Arizona Center Spurs Optics Industry Boom

A university institute for the optical sciences has turned Tucson into a haven for startups and new research. TUCSON--In 1981, scientists at IBM were looking for a better way to check whether the surfaces of the company's magnetic tapes were smooth. Dragging a stylus along the tape, the conventional method, threatened to damage the surface. Then IBM optics engineer Bherat Bhushen had a bright idea. Why not look for irregularities by bouncing light off the surface? Bhushen turned for help to J

Elizabeth Pennisi

| 7 min read

Listen with Speechify

0:00

7:00

A university institute for the optical sciences has turned Tucson into a haven for startups and new research.

TUCSON--In 1981, scientists at IBM were looking for a better way to check whether the surfaces of the company's magnetic tapes were smooth. Dragging a stylus along the tape, the conventional method, threatened to damage the surface. Then IBM optics engineer Bherat Bhushen had a bright idea. Why not look for irregularities by bouncing light off the surface?

Bhushen turned for help to James Wyant, a professor in the Optical Sciences Center at the University of Arizona. Wyant and a colleague solved IBM's problem by developing a product, an interferometer known as TOPO, which scans surfaces to detect rough spots. Within a few years Wyant had started a company, WYKO - and last year the young company sold $12 million worth of testing equipment.

Wyant's success story is one of many cited ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here