LOMO PLC at the first time represented the range of its new devices at the exhibition .Advanced ideas and technologies of laser optics., passed in St. Petersburg on July 1-3, 2003.

AT THE NEW RANGE

            Models of eye safe lasers have become the first from these new devices.

            LOMO has become the first native company, mastering of the serial producing of such instruments. Designing of eye safe lasers has appeared the new stage in developing of this direction at the St. Petersburg optical firm. It started after the appearance of international standard at the beginning of 90th, which sharply limited the appliance of lasers at the neodymium substances because of their danger for human eye. Urgent demand in eye safe lasers (the length of wave more than 1,5 mkm) has appeared.

            Although about the existence of such lasers have been known some years ago, such lasers hadn.t not been tested enough, and practically there wasn't not the experience of its constructing and producing in the world. That.s why an exceptionally complicated task has stood before designers of LOMO: they had to create laser in a short time, practically not having analogues, on the basis of poorly studied lasers substances and elements of controlling of laser radiation and to get over problems connected with low coefficient of efficiency.

            Collective of designers of laser designing bureau of the firm could cope with the task. The first model of eye safe laser on the ER-glass BLM-1 was designed in the middle of 90th. This device has excelled by its specifications foreign analogues and already on the stage of its designing has excited the interest of foreign customers. The assembling and testing lines of BLM-1 were rapidly made at LOMO, and these lines didn't yield to production sections of the best West firms. Producing of precise laser optics . unique shutter of ER lasers was mastered at one of the optical workshops of the firm. No one foreign firm produces such devices industrially.

            In 1999 the model BLM-1T was constructed. It significantly excels BLM-1 by its operating characteristics. Another systems followed by this model both with lamp (MI-1) and with more expensive, but more up-to-date diodes (MI-10)  pumping. Nowadays these two models have passed through all necessary tests and are getting ready to serial production.

FOR SAFETY FLIGHTS

            New device . clouds altitude laser sensor (Russian abbreviation is DOL), intended for providing of safety of taking off and landing of planes at the airports has excited a great interest at the exhibition.

            DOL is the part of the Complex of airport equipment (Russian abbreviation is KAO). Designing of DOL was begun at LOMO 10 years ago . in 1993. FI-2 (impulse photometer), intended for measuring of meteorological distance of visibility on the landing ground, was the first in the family of such devices. FI-2 is serially produced from 1996 and operates at all large airports of Russia.

            At the same time . in the middle of 90th . the designing of DOL was started. At the end of last year three trial samples were produced and preliminary tests of the device have begun, conducted together with the Main Geophysics Observatory named afterVoyeykov. DOL was compared with the most wide-spread to present moment Finnish system  ST-25K, produced by firm .Vaysala.. This year on May interdepartmental field-tests of device, produced by LOMO, successfully passed on the territory of airport .Pulkovo..

            DOL is a complicated optical and electronical device. The heart of the product is a solid-state laser with diodes pumping. Clouds altitude laser sensor allows with the high precision and reliability to define the height of low edge of clouds . both the first and the second stratum . in the range from 10 till 3000 meters with allowed error plus-minus 10 meters. This fact significantly excels the specifications of its Finnish colleague. DOL also can measure the density of clouds and automatically produce statistic processing of the measuring results, what is significantly simplifies the work of meteorologist. And neither rain no snow can be the obstacle to this device.

            The complication of work is in the following: it's impossible to get precise reflection from clouds like from the firm surface.  That's why specialists of LOMO were forced to solve the whole complex of complicated scientific and technical tasks during creation of the instrument.

             Nowadays all documents about results of tests are transferred to State Standard for getting of certificate of the type of measurement, what will allow to sell DOL to all airports of Russia. After the appearance of all necessary documents LOMO will start the serial production of new device.

PRECISION IS THE POLITENESS OF OPTICIANS

            .but not only kings. LOMO demonstrated at the exhibition one of its latest devices in the sphere of measurement technique. It's an interferometer IKD-14 and also highly precise diffraction optical details.

            Particular demands are brought to the precision of optical details in optical devices. That's why the machines for their control have to possess by particular specifications. Product IKD-14 is one of such devices - up-to-date interferometer, allowing to made high production control of forms of surface of various optical details in production conditions by non-contact methods with automate processing of measurement results. The allowed error of measurement is not more than 0,01 mkm.

            LOMO was occupied with producing of such technique before. The firm was a monopolist in the USSR in the sphere of designing and producing of interferometers. Nowadays only several companies in the world can produce devices of such level.

            The first sample of IKD-14  (light diameter of controlled details is up to 14 mm) was created at the firm in the beginning of 2003 and passed through tests successfully.  This device is only the first stage of a big program of development, the purpose of which is to equip optical production of LOMO by up-to-date interferometers. In future the company plans to create the line of these precise devices for controlling of optical details with different diameters.

            At present time the usage of produced interferometers is supposed only at own production of LOMO.

            Diffraction optical elements are the most highprecise devices of LOMO. These are optical details, having on its surface micro-profiles of various forms. For example, diffraction grills - the heart of any spectral device, where at each millimeter of the surface hundreds or thousands of strokes are outlined. Or lenses of Fresnel, allowing to direct precisely the light stream; nowadays such lenses are used in the newest light diodes traffic lights of LOMO. Technologies, applied during producing of diffraction elements, are also used in producing of laser shutter for eye safe lasers - during its producing micro-profile with the depth of 0,1 mkm is formed on the surface of glass detail.

            St. Petersburg optical firm is occupied with the producing of diffraction optical elements several decades, but these devices were shown at the exhibition at the first time. Only several producers both in Russia and in the world can produce devices of such level.