optics.org blog
Daily news and views from optics.org. In-depth coverage of key industry events.
June 16, 2009
LASER 2009: new product focus
Products and announcements from Wavelength Electronics, NKT Photonics, Femtolasers Produktions and JENOPTIK Polymer Systems.
Temperature controller
The new PTC-CH Series temperature controller offers high-precision control and stability in a compact, chassis-mount package, claims Wavelength Electronics (Bozeman, MT). Designed to operate with the PLD-CH Series laser-diode drivers, the PTC-CH supports thermoelectric and resistive-heater operation with all sensor types. It provides user-configurable temperature setpoint and a TTL-compatible remote disable. With current up to 20 A, better than 1 mV accuracy and temperature stability across ambient of better than 1.4 mK, the PTC-CH Series is said to be ideal for applications such as electro-optical systems, benchtop inspection instruments and medical diagnostic equipment.
www.teamwavelength.com
Benchtop fibre lasers
NKT Photonics, the result of a merger between Danish vendors Koheras and Crystal Fibre, is to introduce a new version of its AdjustiK and BoostiK series of fully integrated DFB fibre-laser benchtop systems. The optical design is based upon the third-generation KOHERAS BasiK laser engine, featuring a digital control interface and power upgrade feature. Target markets are any R&D and scientific applications that require high frequency stability and low-noise operation. The fibre lasers are offered at custom specified wavelengths within the C- and L-bands as well as within the 1.03-1.12 micron wavelength range. The AdjustiK series provides up to 200 mW of optical output power; the BoostiK series up to 1 W.
www.nktphotonics.com
Ultrabroadband light source
The new INTEGRAL OCT light source supports ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT), providing an ultrabroad bandwidth to reach sub-2 microns in axial resolution as well as ample power for ultrahigh-speed scanning. That’s the claim of Femtolasers Produktions, Austria. Applications include 3D imaging, spectroscopic and polarization-sensitive OCT, imaging of individual cells and subcellular structures, as well as non-destructive quality control. Specifications include: output power (ex fibre) >40 mW; centre wavelength of 800 nm; and bandwidth at 3 dB >150 nm.
www.femtolasers.com
Micro-optics for micro projection
JENOPTIK Polymer Systems, Germany, and MEMS Optical (also part of the JENOPTIK group) will be presenting a double-sided microlens in plastic that’s compatible with series production. A double-sided microlens array enables homogenization of laser sources as well as beam guidance in laser projection systems. The new product is a response to increasing demand for micro projectors in consumer applications such as laptop computers and mobile phones. “Injection-moulding technology allows for joining design mounting and alignment features as an integral part of the optical component to aid in packaging and system assembly,” says JENOPTIK.
www.jenoptik-ps.de
LASER 2009: new product focus
Products and announcements from Gooch & Housego, ES Technology, Kylia and Holo/Or.
Multimode pump combiners
Gooch & Housego, UK, will launch a range of low-port-count, multimode pump combiners with a signal feed through fibre - a format commonly referred to as a (2+1)x1. Fibre-laser systems incorporating the (2+1)x1 are becoming more common as diode pump powers increase. They are already established as the signal/pump combiner in high-power fibre amplifiers for cable TV distribution. The (2+1)x1 is available as standard at centre wavelengths of 1064 and 1550 nm, with both polarization-maintaining and singlemode feed-through fibres. Signal performance is essentially wavelength-independent over the C-band for 1550 nm devices and over a 60 nm range for the 1064 nm devices. Other options are available upon request, including combiners with large-mode-area signal fibre.
www.goochandhousego.com
Industrial fibre laser
The es CODE is a ytterbium fibre laser designed with a range of industrial applications in mind - marking, coding, thermoplastics welding, thin cutting, engraving and surface treatment. Developed by ES Technology, France, the laser comes in two versions: the es CODE 300 (30 W output power) and the es CODE 100 (10 W). According to ES, the compact scan head (215x60x75 mm) and lightweight design (800 g) make the system “a convenient tool for production-line professionals”. Specifications include a marking field of 100x100 mm (standard); marking speed of 600 characters/s (character height 1 mm); and a spot diameter of 49 or 52 microns.
www.eslaser.com
Dual-polarization optical hybrid
Kylia, France, will unveil a package dedicated to OEM deployment for its dual-polarization optical hybrid. The hybrid extracts phase and amplitude from a single-polarization signal by performing four 90° phase-stepped interferences between the signal and a local oscillator. The optical hybrid plugs into balanced photodiodes. Kylia is now working on integrating the photodiodes into a single package, with cost, fibre management and reduced footprint the main targets of the project.
www.kylia.com
High-uniformity homogenizers
Holo/Or, Israel, will feature its new series of HM5 high-uniformity homogenizers. The products, which are made from pure fused silica, are available in various diffusion angles and sizes. Popular versions include a 2x2 degrees diffusion angle for 1064 nm and a 1x1 degree diffusion angle for 532 nm. Other features include high transmission efficiency (~99%); high diffraction efficiency (~75%); high damage threshold; insensitivity to misalignment; and compatibility with single- and multimode lasers.
www.holoor.com
June 11, 2009
LASER 2009: new product focus
Products and announcements from B&W Tek, APE, Mobius Photonics and Axetris.
Violet/blue lasers
The BWB series of thermoelectric-cooled, solid-state violet/blue lasers will be featured by B&W Tek (Newark, DE). The 405 nm singlemode sources operate over the 10 to 35 °C temperature range with stable 40 and 80 mW continuous power. B&W says that the “excellent mode quality and low divergence make the lasers suitable for beam focusing as well as long-distance beam positioning”. The compact power supply can be easily integrated into the OEM version for applications such as spectroscopy, metrology, wafer inspection and micro-materials processing.
www.bwtek.com
Frequency converters
The HarmoniXX series of frequency converters for mode-locked ultrafast lasers will be featured by Angewandte Physik & Elektronik (APE), Germany. Frequency doubling, tripling and quadrupling are covered via a modularly structured system. With quick-release optics, HarmoniXX devices are applicable for a wide pulse duration range - from femtoseconds to several tens of picoseconds. APE claims that the new products are “optimized for highest conversion efficiency at various laser power levels as well as minimum pulse broadening”. An Autotracker option is offered for use in combination with automatic, PC-controlled laser systems.
www.ape-berlin.com
Multiwavelength fibre laser
The G1+ Laser System from Mobius Photonics (Santa Clara, CA) is a fibre-based light source configurable for 30 W IR, 18 W green and 10 W UV, with pulse widths as short as 2 ns and repetition rates up to 1 MHz. Those specifications, available in a diffraction-limited beam, “open new opportunities for companies specializing in micromachining, materials processing and precision manufacturing”, says Mobius. Mobius product are based on a pulsed master-oscillator, fibre-power-amplifier (MOFPA) architecture.
www.mobiusphotonics.com
Microlens arrays
The Axetris Division of Leister Process Technologies, Switzerland, will present its portfolio of diffractive and refractive microlenses and microlens arrays at LASER 2009. The refractive microlenses are suitable for a range of applications, among them collimation of high-power diode-laser bars for materials processing, diode-laser pumping and beam homogenization in lithography and biomedical instrumentation. Diffraction gratings and microlens arrays are ideally suited for optical beam splitting and shaping and find applications in optical sensors, metrology and spectroscopy. Axetris also offers MEMS contract services (e.g. deposition of metals, etching, dicing, etc).
www.leister.com/axetris
LASER 2009: new product focus
Products and announcements from InnoLight, LOTIS TII, Omicron and tec5.
DPSS lasers
InnoLight will feature a new diode-pumped solid-state laser for scientific applications like optical trapping, high-precision metrology and nonlinear optics. According to the German manufacturer, the 1064 nm source (35 W output) is characterized by “outstanding low amplitude and frequency noise, resulting from a rugged monolithic non-planar ring oscillator combined with superior amplifier technology”. The InnoLight booth will also feature two new lasers for industrial OEM applications: a 200 mW CW 515 nm laser and a high-peak-power Q-switched IR laser (emitting around 1 micron).
www.innolight.de
Nd:YAG laser
The LS-2147A from LOTIS TII, Belarus, is a compact, high-power Nd:YAG laser that consists of two independent modules: oscillator and power amplifier. According to the vendor, the design of the pump chambers suppresses undesired parasitic superluminescence oscillations that limit output energy. In addition, the laser has a built-in second harmonic and is supplied with external third-, fourth- and fifth-harmonics units. The high-energy UV output is listed as 300 mJ at 355 nm; 200 mJ at 266 nm; and 45 mJ at 213 nm.
www.lotis-tii.com
High-performance diode lasers
Omicron, Germany, says that its PhoxX diode-laser modules offer high-stability CW operation as well as fast analogue and digital modulation and an electronic-shutter function. The lasers are available in 14 wavelength options between 375 and 830 nm and with optical output powers up to 140 mW (643 nm). Omicron claims that its proprietary beam-shaping optics with astigmatism correction ensure excellent focal quality, high fibre-coupling efficiency and good beam-pointing stability.
www.omicron-laser.de
Interface electronics for spectroscopy
tec5, Germany, will be featuring its range of high-performance modular electronics for operation of photodiode arrays and spectral sensors. The components are suitable for arrays manufactured in NMOS, CCD and InGaAs technologies and can be used in the UV, visible and near-IR wavelength ranges. In addition to OEM electronics, technologies developed by tec5 are also available as integrated spectrometer modules in compact housings or as complete spectrometer systems. Hardware components are supported by the application software MultiSpec Pro. In addition, several software development kits are offered for customer programming.
www.tec5.com
June 9, 2009
Fianium out to win hearts and minds
Fianium, the UK-headquartered manufacturer of fibre-laser systems, has opened a micro-materials processing applications laboratory in the US. The company will use the new centre to position its ultrafast fibre lasers as alternatives to conventional diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) sources.
Based in Portland, Oregon, the lab will enable Fianium to work closely with OEMs to test material samples and highlight the processing results attainable with its range of picosecond fibre-laser systems.
Project work will cover a diverse range of materials, including polymers, glasses, organic tissue and reflective metals - all of which have traditionally proven difficult to process using DPSS sources.
Fianium has partnered with photonics engineering services provider Summit Photonics, led by Brian Baird, to create the new facility.
“The new applications lab combines Fianium’s expertise with that of Summit Photonics to offer laser users in industrial markets the unequivocal proof that they can complete specific tasks quicker, better and more cost-effectively via our ultrafast picosecond and femtosecond fibre-laser products,” commented Fianium CEO Anatoly Grudinin. “I’m a firm believer that we’re currently only scratching the surface in terms of ultrafast lasers’ potential.”
Fianium will be exhibiting at LASER in Hall C1, booth 522.
June 2, 2009
LASER 2009: new product focus
Products and announcements from KLASTECH, Photonics Industries and 3S Photonics.
CW ruby laser
KLASTECH, Germany, will be exhibiting what it claims is the industry’s first CW diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) ruby laser. Dubbed the CRESCENDO, the laser utilizes the company’s proprietary approach for pumping the ruby crystal and the same DENICAFC “double-enhanced laser technology” common to other lasers in the KLASTECH range. “This laser for the first time not only provides a ruby-based CW source, but also offers the first single-frequency, ultralow-noise DPSS laser in the visible red region of the spectrum, opening up new possibilities to researchers in biophysics and DNA sequencing,” says KLASTECH. The CRESCENDO is available initially in 100 mW and 150 mW versions, with plans to increase its power output to 500 mW in the near future.
www.klastech.de
Diode-pumped picosecond lasers
Photonics Industries (Bohemia, NY) says that its RG Series diode-pumped picosecond lasers produce over 3 mJ per pulse at 1 kHz, and more than 10 W at 10 kHz at 1064 nm with ~15 ps nominal pulse widths - all while still maintaining TEM00 mode quality in a compact, industrial-grade package. Higher-power versions (25 W and 40 W at 10 kHz) or higher-pulse-energy formats (5 mJ/pulse and 7 mJ/pulse at 1 kHz) are also available. Harmonic outputs such as 532 nm, 355 nm, 266 nm and 213 nm can be ordered as needed. According to the vendor, “high-pulse-energy picosecond laser pulses with good beam quality can competitively machine thicker materials or materials with feature sizes of ~1 mm. Such mesoscale laser processing with less heat-affected zone is proving in for a myriad of novel applications on materials such as metals and ceramics.”
www.photonix.com
1064 nm pump module
3S Photonics, France, will use LASER 2009 to unveil its first product for non-telecoms applications. The 1064 nm singlemode pump-laser module, the 1064 CHP, is designed for integration into industrial fibre-laser systems used in micromachining applications. Features include output power up to 400 mW at 850 mA and peak power up to 1W; a low-profile hermetically sealed 14-pin butterfly package with polarization-maintaining fibre pigtail; integrated thermoelectric cooler, thermistor and back-facet monitor photodiode; operating temperature range from -5 to +75 °C; and operating wavelength range from 1050-1070 nm. Users can choose from two options: a fibre Bragg grating version for wavelength stabilization and a “High PER” format with polarization extinction ratio exceeding 20 dB.
www.3Sphotonics.com
Lasers in Manufacturing 2009 conference stronger than ever
Despite the unfavourable economic conditions, the International Conference on Lasers in Manufacturing (LiM) 2009, which is being held as a part of the World of Photonics Congress, will be busier than ever, according to the organizers.
Almost 200 presentations will feature the latest results in this field, and LiM general chair Andreas Ostendorf is convinced that the event will set important milestones in the future direction of laser materials processing.
Keynote presentations at LiM 2009 will focus on new laser processes in the fields of nanotechnology and material modifications, along with the latest developments from TRUMPF.
Further invited presentations over the four-day conference will address two topics: high-power laser applications in macro processing, and ultraprecise micro/nanoprocessing developments. In addition, the final results of the Fuelas project investigating laser-guided arc welding of high-strength steels will be presented.
More information is available at the LASER World of Photonics web site.
LASER 2009: new product focus
The latest news from GSI Group, Ibsen Photonics, JDSU and Hamamatsu.
400 W fibre laser
GSI Group, UK, will be exhibiting the latest addition to its range of JK fibre lasers for welding and cutting applications. The JK400FL is a 400 W CW source that doubles the available power of the JK product line while using the same single-resonator platform. According to GSI, the singlemode output fibre delivers a near diffraction-limited beam that is consistent and stable across the whole power range. At maximum power, wall-plug efficiency is better than 25%, leading to economic operation and low environmental impact. In-built backreflection protection ensures that the laser continues to work even in the most demanding applications, without the need for a costly Faraday isolator.
www.gsiglasers.com
High-power transmission gratings
Ibsen Photonics, Denmark, will feature a family of high-power transmission gratings for 1064 nm, 800 nm and custom wavelengths. Fused-silica transmission gratings offer a power-handling capability that’s claimed to be an order of magnitude greater than any other grating technology, including conventional gold-coated reflection gratings. Applications include pulse compression, spectral beam-combining and other high-power applications, which can be either CW or extremely short pulses. “Our fused-silica grating technology is perfectly suited to high-power applications, where users have been hitting the energy ceiling of grating types available up until now,” says product manager Kristian Buchwald. “Our high-power gratings are comprised of 100% low-OH fused silica, plus standard high-power dielectric AR [antireflection] coatings.”
www.ibsen.dk
UV optical filters
JDSU (Milpitas, CA) says that its UV optical filters “provide unparalleled UV light transmission - up to four times the transmission of traditional UV filters”. The manufacturer also claims that its products are more durable and stable than existing filters because they are made up of hard dielectric material with a single-substrate structure. The filters, available in custom designs and large formats of up to 200 mm, can be used be used for any application in which the harmful portion of the UV spectrum must be eliminated while transmitting the desired wavelength - e.g. environmental monitoring, medical/aesthetic laser instruments, flame or gas detection, semiconductor lithography and genetic research.
www.jdsu.com
Quantum-cascade lasers
Hamamatsu Photonics, UK, will introduce a new range of quantum-cascade DFB lasers for applications in next-generation IR laser spectroscopy systems. The L10195 series is available with two wavelength options as standard: 7.7 microns for the L10195-01 and 5.2 microns for the L10195-02. Each product has a typical output power of 15 mW. According to the vendor, quantum-cascade lasers are the only mid-infrared semiconductor laser that can operate easily at room temperature utilizing peltier cooling. What’s more, the tunability of the emission wavelength enables high-resolution analysis of a variety of gases (e.g. CH4, N2O and H2CO) in medical diagnostics and security applications.
www.sales.hamamatsu.com
May 27, 2009
SPIE to honour Lothar Späth at LASER
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
As part of the SPIE Europe Optical Metrology Congress, Lothar Späth will be honoured with an SPIE Visionary Award in recognition of his crucial support for photonics in the historic optical centre of Jena. Späth was chairman of Jenoptik AG when it was established in 1991, and is credited with turning the East German optical engineering company into a world-class success.
The award will be presented during SPIE Europe’s Optical Metrology Congress, which will take place on 14-18 June in Munich, Germany, as part of the World of Photonics Congress. More than 200 technical papers on optics and laser applications in metrology and conservation of art and archaeology will be presented at the event.
Taking centre stage will be Christopher Dainty, head of the applied optics group at the National University of Ireland, Galway, who will give a plenary talk on adaptive optics. Technical sessions will cover the latest solutions to practical problems in industrial design and production engineering, including recent advances in using optical technologies to preserve cultural heritage in art and architecture. Researchers will also describe how optical test and measurement techniques at the micro- and nanoscale are being applied right at the forefront of optical metrology.
