., the inventor of the first III-V visible LED was named to the 2008 National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention. Holonyak’s optoelectronics research has reportedly revolutionized the lighting, communications and entertainment industries. He produced the first III-V visible LED while working at General Electric (GE) laboratory in Syracuse, New York in 1962. In addition to his invention of the first visible LEDs his compound semiconductor work is also responsible for the technology used to develop red lasers in CD and DVD players. He also invented the first light dimmer while working at GE.

Source: LighTimes

OLED panel shipments are expected to increase 7.3% year-on-year to 110.11 million units in fiscal 2008, according to the results of a survey conducted by Yano Research Institute. Shipments of active matrix OLEDs (AMOLEDs) are growing as Japanese telecommunication companies and major mobile phone manufacturers employ them as the main panel for their handsets, and AMOLEDs will account for 68% of the overall shipment value in fiscal 2010, according to the report.

Source: Optics.Org

Optronic Laboratories, Inc. innovative programmable source, the OL 490 is now available in an NIR version spanning the spectral range from 760 nm - 1,600 nm. As with its visible range counterpart (380 nm - 780 nm), the OL 490-NIR utilizes Digital Light Processor (DLP®) technology from Texas Instruments, and provides an unprecedented level of flexibility and power via high speed programmable spectral illumination.  It produces high resolution spectra via a flexible liquid light guide over the near-infrared wavelength range with under 5nm FWHM bandwidth peaks.  It features high-speed USB interface, and an external lamp port to support a variety of input configurations.  The easy-to-use software controls allow emulation of complex optical filter systems and rapid spectral rates up to 12.5 kHz with modulation rates to 6.25 kHz. Learn more here: http://www.olinet.com/products.php?&_act=manageProduct&DO=viewProduct&intProdID=18&product=Agile%20Light%20Source

or just drop us a line via our contact page!  

Members of the Optical Society of America and other subscribers to ‘Optics and Photonics News’ Magazine (print and online editions) should look for a feature written by our own Carissa Say (Applications Engineering) and Richard Young (Vice-President of Science and Technology) on The New CIE 127 Standard for LED Measurement in this month’s issue. Recently, the CIE has published an updated version of its lighting measurement standard, CIE 127 which refines the technique for measuring total radiant flux and introduces a concept called partial LED flux. It’s a very a very worthwhile read and just might help you avoid a costly mistake!

See: http://www.osa-opn.org/Default.aspx  

Of course you can talk to the authors and other experts directly! Just drop us a line - we’re glad to help!

Though the year is winding down, we still have several stops in our busy travel schedule.  With so many innovative new products and exciting things happening here, we can’t wait to get out and spread the good news!  Be sure to stop by our booth or attend our courses at the following events: 

• “The Chinese use two brush stroke to write the word “crisis.”  One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.  In a crisis, beware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity”. John F. Kennedy

Welcome!

I am pleased to introduce our new blog page which we hope will serve as another way for our future and current users to learn about and get more from Optronic Laboratories, Inc. outstanding line of high precision light measurement products and services. Will be posting announcements about new innovative offerings, tips and advice from our Applications Engineers as well as featuring comments from you.   

We’re always excited to hear what systems are being used for so please do share you experiences with us. If you are having problems, let us know about those too! We are only an email or phone call away and are here to help!

Thanks!

Alexandre Fong, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing