LASER 2022: New launches round-up

05 May 2022

optics.org reviews a selection of new products announced at last week’s LASER World of Photonics in Munich.

Lumentum has added a new femtosecond laser system to its portfolio of high-precision ultrafast industrial lasers: the FemtoBlade. The FemtoBlade laser employs a modular design that provides increased flexibility and high power at high repetition rates which will enable faster processing and improved throughput for micromachining applications, including OLED, PCB, ceramic and glass cutting, engraving, and solar cell processing.

“The FemtoBlade will differentiate Lumentum based on its higher power, providing greater throughput for our customers,” said Yvette Just, Lumentum Product Line Manager for Commercial Lasers. “Our new advanced model enables faster processing time while still providing excellent processing quality.”

Available in UV, IR, and green wavelengths, the FemtoBlade can be ordered with powers ranging from 12 W to 50 W of UV, up to 200 W of IR, or up to 100 W of green. FemtoBlade features include:

• FlexBurst and MegaBurst provide the ability to split the energy at a higher power of a single pulse (single pulse mode) into a group of pulses (burst mode);
• AccuTrig provides accurate triggering function for “on-the-fly” processing capabilities;
• Sync enables precise timing control for applications benefitting from the increased productivity achieved with high-speed galvo or line scanners.

Toptica presented its new image and logo. The brand design was launched for the first time this year at the international industry meeting LASER World of Photonics in Munich. The company’s aim is to present the company in a novel way to maximize visibility and to highlight the brand’s key position in the market.

“The driving force behind our success story is Toptica’s ability to actively shape the future as a technology leader in its industry. Our company is a reliable partner for developing unique and innovative lasers for more than 20 years,” said Dr. Wilhelm Kaenders, CTO and co-founder.

“We will take off with a fresh look and proudly show who we are: independent, likeable, with a pinch of Toptica humor, yet always authentic. A reliable partner for top researchers and demanding industrial customers. With our corporate culture and our products, we are simply an extraordinary company,” added Dr. Thomas Renner, CSO.

nLight, a developer of semiconductor and fiber lasers, announced the introduction of the 2 micron fiber laser series for a diverse set of medical, industrial, scientific, aerospace and defense applications.

The nLIGHT 2 micron series Continuous Wave and Quasi-Continuous Wave fiber lasers deliver CW power up to 100 W and QCW pulsed power up to 625 W from a compact, air cooled, 48 V DC powered package.

“The 2 micron series fiber lasers offers a combination of pulse energy and pulse modulation unattainable by legacy lasers,” said Matthew Randall, VP and General Manager of nLIGHT’s Semiconductor Laser Business. “This laser family enables our customers to scale performance and access new markets.”

Trumpf unveiled its new line of TruFiber P fiber lasers at LASER, ushering in a new era in laser technology. “The new generation of fiber lasers is strategically important to our customers. Owing to their remarkably versatility, fiber lasers are sure to have a decisive impact on our customers’ use cases and on our product portfolio in the years ahead,” said Thomas Fehn, Chief Sales Officer.

The new fiber lasers are true multipurpose tools for welding and cutting thick, thin and particularly challenging materials. With up to six kilowatts power output and a sophisticated array of optics, sensors and software, they lend themselves to a wide range of use cases in various industries.

The TruFiber P’s stable power output is maintained even when the laser operates over extended periods. The TruFiber S pairs a powerful beam source with advanced features such as BrightLine Weld, a technology that can distribute the full laser power between the core and the surrounding ring in a two-in-one laser light cable.

The TruFiber S’s beam delivery system has one or two outputs. The latter delivers laser light to two systems. Connecting and disconnecting laser light cables is an exercise in convenience. Trumpf says that makes the TruFiber S “an excellent choice for large production lines such as those in the automotive industry.”

The TruFiber P offers an output with a spliced laser light cable and the VariMode option. The laser’s beam characteristics may be adapted to suit varying manufacturing requirements with VariMode. The laser can thus process thin sheets of steel, aluminum and the like at high speeds, as well as copper, brass and other reflective materials.