Papers are organized into conferences on:
• Optical measurement systems for industrial inspection, including a session on metrology of advanced optics that will be held jointly with the EOS Conference on Manufacturing of Optical Components
• Modelling aspects in optical metrology
• O3A: optics for arts, architecture, and archaeology.
The symposium chairs are Wolfgang Osten of Universität Stuttgart, Germany; Malgorzata Kujawinska, Politechnika Warszawska, Poland; and Pietro Ferraro, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica Applicata, Italy.
For registration and other information, visit:
www.world-of-photonics.net/en/photonics-congress/Registration/RegistrationLinks
www.world-of-photonics.net/en/photonics-congress/start/OrganizersConferences/EOM
G&H launches pump combiners for high-power diodes
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
Gooch & Housego, a manufacturer of components for high-power lasers and fibre amplifiers, has launched a range of low-port-count, multimode pump combiners with a signal feedthrough fibre. This configuration is commonly referred to as a 2+1x1.
Fibre laser systems incorporating the 2+1x1 are becoming more common as diode pump powers increase. They are already established as the signal/pump combiner in high-power fibre amplifiers for CATV distribution.
The 2+1x1 is available as standard at centre wavelengths of 1064 nm and 1550 nm with both polarization maintaining and singlemode feedthrough fibres. The signal performance is essentially wavelength independent over the C band for 1550 nm devices and over a 60 nm range for the 1064 nm devices. Other options are available upon request including combiners with large-mode-area signal fibre.
The combiners are also available from AMS Technologies, which sells and markets Gooch & Housego products in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.
The new product line will be exhibited at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009 by AMS Technologies at booth B1.301, and also by Gooch & Housego at booth B1.310.
For more information visit www.ams.de and www.goochandhousego.com.
Route des Lasers shines light on Bordeaux
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
Key players in the Bordeaux optics community will present the region’s strengths and capabilities at LASER 2009.
Photonics is a strong and active field in the Bordeaux region of France, and the Route des Lasers competitiveness cluster will once again be at LASER to present the region’s achievements and to promote the expertise of local companies and organizations.
• Mikan will be highlighting its new series of compact air-cooled ultrafast oscillators.
• Amplitude Systems will be showcasing Satsuma, a compact diode-pumped ultrafast fibre laser.
• EOLITE Systems will introduce its new OCTOPUS multi-fibre delivery laser and a 150W version of its BOREAS laser.
• CORDOUAN Technologies will present a new instrument for measuring the refractive index in suspensions, which can be used for applications such as the characterization of absorbent, dark or concentrated samples.
• Polyrise will introduce a new class of sol-gel-based varnishes for antireflective coatings.
In addition, visitors to the booth will be able to meet representatives from ALPhA (Aquitaine Lasers Photonics and Applications), the SEML Route des Lasers, the Bordeaux Region Development Agency and the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Route des Lasers cluster aims to foster a strong synergy between industry, research and universities. Led by the ALPhA association, it is one of three competitiveness clusters dedicated to optics and lasers. Its objectives are to become the world reference for innovation high-intensity lasers, to use technological skills as a driving force for economic development, and to support industrial development around a number of high-priority topics.
Visit booth C1-319 to find out more about Bordeaux’s optics and photonics resources.
Bordeaux will be the venue for Invest in Photonics 2010, to be held in on 18th and 19th March 2010.
TRIOPTICS debuts automatic cementing system
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
The OptiCentric Cementing Station helps to avoid positioning errors in achromatic lens systems by providing a simplified cementing process. It’s designed to avoid the need for cementing the lenses by hand, which requires a high level of mechanical skills and can lead to disappointing results if a cemtration error affects the imaging quality of the achromatic system.
In contrast to the traditional cementing process, the OptiCentric Cementing Station eliminates the need for precision sample fixtures. The fully automatic procedure also yields more reliable results because it no longer relies on the mechanical skills of the operator.
The system measures the centration error with an autocollimator system in reflection mode, which operates according to the ISO 10110-6 standard. With the help of the patented SmartAlign algorithm, the centration of each lens surface within the achromatic doublet is measured automatically, allowing the optimum shift for the upper lens to be calculated. A piezo-driven manipulator then adjusts the position of the upper lens within 1-2 seconds, achieving a residual centration error between both lenses in the doublet of typically less than 2 microns.
This procedure doesn’t depend on the accuracy and stability of any mechanical fixtures, since both lenses are directly centred to each other and not to some third mechanical reference. The measurement precision is provided by a high-resolution CCD-based electronic autocollimator, while the sample rotation is achieved by an ultrahigh-precision air bearing.
A software-controlled motorized stage focuses the autocollimator to the centre of curvature of each surface, which allows the displacement or tilt of the lens to be measured. Once the lens pair has been loaded with cement by hand, the complete centring process, including UV curing, can be done automatically. In total the whole process of centring and curing takes no longer than a few seconds.
The instrument software provides records and statistics of the centration results, user definable thresholds for centration tolerances, and simple go/no go signals for the final result.
The Cementing Station is an add-on to the TRIOPTICS OptiCentric System for centration error measurement, and can be easily adapted to existing OptiCentric MOT instruments. It can also be ordered as a turnkey standalone system.
For further information see www.trioptics.com.
Visit TRIOPTICS at LASER World of PHOTONICS Hall 2 booth 309.
May 12, 2009
Excitement builds for LASER 2009
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
Even with the global economy in trouble, LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009 is on course to be a thriving and profitable meeting for the photonics community.
“LASER World of PHOTONICS is going very well, and despite the difficult economic situation will be larger in 2009 than it was in 2007,” commented Angela Praeg of show organizers Messe Munchen. “For the first time, the tradeshow will be using a fourth exhibition hall, and more exhibitors are expected to participate than last time. That is extremely positive, particularly at a time when some industries are experiencing falls in revenue of 20, 30 or even 50%. It shows that optical technologies offer a route out of the crisis for companies through innovation, new products and manufacturing methods.”
