Optoelectronics Division

The mission of the Optoelectronics Division is to provide the optoelectronics industry and its suppliers and customers with comprehensive and technically advanced measurement capabilities and standards, as well as traceability to those standards. We take metrology seriously. In optoelectronics, as in many other fields, metrology is a key part of the industrial infrastructure that establishes competitiveness. Consistently specified products are essential in fair trade, and measurements are a key element in efficient manufacturing. The cost of measurements often ranges between 10 % and 30 % of the cost of producing a product. Advancing the field of optoelectronics metrology is therefore an important task.

The Division is comprised of eight projects focused on four major areas: radiometry, telecommunications, quantum optics, and nanophotonics. Our activities are well-aligned with the national and NIST priorities of measurements and technology for physical infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, environment, health care, and secure IT systems. Our focus on a small number of significant technical areas enables us to maximize impact and benefit from collaboration among the projects made possible by our common optoelectronic technology focus.

Robert Hickernell, Acting Division Chief