LASER 2017 exhibitors give a taste of what's on show in Munich

24 May 2017

Early announcements from suppliers including French cluster Alpha RLH, SPI Lasers and Toptica Photonics.

by Matthew Peach

As the photonics industry starts preparing for another trip to Munich for the 2017 edition of Laser World of Photonics, certain canny exhibitors are pre-announcing what they will be showing in a bid to stimulate visitor interest and perhaps even generate some early sales leads.

This year, the fair is set to involve participants from more than 70 countries, giving them a complete overview of all topics that pertain to photonics, with almost 1300 exhibitors in 55,000 square meters of Munich Messe.

Alpha-RLH (“Route des Lasers”) companies

Kylia will exhibit a range of optical products based on its free-space optics assembly technology. These consist of ultra-precise six-axis nano-positioning of micro optical elements, including lenses, prisms, diffraction gratings and their bonding onto a reference surface.

Products on show will include an optical interferometer made for Airbus Defense & Space, designed for distance measurement between satellites, and a fiber-coupled PPLN modules, for time and frequency metrology applications.

Spark Lasers, a developer of ultrafast, compact picosecond and femtosecond lasers, will display its Altair, a femtosecond laser specially designed for biophotonics applications. This source is focused on neuroscience, where two-photon and multiphoton microscopy for the excitation and imaging of brain cells are required. The Altair can provide ultrashort (<180fs) pulses with an average power exceeding 20W between 1030 nm and 1064 nm and offers a combination of frequency synchronization and dispersion compensation.

Alphanov, the optical and laser technology heart of the Bordeaux Route des Lasers cluster, will present a wide range of products: Power PAC high precision connectors, GoSpectro, smartphone enabled spectrometer, a turn-key 100WPCF amplifier, and Puls, an ultra-compact mod-lock oscillator – a monolithic solution for seeding optical amplifiers, with applications in multiphoton imaging, micromachining and biophotonics.

Eolite Systems will be displaying a three-in-one wavelength conversion module for picosecond/femtosecond applications, which is unrivaled in its performance to access either IR, Green or UV wavelength using only a single IR laser source, thus saving time and money. It develops ultra fast laser systems for the microprocessing market.

Irisiome Solutions, a developer of compact, turnkey and reliable solutions for a wide range of scientific applications, is to exhibit a selection of picosecond fiber lasers. These are designed with the only technology that gives users of industrial or scientific research lasers adjustable pulse duration, repetition rate and tunable wavelength within the same system. Irisiome’s lasers are suitable for bio-imaging applications, such as CARS, STED, multi-photon, quantum information, nonlinear optics and fundamental physics.

SPI Lasers will be using LASER to launch its latest >100W Pulsed Fiber Laser. This laser will enhance SPI’s line of successful redENERGY Pulsed Fiber Lasers, with enhanced features for micro-machining and micro joining. With 180W of power contained within an easily integrated air cooled unit the EP-M redENERGY Fiber Laser features a multimoded 4 mJ pulse with >60kW peak power; ideally suited for cleaning, cutting and welding applications.

SPI will also launch its redPOWER PRISM & QUBE CW (300W – 6kW) products into the European market, commenting, “Laser 2017 is a fantastic opportunity for prospective customers to speak to our experts and identify just how these fiber lasers can improve industrial manufacturing processes by maximising efficiency, reducing production times and costs.”

Toptica Photonics will present its latest, innovative sources. With its latest product releases, Toptica is offering a complete laser wavelength coverage from deep-UV (190 nm) through terahertz radiation (0.1 THz, corresponding to 3 mm). These lasers support a multitude of applications in biophotonics & microscopy, materials & metrology and quantum technology, the company explained.

Deep-UV wavelengths as small as 190 nm are now accessible with Toptica’s frequency-converted diode lasers. By providing essential wavelengths like 193 nm, 213 nm or 407 nm in pure cw TEM₀₀-mode quality, the DLC TA-SHG/FHG pro is an ideal solution for testing and inspection or advanced material processing, such as lithography patterning for holographic applications.

Toptica’s tunable diode lasers now cover the full wavelength range between 190 and 3500 nm. With the new MDL pro, these lasers become available in a transportable and compact design. It combines up to four tunable diode lasers in one 19-inch module with the same specifications as its DL pro and DFB pro series.

The TeraSpeed complements Toptica’s portfolio of terahertz systems. The range also includes the time-domain terahertz platform TeraFlash, which achieves an unsurpassed peak dynamic range of 90 dB and a bandwidth of 6 THz. In addition, the frequency-domain terahertz platform TeraScan allows for a frequency resolution better than 10 MHz and a dynamic range up to 100 dB.

About the Author

Matthew Peach is a contributing editor to optics.org.