The tradeshow is presenting three main focal points: Biophotonics and Life Sciences; Lasers in the Manufacturing of Photovoltaics; and Illumination. There will also be a new conference held within the framework of the World of PHOTONICS Congress. The event, entitled Manufacturing of Optical Components, is being organized by the European Optical Society.
“This year the Application Panels from the World of Photonics Congress will be taking place in the tradeshow forums,” noted Praeg. “These free events build a bridge between science and industry, and are a further step towards integrating technological advances with real applications. For this reason, we will be setting up three forums in the tradeshow halls rather than the one forum that we have had in previous years.”
A look at the exhibitor database reveals growth in the number of participants from a number of countries, including Germany. For the first time, the Netherlands and Scotland will each have their own national pavilion at the trade show, while exhibitor numbers from China have been boosted by the decision of the Wuhan Optical Valley to participate in a pavilion for the first time.
“In many exhibition areas there will be companies that have never before had a booth at the tradeshow,” said Praeg. “New exhibitors include Eata Equipaggiamenti, Orotiq, Microtech, and Prima Electronics from Italy; Piezomotor from Sweden; Ciposa Automation and Swisstec from Switzerland; and Retec-Automark Markier-und Befestigungssysteme from Germany.”
SOLASYS boosts PV efficiency and productivity
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
SOLASYS, a European research programme that’s developing laser-processing systems for next-generation solar cells and modules, will present its initial results at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009.
Coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (Aachen, Germany), SOLASYS comprises a consortium of 10 companies and research institutes. The project is worth €6 million, of which €3.5 million is covered by an EU subsidy.
SOLASYS aims to lower manufacturing costs and increase solar-cell efficiency by both improving current production processes and developing new ones. Five specific processes are involved: high-speed drilling of microscopically small holes, ablation of thin layers without damage to the substrate, laser soldering for cell interconnection, laser isolation of the front and rear sides, as well as laser-based selective doping.
Laser drilling is one example of how SOLASYS will lower costs for the manufacturing of silicon solar cells. The “metal wrap through” concept (MWT) involves transferring the metal contacts from the front of the cell to the back using drilled micron-scale holes. This requires the drilling of 100 holes in less than a second. The aim of this method is to increase cell efficiency by reducing shading from contacts on the front side of the panel, and to simplify cell contacting, since both electrical terminals are on the rear side.
In the future, the connection of several cells to form a single module will also be performed using lasers. Laser soldering permits precise control of the soldering temperatures and hence specific process optimization. If the temperature at the solar cell deviates from the set value, the laser output can be adjusted accordingly, which enables a high-quality solder joint and low thermal stress.
Initial results will be presented at the joint Fraunhofer stand in Hall C2 at the LASER 2009 trade fair. For more information, please visit the project website: www.solasys.eu.
Ibsen Photonics brings high-power transmission gratings to LASER
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
Ibsen Photonics (Farum, Denmark), a supplier of holographic phase masks, transmission diffraction gratings and spectrometer modules based on diffraction gratings, offers high-power transmission gratings for 1064 nm, 800 nm and custom wavelengths.
Fused-silica transmission gratings offer a power-handling capability claimed to be an order of magnitude higher than any other grating technology, including conventional gold-coated reflection gratings. Applications for these gratings include pulse compression, spectral beam-combining and other high-power applications, which can be either CW or extremely short pulses.
“Our fused-silica grating technology is perfectly suited to high-power applications, where users have been hitting the energy ceiling of grating types available up until now,” said product manager Kristian Buchwald. “Our high-power gratings are comprised of 100% low-OH fused silica, plus standard high-power dielectric AR coatings. This combination is unbeatable for power- and energy-handling capability.”
The company’s grating technology is leveraged in Ibsen’s optical spectrometer modules for sensor interrogation systems and DWDM telecoms networks. In addition, Ibsen is pursuing partnerships in other industries to expand its high-resolution spectrometer platform based on pure fused silica holographic diffraction gratings.
Ibsen will be presenting its product portfolio at LASER 2009, booth 429 in Hall B2.
Breault software models optical systems ASAP
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
Breault Research Organization (BRO) of Tucson, AZ, has released a new version of its Advanced Systems Analysis Program (ASAP). The ASAP 2009 V1R1 release adds “significant capability” to the software, which is widely used for virtual prototyping of optical systems and devices.
Applications for ASAP include automotive, architectural and speciality illumination design, simulation of laser systems and other coherent devices, stray light analysis of telescopes and space-based imaging systems, display modelling, complete biomedical system modelling, micro-optical device modelling, and others.
“ASAP 2009 represents the most feature-rich release in the history of the software and includes an enhancement to distributed processing that marks a paradigm shift in the way engineers and designers will use optical software to improve productivity, evaluate creative ideas, reduce product time to market, and roll-out products representing leaps in innovation,” enthused CEO Kevin Garcia.
BRO will be exhibiting ASAP at LASER 2009. Visit booth 152 in Hall B2.
April 30, 2009
New TopPride filters for fluorescence microscopy
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
Danish manufacturer DELTA has expanded its TopPride range of filters and will show them at LASER 2009.
The TopPride family was initially released at the Photonics West show in January, and is now expanded with new filters and filter sets for LASER World of PHOTONICS.
“TopPride filter sets are generally aimed at high-end fluorescence microscopy,” commented Lene Kloch of DELTA. “The filters all have transmission levels above 92% in their respective passbands, allowing the shortest possible excitation and the best signal-to-noise ratio. Typical transmission levels are 95-98%.”
All TopPride filters are made as single-substrate constructions, without the use of coloured glass. As a result, the filters are claimed to demonstrate extreme durability, along with minimal lens effect or auto-fluorescence.
“The upper limit of the blocking range has been extended from the traditional 780 nm to beyond 950 nm,” said Kloch. “This makes the filters suitable for modern camera-based microscopes.”
DELTA will exhibit the TopPride range and other optical thin-film components in Hall B2, booth 207.
TRUMPF brings TruDiode to LASER
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
The first laser in TRUMPF’s new series of direct-diode laser sources will be on show at LASER 2009.
