SuperLight launches ‘first’ portable wideband laser

31 Oct 2023

The SLP-1000 is specified to offer spectral output of 400-1500nm for imaging, and spectroscopy.

SuperLight Photonics, a developer of supercontinuum lasers, has launched what it calls “the first revolutionary portable wideband laser” – the SLP-1000. Its wide spectral output offers a light source for industrial and medical imaging applications and for spectroscopy.

Supercontinuum lasers, also known as wideband lasers, provide high bandwidth while maintaining high coherence and low noise. However, today’s industrial solutions are large and heavy, with limited environmental robustness, and require high power, says the Enschede, The Netherlands-based company.

Its launch statement adds, “Moreover, while they deliver a wide bandwidth of colors, a dominant color usually stands out, whereas the remaining colors are at exceedingly low relative power levels. Essentially, they [previous models] are wideband by technicality.”

Portable and compact

The SLP-1000 is a portable wideband laser with a compact, battery-operated, rugged design, weighing only 900 grams (32 oz) and having a form factor of less than 1 liter.

SuperLight states, “The SLP-1000, which is based on a PAD approach – meaning Patterned Alternating Dispersion, offers a high-quality, coherent and stable spectral output (400nm @-3dB through 1500nm @-20dB) in the near infrared band at a repetition rate of 100MHz with pulse durations around 20fs pulses.

It integrates a seed laser from Menlo Systems, a supplier of instrumentation for high-precision photonics metrology. The laser output is equipped with a Thorlabs-compatible screw thread (SM05), seamlessly integrating with other products from Thorlabs.

The company continues, “The short pulse duration of around 20fs, achieved with the SLP-1000, is also a testament to the advantages of having highly efficient SC generators. In comparison to alternative products, lower pulse energies can be used at the input of these devices; thus pulse broadening needed for amplification, noise from amplifier stages, and additional optical components can be eliminated.”

The SLP-1000 also provides high-quality nonlinear pulse compression for application fields such as third harmonic surface imaging and transient absorption spectroscopy.

Haider Zia, CT, commented, "The SLP-1000 is the result of the journey from a spark of an idea, kindled during my tenure at Twente University, to an industrial product reality. The industry demand for a portable, high-quality wideband laser has spanned more than a decade.”

The laser will be formally launched at next week’s PIC Summit Europe photonics event on November 7th and 8th in Eindhoven.