Physik Instrumente showcased its high precision positioning solutions at this year’s LASER expo. The company offered attendees an interactive opportunity to fly, virtually catapulting them all the way from PI’s trade booth to the Earth’s orbit to explore how positioning solutions are driving communications.

PI’s team highlighted how the firm’s precise and accurate positioning systems are helping to harness the potential of optical technologies in the photonics industry. Visitors had the opportunity to dive into this world of systems applications, using augmented reality to explore how these pioneering technologies are pushing the boundaries of industries such as laser machine processing.

In addition, ACS Motion Control, a manufacturer of high-end modular controllers and drives for multi-axis systems, was also present to discuss that company’s new motion controllers, servo drives and software.

NKT Photonics’ new Koheras Harmonik frequency-converted fiber lasers give users access to a wide range of new wavelengths, up to 10 W of power, low noise, and a line width below 200 Hz, stated the company’s launch document.

“Our Koheras fiber lasers are inherently stable. They are reliable, alignment-free, and maintenance-free. They can be mounted in a rack or placed upside down, some users trust the Koheras lasers enough to send them into space,” the statement added.

The company says that 15,000 Koheras lasers have been installed in demanding industrial applications for decades. Now, they are ready to assist in quantum research developments – with the following new wavelengths:

• 780 nm, 840 nm, and 1064 nm for rubidium
• 317 nm, 813 nm, and 1064 nm for strontium
• 532 nm and 1762 nm for barium
• 399 nm, 556 nm, 638 nm, 770 nm, and 1064 nm for ytterbium

All of the Harmonik lasers are pumped by NKT Photonics’ low-noise fiber lasers in the NIR range, allowing the lasers to be locked to frequency references at either their fundamental or converted wavelengths. The specification adds, “The fiber delivery solution handles high power, preserves the low-noise laser properties, and delivers single-mode light at all wavelengths.”

Jenoptik presented its broad product portfolio of high-performance optical components and systems, which serve current trends in biophotonics, laser production, optoelectronics, data transmission and imaging.

In addition to new lenses and beam expanders on show, Jenoptik provided information about its JENvelt optical system with live demonstrations. The latest generation of the UFO Probe Card, an intelligent test solution for PIC wafer testing, was also on display.

Using a miniature version of the Mars rover “Perseverance”, trade fair visitors could also find out about the optical technologies and products that Jenoptik engineers have developed, tested and manufactured for NASA’s Mars 2020 mission.

With its new JENar APTAline series, Jenoptik showed its F-Theta lenses, which are optimally tailored to customer requirements. The high-power quartz glass lenses offer a cost-optimized alternative for demanding applications where reliability, series stability and durability are important.

The F-Theta lenses are available in wavelengths of 355 nm and 1030–1080 nm. The JENar APTAline lenses are based on the proven design of Jenoptik and are subject to the same high-quality standards as the existing F-Theta products, the company stated.

In the field of beam expansion, the Fix-BEX beam expanders with fixed enlargement supplement the Jenoptik product portfolio. Whether installed as 1.5x, 2x, 4x or 8x version, they are said to suit applications that require a constant zoom factor and high image quality.

Jenoptik’s Fix-BEX beam expanders are available for wavelengths of 355 nm, 515-540 nm or 1030-1080 nm and offer a large input aperture of up to 8 mm (1/e2). The high-precision optical design allows for diffraction-limited imaging and prevents internal foki.

Three-photon imaging and optogenetics

Three-photon microscopy at 1300 nm is gaining popularity due to excellent transmission in brain and other tissues, thus maximizing imaging depth. Two-photon optogenetic stimulation can target specific neuron populations with single cell resolution, enabling all-optical physiology experiments.

Coherent’s Monaco 1300 is the latest addition to the company’s Monaco portfolio, catering for researchers in these evolving fields, seeking a low-maintenance, integrated 3P imaging and 2P photo-stimulation source.

Monaco 1300 is a one-box ultrafast laser designed for 3-photon microscopy at 1300 nm and 2-photon optogenetics at 1035 nm. It is available with 1.5 W or 2.5 W of average power, a pulse width <50 fs, and repetition rate options of 1, 2, or 4 MHz.