The TruDiode range of direct-diode sources will ultimately replace the company’s lamp-pumped continuous-wave lasers, and the first product in the series to arrive is the TruDiode 3006.
“Direct-diode lasers have high beam quality, equivalent to that from lamp-pumped Nd:YAG lasers, even at power outputs in the multi-kilowatt range,” said TRUMPF’s Holger Kapp. “Therefore they are the beam source of choice for welding applications that are currently performed with lamp-pumped high-power lasers.”
The electrical efficiency of TruDiode lasers is claimed to be as high as 40%, far outstripping the levels possible with lamp-pumped sources.
“The TruDiode 3006 on show at LASER features an output power of 3 kW,” said Kapp. “Other lasers in the family will be launched during 2009.”
The development of direct-diode sources follows other recent moves by TRUMPF to position itself in industrial laser markets, including the acquisition of UK fibre-laser specialist SPI Lasers in September 2008. Last year, the company told optics.org that it was committed to developing all varieties of laser technology in order to offer customers “the best laser for every application in materials processing”.
TRUMPF can be found in Hall C2, booth 321.
Simulation software: it’s got the power
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
The new version of the RP Fiber Power simulation software allows optical designers to optimize fibre amplifiers and fibre lasers for a range of applications.
“Industrial companies, research laboratories and educational institutions can all benefit from the software’s ability to assess the impact of various detrimental effects on the performance of fibre lasers and amplifiers,” commented Rudiger Paschotta of RP Photonics Consulting, Switzerland. “Predicting the performance of active fibre devices and optimizing their performance - for example, by finding the optimum fibre length, doping concentration and refractive-index profiles - is a key benefit.”
Version 2.0 of the package will be available at LASER 2009 and features several new features, including the ability to account for radial dependencies of doping concentrations and optical intensities, resulting in a higher precision for devices based on double-clad fibres. The software can also now simulate an optical pulse’s temporal evolution - for example, in the distortion of a pulse by gain saturation in a fibre amplifier.
“The result can be a reduction in time and expenditure for the development of new devices and a better understanding on the technical details involved,” said Paschotta.
As well as technical support for the RP Fiber Power package itself, advice from RP Photonics on related technical issues is also included in the licence fee. “Support is not limited to details of the software, but also covers more general consultancy on relevant matters,” noted Paschotta. “The combination of software and support we offer is intended to help development projects achieve rapid progress.”
RP Photonics Consulting can be found in Hall B2, booth 132.
Fianium targets materials processing
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
A new range of ultrafast fibre lasers, an applications lab and a hosted panel session discussion will keep materials processing at the heart of the company’s agenda for LASER 2009.
Fianium will demonstrate its new FP1060-HE range of high-energy ultrafast fibre lasers designed for diverse materials processing applications including high-precision micromachining.
Claimed to be robust, reliable and versatile, the industrial-grade lasers are capable of pulse energies of up to 10 µJ and pulse widths of less than 20 ps, “allowing the processing of challenging polymers, glasses, organic tissue and reflective metals”.
In addition, Fianium will promote its new materials processing applications lab, set up in collaboration with Summit Photonics and based in Oregon, US. Fianium says the lab enables it “to work closely with OEMs to test samples and prove the unique processing results attainable with its range of picosecond fibre lasers”.
On Tuesday 16th June, Fianium will also host a discussion on ultrafast fibre lasers for materials processing, one of a series of application panels on novel developments in solid-state laser technology. Fianium’s session starts at 3:40pm at stand B2.403.
Fianium’s own booth (522) is located in Hall C1.
Biophotonics in focus at LASER 2009
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe magazine and optics.org
The biophotonics and life sciences sections at LASER World of PHOTONICS 2009 have been extended, to put the sectors firmly in the spotlight and allow research institutes, developers and manufacturers to present their latest developments.
As well as a separate exhibition area in Hall B1 and additional displays by exhibitors in other halls at the Munich Trade Fair Centre, show organizer Messe Munchen has announced that the World of Photonics Congress will devote a stream to medical laser applications. This will comprise expert practice-oriented talks on lasers in medicine, optical diagnostics, endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery.
Elsewhere, the European Conferences on Biomedical Optics will feature presentations spanning biophotonics, biomedical imaging, diagnostics and therapeutics.
Under the title Visions for Future Diagnostics, a series of free Application Panels will allow experts from science and industry to exchange information and experiences on current interdisciplinary developments. They will jointly formulate possible solutions and lay the foundations for future developments in the field of biophotonics.
“According to market analyses, biophotonics is regarded as one of the most important technologies which will help to develop new markets in the high-tech sector in the future,” commented Messe Munchen’s Angela Praeg. “The interdisciplinary character of this sector gives it unique potential, but that can only be fully exploited through creative cooperation between technology developers and users in medicine and life sciences. The world’s leading trade fair will provide an ideal platform for science and industry to obtain information and exchange know-how and experiences on the latest solutions and developments from the fields of medicine, biotechnology, environmental technology and nutrition.”
April 9, 2009
LZH promotes technology transfer at LASER
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) will present the highlights from its programme of laser research at LASER 2009.
“We work in all fields of laser technology,” Michael Botts of LZH told optics.org. “One of the main reasons we attend LASER is to promote technology transfer, providing industry with knowledge that will help them to establish new laser technologies or expand into fresh application areas.”
Among the topics LZH is to focus on:
Ultrashort-pulse laser systems: The FULMINA project aims to design ultrashort-pulse systems more compact and easier to use, by incorporating modified or multifunctional components.
Improved photovoltaic cells: Laser drilling offers the opportunity to reposition the electrical contacts from the front to the back side of a PV cell, while laser structuring of thin-film solar cells is predicted to simplify the wiring arrangements needed when assembling solar arrays.
Customized nanomaterials: Amplified short-pulse lasers can be used to generate nanoparticles through ablation of many different materials. In many cases, the size and concentration of the nanoparticles can be closely controlled, and the process is inherently suited to being performed in sterile environments.
