Laura-Isabelle Dion-Bertrand

Photon etc.

Photon etc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of highly sensitive infrared cameras, ultrafast hyperspectral imaging (wide-field, microscopy and Raman) ideal for academic research and cutting-edge industrial applications. Photon etc.'s core technology is a continuously tunable filter based on volume Bragg gratings. It consists of a photo-thermo-refractive glass with a periodically varying index of refraction. According to the modulation structure, it can be orientated to transmit or reflect incident light. In order to select a particular wavelength that will be filtered (diffracted), the angle of the filter is adjusted to meet Bragg condition. Hyperspectral global imaging is used in order to spectrally capture large areas of a sample without damaging it. In global imaging, the whole field of view of the microscope objective is acquired at the same time compared to point-by-point techniques where either the sample or the excitation laser needs to be moved in order to reconstruct a map. With these technologies and its know-how in the domain of highly sensitive infrared cameras, Photon etc. enables the analysis of nanomaterials - like graphene, carbon nanotubes, etc. - recyclable materials or solar cells using its hyperspectral imaging platforms that capture various spectra in the VIS-NIR-SWIR range. It can capture the emissions from diffuse reflectance, transmittance, photoluminescence, electroluminescence and fluorescence. Photon etc. also opens the second biological window with the global imaging of living cells in vitro, the preclinical NIR-II analysis of small animals in vivo, the hemoglobin concentration of skin or even the retinal imaging of the eye.