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Optical spectroscopy has played a key role in the development of modern physics, from the early confirmation of quantum mechanics predictions of the spectrum of hydrogen to the observation of stars and interplanetary matter by astronomers refining their theory of the universe. Today, optical spectroscopy has become a routine method for the physicists and the astronomers, but also gained acceptance with chemists, biologists and metallurgists, amongst others.

At the heart of an optical spectroscopy apparatus, the single device most closely associated with spectroscopic performance is the diffraction grating. It is therefore no surprise to see that the study and manufacture of diffraction gratings remain the domain of excellence of HORIBA Jobin Yvon and a select few competitors worldwide.

With its R&D Centres located in Edison (New Jersey, USA) and in Longjumeau (France, in the heart of the French Optics Valley), HORIBA Jobin Yvon employs more than 70 Ph.Ds, an unequalled force focusing on the advancement of diffraction gratings and their applications to optical spectroscopy. HORIBA Jobin Yvon can call upon the Kyoto R&D Centres of its parent HORIBA, and in particular its "Optical Frontier" project studying nanosystems. Each year the HORIBA Jobin Yvon R&D teams are granted more than 10 patents worldwide.

To manufacture gratings of the highest quality, HORIBA Jobin Yvon benefits from the largest dedicated commercial clean rooms equipped with both ruling engines and holographic exposure systems, and with the advanced metrology necessary to continuously improve the production processes (atomic force microscope, ultra high resolution monochromators, efficiency meters, ellipsometers...). On site vacuum testing is available for UV applications, together with a family of ion etching reactors to effect a controlled transfer of the gratings profile into the blank.

The quality of the substrate on which the grating structure is ruled or recorded requires high performance polishing, down to 2 Å micro roughness, and HORIBA Jobin Yvon realises this task internally for advanced applications. A dedicated chemical lab completes the gratings technical core of HORIBA Jobin Yvon, improving photo resist definitions, cleaning processes and developing new solutions like oriented crystal etching and injection moulding.

Around the gratings, opto-mechanical designs result in the famous HORIBA Jobin Yvon monochromators and spectrometers, using computer aided tools to improve the productivity and tracability of the results. The HORIBA Jobin Yvon optics team uses several commercial and proprietary optical calculation software packages and the ProEngineer™ 3D advanced computer aided design CAD systems for both mechanical and electronic applications, complemented by Mentor Graphics for electronics design.

While photomultiplier tubes remain the preferred detection device in many applications, CCD detectors are gaining acceptance thanks to their flexibility and price advantage. HORIBA Jobin Yvon electronics skill centre pioneers the use of CCD technology for optical spectroscopy, developing high quantum efficiency cameras with ultra fast gating.

Finally, software development has become a major technology for HORIBA Jobin Yvon in order to fully exploit the potential of digital data manipulation, from object oriented data bases to ergonomical MMI, through advanced algorithms for signal enhancement, multivariate detection or chemiometrics interpretations.

Each year the HORIBA Jobin Yvon R&D teams are granted more than 10 patents worldwide.

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