These and other projects can be viewed at the LZH stand, Hall C2 Booth 644.
Intense brings Hermes bars, arrays to LASER
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
Quantum-well intermixing is an enabling technology designed to boost the power, brightness and lifetime of high-performance lasers.
Visitors to the Intense booth at LASER 2009 will be able to get a close look at the company’s Hermes line of high-power laser bars and stacked arrays. Employing the company’s patented Quantum Well Intermixing (QWI) technology, they are claimed to provide up to 2000 W of output power at wavelengths from 8xx to 9xx nm.
QWI is based on the integration of passive regions at the facets of laser diode emitters, arrays and bars, creating active and passive sections in the same laser cavity. The resulting semiconductor lasers are able to operate at much higher powers than conventional devices.
Applications for such sources include coding and marking systems, pump sources for solid-state lasers, rangefinders, materials processing and micromachining.
Intense is located at Hall C1 Booth 312.
Biophotonics under the microscope
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
The Medical Laser Applications Congress 2009, to be held alongside LASER 2009 in Munich, will present the latest research breakthroughs in the burgeoning field of biophotonics.
“This is the only congress in Germany showing biophotonic technologies to a broad audience of medical specialists,” Congress chair Ronald Sroka told optics.org. “Normally in medical conferences there is a small session about these techniques, but here practitioners from a broad spectrum of medical disciplines will be able to discover what experts in other fields are doing.”
One feature of the Congress will be the presentation of specific innovative techniques now in development, and the results of clinical studies pointing the way to future procedures. This will parallel the Application Panels being held in the main LASER show, the aim being to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
“Optical diagnostic procedures to perform biopsies have been the significant breakthrough in recent years,” commented Sroka. “Biopsy techniques will be presented at the Congress that could allow diagnosis and treatment to be performed in one session. Another vision of the future involves laser-induced X-ray-assisted diagnosis, which will be presented during the Application Panel on Monday 15th June.”
The Medical Laser Applications Congress will be located in Hall B0 of Messe Munchen on 14th and 15th June 2009, with Application Panels running throughout the LASER show. The 17th congress of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Lasermedizin will be held concurrently.
Visit www.lmu.de/dglm2009 for more details.
March 17, 2009
A world of opportunities
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
There will be a wealth of accompanying talks and events to choose from for visitors to this year’s LASER World of Photonics show.
A series of events entitled Light Insights will be held. Among the topics featured will be an analysts’ conference with the participation of the German Stock Exchange, and presentations from industry representatives and politicians promoting projects underway within the framework of the European technology platform, Photonics21. Questions relating to Photonics21 will be tackled in different committees on every day of the trade fair. Photonics 21 will also be represented by an information stand at the West Entrance.
Elsewhere in Light Insights, events aiming to arouse the interest of children and young people in optical technologies will be held every day. They will allow visitors to learn about photonics by carrying out their own experiments and be introduced to these exciting technologies alongside experts in the field.
CEO Round Table
On 16 June 2009, CEOs of leading international technology companies will participate in a panel discussion. They will explain their corporate strategies and take a look at the future of the industry. “The Round Table is always one of the most significant events,” said Klaus Dittrich of Messe Munchen at the LASER Press Day. “It provides a unique opportunity to hear a public discussion of current topics in the industry.”
Photons in Production
Photons in Production will be the special show for material processing and innovative production technologies during the trade fair. This year it will be primarily aimed at small and medium-sized companies, presenting them with the latest industry standards through application examples, live demonstrations and technical talks. Photons in Production is jointly organized with the Institute for Machine Tools and Management Sciences (iwb) at Munich Technical University and the Bavarian Laser Center (blz) in Erlangen.
The Herbert Walther Award
This award will be presented for the first time in 2009 in memory of Professor Herbert Walther. It is endowed with 5,000 Euros and will honour contributions from the fields of quantum optics and nuclear physics, and leadership in the international scientific community. The award will be jointly presented by the Optical Society of America (OSA) and the German Physical Society (DPG). In the future it will be presented in alternate years by these two organizations.
Career Centre
In addition to free career advice on every day of the trade fair, the Career Centre will showcase current job offers available from exhibitors.
Viviane Reding to open World of Photonics Congress
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
The World of Photonics Congress is the world’s leading congress for optical technologies and will be held alongside the LASER show in Munich from 14 to 19 June 2009.
“This year the World of Photonics Congress will attract over 3000 delegates, and offers a unique opportunity for the photonics industry to discuss how best to push its future growth,” commented Klaus Dittrich of Messe Munchen. “This year it will be officially opened on 15 June 2009 by Viviane Reding, Commissioner for Information Society and Media at the European Commission, which indicates the high standing that the Congress enjoys at the European level.”
Conferences taking place under the umbrella of the World of Photonics Congress will include:
CLEO/Europe-IQEC, organized by the European Physical Society (EPS), the Optical Society of America (OSA) and IEEE/LEOS;
Frontiers in Electronic Imaging and Manufacturing of Optical Components, organized by the European Optical Society (EOS);
LIM, Lasers in Manufacturing, organized by the Scientific Laser Society (WLT);
ECBO-European Conference on Biomedical Optics, organized by the International Society of Optical Engineering (SPIE Europe) and the Optical Society of America (OSA);
Optical Metrology, organized by SPIE Europe;
Medical Laser Applications, organized by the German Association for Laser Medicine (DGLM e.V.).
In addition, a range of Application Panels demonstrating real-world uses of lasers under the title Lasers and Photonics in Actual Practice, will be organized by Messe Munchen. “These panels are intended to bridge the gap between theory and practice,” said Dittrich.
The Application Panels will be organised in three groups:
Biophotonics and life sciences will be the focus of panels discussing laser-based photon and particle beams for medical applications and visions for future diagnostics.
Innovative lasers and light generation in science and industry will be described in a second set of panels, discussing short-pulse lasers in commercial applications, novel developments in solid-state laser technology, and optical components and materials for high-power-lasers.
