Behind the Science: The Omega Optical Blog

This month in the blog, meet Sheetal Chanda! He started in the R&D department then moved to the High-Volume Production team to become the resident expert on the PARMS coating machines that produce most of our product. Now as Director of Engineering, he keeps the R&D innovations alive, helping new ideas move into the production environment. His calm, reliable presence helps keep Omega moving continually forward.

In Vermont, we are very connected to where our food comes from. In our small towns, we interact directly with farmers every day. In this blog, learn how Omega is helping farmers go "high tech" to maximize output and minimize their costs.

Meet Hannah Moss, the recent college graduate who is always “living the dream”. Hannah started her journey here at Omega 2 years ago as an intern and is now a full-time marketing analyst. When she isn’t assisting sales or preparing for tradeshows you will find Hannah noise deep in data files. Hannah is known for her charismatic personality and her positive attitude. Read on to learn more about Hannah and what brought her here to the Omega team.

Please join us in giving a big round of applause to one of our key OEM sales account managers, Laura Cutter. Laura has done it all here at Omega, from running machines to helping customers find the perfect filter for their design. If you have a question about filters Laura is your gal! She has been at Omega for 28 years, longer than any other salesperson on our team. Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with her will tell you she is kind, driven, and always there to lend a helping hand. We couldn’t do it without you Laura!

We have learned in previous blog posts about the importance of knowing the refractive indices and thicknesses of the layers we are making. The interference, that makes our filters work, depends on it! Read on to learn how we keep our processes up to snuff using ellipsometry.

This month Omega is pleased to spotlight one of our finest team players Ian Barrett. Ian was nominated by Production Director Terry Finnell who said in his nomination “Ian is a rock star”. For those of you who don’t know him, Ian is the production manager for specialized coatings and has been with Omega for almost 17 years. Ian loves solving complex issues and is always willing to lend a helping hand to his fellow teammates when they need it. Ian takes great pride in what he does, there is no question about it Ian “is a rock star”!

Learn more about what a material's refractive index is and why it is so important for thin-film filter designers. The "refractive index" value listed in reference books is not the whole story!

This month we are shining a spotlight on Diana Welch, Senior Production Planner. As a long-term (36-years!) Omega employee, Diana has worked in many different departments which helps in her current planning role. She helps keep products moving quickly and efficiently throughout the factory and has seen Omega grow significantly through the years.

In this final installment of "Making Waves" we will introduce the Shack-Hartmann sensor. Omega uses this to measure wavefront distortion in coated optics, but it is also integral to the field of adaptive optics. Read on to find out more!

Patrick has been our QA Manager for the past several years, leading us through several ISO audits and keeping our quality up to snuff. He has the final say on whether to ship parts and as our low return rates show, he does a great job!