LASER 2003 gets underway

24 Jun 2003

Visitor numbers are up by a third on the opening day of the biennial event.

LASER 2003 got off to a scorching start in the Bavarian sunshine yesterday, with show organizer Messe Munich claiming a 30% increase in visitors on the first day compared with the previous event in 2001.

Messe Munich managing director Klaus Dittrich said that the number of companies exhibiting at the trade show - almost 1000 - was also up 8% on the 2001 figure.

Laser pioneer Robert Byer of Stanford University, US, kicked off proceedings at the accompanying conference with a plenary lecture on the history and future of solid-state lasers.

In his talk, Byer highlighted the potential of thin-disk crystals, fiber lasers and ceramic gain media to deliver high-power sources for next-generation laser applications.