The final theme will be the use of lasers and laser systems for production in a range of market sectors, including photovoltaics, rapid manufacturing, and the use of high-brilliance beam sources.
Light for a better quality of life
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
Biophotonics will be one of the three Highlight Topics at LASER 2009, recognition that the sector has become one of the key motors for innovation in photonics.
“Both the LASER show and the World of Photonics Congress have specifically extended their biophotonics and life sciences sections this year,” commented Klaus Dittrich at the LASER Press Day. “Research institutes, developers and manufacturers of optical and photonic products will present the latest developments and their photonics solutions.”
In addition to a separate exhibition area in Hall B1 and additional displays by exhibitors in other halls, the World of Photonics Congress will feature expert practice-oriented talks on lasers in medicine, diagnostics and minimally invasive surgery, under the umbrella of Medical Laser Applications.
Elsewhere, free application panels will bring together technologists and industrialists to exchange information and experiences on current interdisciplinary developments and solutions. Between them they will jointly formulate possible solutions and lay the foundations for future developments in the field.
The other two highlight topics will be Lasers in Photovoltaic Manufacturing, and Illumination, both of which are at the forefront of the cleantech revolution.
“The PV sector is changing from a supply market to a buyers market, with grid parity within reach if cell efficiency can be improved,” commented Dittrich. “Illumination is the subject of dedicated research all over the world, with further development of flexible technologies a pre-requisite for growth. LASER will be the place where the leaders in these fields will come together.”
More exhibitors, more floor space than ever at LASER 2009
By Tim Hayes, Industry Editor, Optics & Laser Europe Magazine and optics.org.
The countdown to LASER 2009 is well underway.
At the LASER World of Photonics Press Day held in Munich in early March, the message from the show’s organisers was upbeat and positive. “This year there will be more exhibitors and more floor space than ever before,” promised Klaus Dittrich, managing director of Messe Munchen International.
For 2009 the trade fair has expanded by an additional 10,000 square metres compared to the previous show in 2007, through the use of a fourth exhibition hall. This brings the total available exhibition space up to 42,000 square metres.
The show will once again cover the world. New national pavilions from the Netherlands and Scotland will be featured. Dittrich predicts that Germany will supply the largest group of visitors, followed by the USA, UK, China, France and Spain. The impact of the Chinese market is demonstrated by LASER’s sister trade show, LASER World of Photonics China, which was first held in 2006 and is now an annual fixture in Shanghai.
“Of course the photonics industry cannot escape the current financial climate, and we recognise that there may be an effect on visitor numbers at the show,” commented Dittrich. “But companies and exhibitors know that investment in technology is essential now. In both exhibitor numbers and visitors, the trend for LASER 2009 is absolutely positive.”
Thomas Renner of Toptica Photonics expressed similar sentiments. “We intend to present a dozen photonics innovations at LASER,” he told me. “The show remains very important, not despite the economy but because of it. The only way for companies to successfully get out of the crisis is to innovate.”
February 3, 2009
The headline take
By Joe McEntee, Group Editor
It’s time to wrap up our Photonics West show blog for another year. Whether you made it to San Jose or not, we hope you found the reports from the conference and the trade show useful. To have your say on any of our Photonics West stories - or perhaps to highlight the significant developments that we inevitably missed - simply click on the commenting link at the start of each report.
For those of you in a hurry, here’s our 60-second take on Photonics West 2009…
• Technology push: as always, there was no shortage of new product launches at Photonics West. It seems that companies big and small are banking on creativity and innovation to navigate tough trading conditions in 2009-10.
• How we got here: there’s industry-wide recognition that the slowdown in laser sales is being caused by the global economic recession, not by any inherent weakness in the optics market.
• Spread your bets: optics companies selling primarily into industrial materials processing applications are finding things tough. Vendors with more diversified target markets are talking up the opportunities in steadier sectors like biomedical, research, defence and solar.
• Back to basics: with competition intensifying across the optics supply chain, vendors need to focus on the fundamentals - stuff like bulletproof customer service, fierce operational prioritization (i.e. concentrate on the stable markets, not the declining ones) and sustainable product innovation.
• It’s all about leads: the wider economy might be on its knees, but if the BiOS and Photonics West trade shows are any sort of guide then photonics is faring better than many tech sectors. Most exhibitors seemed genuinely pleased with the number of leads they were getting on the booths, but cautioned that “we’ll have to see if they turn into real business”.
• Extreme customer support: “Here’s what we can sell you” no longer cuts it (if it ever did). “What can we do for you?” is the opener that every customer wants to hear these days.
That’s all for now. Our Photonics West blog will be back in business next January. See you in San Francisco.
CO2 laser inventor champions QCLs
By Susan Curtis, publisher, Optics & Laser Europe and optics.org
It’s not every day you get to meet the inventor of the iconic CO2 industrial laser, so I was delighted to catch up with C Kumar Patel at the Pranalytica booth in the South Hall extension. Patel, who was awarded the US National Medal of Science back in 1996 for his invention of the CO2 laser, is now chairman and CEO of Pranalytica, a company formed in 2000 to develop and commercialize high-power quantum cascade lasers for applications in spectroscopy and infrared countermeasures.
The latest release from Pranalytica is a 2 W continuous wave QCL that operates at room temperature and emits at 4.6 µm. “It’s the highest power QCL currently available on the market,” claimed Patel - who demonstrated by using the laser to burn a hole in his business card. The turn-key laser system is intended particularly for countermeasures systems in commercial and military aircraft, where higher powers are crucial to make laser-based systems effective over longer distances.
The newest version of the laser delivers double the output power of the previous incarnation, but maintains the same nearly diffraction-limited beam quality at potentially a lower cost per watt. Several thousands hours of lab testing testifies to the system’s long-term reliability, while the package is hermetically sealed for use in adverse environments. As well as infrared countermeasures, Patel said that the 2 W system could also benefit LIDAR and free-space optical communications systems.
More content
You can find more content in the blog’s archives.
Alternatively you can browse the blog’s category archives: