Company info sheet for:


Background
"Ocean Optics, Inc, was founded in 1989 by researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida to develop environmental sensors. OOI won two prestigious SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants from the US Department of Energy to develop an oceanographic instrument for monitoring the pH of sea water to determine the oceans' role in global warming. In the process of designing the instrument, OOI researchers developed a significant breakthrough technology -- a miniature fiber optic spectrometer that is 1000 times smaller and 10 times less expensive than conventional systems. In April 1992, just 30 days after the successful completion of the SBIR research grant, OOI introduced the S1000, "The World's First Miniature Fiber Optic Spectrometer." Since then Ocean Optics has sold over 3500 spectrometers to 1000 customers and won numerous major industry awards for product innovation and design, including the "Best New Product of the Year" by Fiber Optic Product News and Photonic Spectra's "Circle of Excellence Award."

Products
"In the first three years of commercialization Ocean Optics has added nearly 3 new products per month to its innovative offering of analytical instruments and accessories for research and development, industrial process control, environmental monitoring and medical applications.  Spectrometers are the core component of OOI's optical systems. The versatility and flexibility of coupling inexpensive optical fiber for transmitting light energy to a miniature low-cost spectrophotometric system have opened new worlds of measurement techniques. Three spectrometer platforms, 14 diffraction gratings and 4 input fibers combine to create 144 distinctive systems that are optimized for our customer's application-specific needs. Sensors are the basis of OOI's research and the focus of our growth. Innovative fiber optic probes and sensors are  designed as laboratory and on-line tools for transmission, reflection, irradiance, fluorescence, back scattering and detection of toxic metals and pH. Events, processes and environments can now be monitored effectively, economically, and in real time. Light sources are essential for spectrophotometric measurements and Ocean Optics has again shown innovation by introducing 4 new miniature, low-cost lighting systems, including pulsed xenon, tungsten halogen, deuterium and mercury argon sources. SpectraScopeTM Software is a powerful operating software package that heightens the versatility and flexibility of Ocean Optics' spectrometers, sensors and sources. SpectraScopeTM provides specific add-on application routines for color and appearance measurements, process control, communications, and calibration functions. Ocean Optics, Inc. is the world leader in fiber optic spectrometers and accessories. We will continue to develop innovative, low cost solutions for research, education, process, medical and environmental applications."