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Luna Technologies Offers Increased Speed in Fiber Network Diagnostics and Fully Distributed Sensing

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New generation Optical Backscatter Reflectometer(TM) 4600 instrument

ROANOKE, Va., Sep 16, 2010  --Luna Technologies, a division of Luna Innovations Incorporated (NASDAQ:LUNA), today announced the launch of the latest addition to its Optical Backscatter Reflectometer(TM) product line, the OBR 4600. The OBR 4600 product provides advanced diagnostic and inspection capabilities to fiber optic manufacturers, developers, and installers by offering ultra-high resolution, high sensitivity measurements of optical fiber assemblies and networks up to 2 kilometers in length. The OBR 4600 instrument offers a substantial increase in measurement speed over its predecessor as well as a new "spot scan" option that enables the user to measure only a specific area of interest on the fiber. The improved speed will open up new opportunities for Luna's distributed sensing capabilities.

 

Optical fiber networks and fiber-coupled assemblies are widely used in applications ranging from telecommunications and commercial and military avionics to medical catheters with integrated fiber optic tools. The OBR 4600 instrument offers the ability to look inside these networks and assemblies with a combination of spatial resolution, sensitivity, and distance range that is not currently possible with other instruments available today such as Optical Time Domain Reflectometers (OTDR). With the OBR device, it is possible to troubleshoot, inspect, and locate faults point by point in an assembly and characterize the Return Loss and Insertion Loss of each interface individually. With the sensitivity and resolution of the OBR instrument, one can easily measure and distinguish between a loss at a coupler, a splice, a bend, or a connector.

With the new version of the product, measurements can be taken more than twice as fast in the normal mode of operation and over ten times faster in the new fast scanning mode. With this capability, 30 meters of fiber can be measured with 10 micron spatial resolution in less than seven seconds. With the new "spot scan" option users can troubleshoot and measure short segments of fiber (1-2 meters) at repetition rates of up to 3 Hz.

In addition to troubleshooting, inspection and testing capabilities, the OBR 4600 instrument also provides a tool for fully distributed sensing using standard optical fiber as the sensor. With its precise measurement of the Rayleigh scatter reflected from the fiber, the OBR instrument can determine the strain or temperature changes along the length of the fiber at any point up to 70 meters in length with a spatial resolution as fine as a few millimeters. Applications include load testing, structural health monitoring, detection of structural defects in composites, and distributed thermal monitoring.

Highlights of the OBR 4600 instrument include:

  • Measure 30 m with 10 microns resolution in less than 7 seconds
  • Continuously measure a 1 m segment at up to 3 Hz
  • Easily locate, identify and troubleshoot macro-bends, couplers, splices, connectors and breaks
  • Locate Insertion Loss points at every point in the network or assembly - eliminate cut-back
  • Look inside components to evaluate each interface for RL and IL
  • Test and troubleshoot short-run networks (<2 km)
  • Automate pass/fail verification of fiber assemblies
  • Monitor distributed temperature and strain profiles along a network or fiber, or inside a component or module

 

Luna's new OBR 4600 instrument is available now and will begin shipping in October. It will be on display at the largest European optical communications event, the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC), from September 20-22 in Turin, Italy. More information is available at the company's Web site at www.lunatechnologies.com.

About Luna Technologies:

Luna Technologies, a division of Luna Innovations Incorporated located in Blacksburg, Virginia, manufactures and markets test and measurement equipment and integrated sensing solutions. Luna Technologies' products are used for test, measurement and sensing in telecommunications, manufacturing, power generation and distribution, down-hole oil and gas, aerospace and defense applications. The award-winning products are sold and distributed throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Forward Looking Statements:

This release includes information that constitutes "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding, but not limited to: product capabilities, infrastructure deployment, technological attributes, and customer use. Statements that describe the Company's business strategy, goals, prospects, opportunities, outlook, plans or intentions are also forward looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the plans or intentions are also forward looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including risks and uncertainties set forth in the company's periodic reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such filings are available at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, and at the company's website at http://www.lunainnovations.com. The statements made in this release are based on information available to the company as of the date of this release and Luna Innovations undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

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Luna Innovations Incorporated
Investor Contact:
Dale Messick, Interim President and COO
Phone: 1.540.769.8400
Email: [email protected]
or
Technology Contact:
Mark Froggatt, CTO
Phone: 1.540.557.5732
Email: [email protected]