Beam Engineering for Advanced Measurement Corporation (BeamCo) manufactures liquid crystals, including photoresponsive, photoactive polymers, photoalignment materials, patterned wave plates including vector vortex wave plates, polarization gratings, diffractive wave plate lenses, and electro-optical systems. Devices for laser beam and optics characterization. Originally founded to develop new technology aimed at replacing the medieval techniques, based on knife-edges and rotating drums, presently used for laser beam measurement and characterization, the firms work in nonlinear optics of liquid crystals has resulted in new applications and opportunities in laser and photonics technologies.The basis of BeamCos liquid crystal technologies lies in the fact that liquid crystals can be reoriented by the electric field of light beams. The discovery allows revolutionary advances in photonics, including all-optical communication. BeamCos BEAM-meters use transparent, thin layers of liquid crystals for direct measurement of absolute power density (W/cm2) and beam quality of focused laser beams. BeamCo is transforming inexpensive CCD cameras, readily available for visible radiation, into broad band (visible to far infrared) laser beam imaging devices with the aid of the optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals. BeamCos developments could allow liquid crystal light valves and adaptive optics systems to become more inexpensive, triggering the commercialization of intelligent optical systems, optical co-processors, laser-safe and glare-free glasses, and beam forming and switching components to all-optical communication systems. The company's products and technology developments include:Nonlinear optical and photosensitive azobenzene liquid crystal materials; Photodeformable membranes and photoactuated polymers; Azobenzene dyes, photoalignment materials, and synthetic building blocks; and Large area, high efficiency polarization gratings, diffractive waveplates, patterned waveplates, and vector vortex optical components. BEAM Co.'s Crystal Scan Optical Multimeter, a device for direct measurement of power density in focused laser beams, focus position and waist radius, was honored by the Photonics Circle of Excellence Award in 2001.
