Bordeaux, France – 19 décembre 2022. Amplitude, a leading manufacturer of ultrafast lasers, announces the acquisition of Fastlite, a French high-technology company specializing in ultrafast pulse shaping, characterization, and optical parametric amplifiers. The acquisition is expected to be completed in early 2023, pending regulatory consultations and approvals.
Amplitude and Fastlite have long-established ties and have worked together to bring advanced ultrafast technology to the market.
” We have worked with the Fastlite team for many years, and it is an honor to have them join the Amplitude family. The complementary expertise of the two companies will enable Amplitude to design and manufacture the next generation of ultrafast lasers.” says Eric Mottay, President, and C.E.O.
“ Fastlite shares the same passion for ultrafast laser technology as Amplitude, and I am looking forward to our teams working together. Amplitude’s world largest ultrafast laser portfolio constitutes an invaluable asset towards the offering of Ytterbium pumped OPA and OPCPA products and solutions. ” explains Pascal Tournois, CEO.
More information about Amplitude:
Amplitude is the international specialist and leader in femtosecond lasers for industrial, medical, and scientific applications. Combining research & innovation with industrial efficiency, Amplitude delivers advanced and reliable femtosecond lasers to a worldwide customer base. With Amplitude manufacturing sites and extensive support and application development facilities in Europe, Asia, and north America, Amplitude is committed to expand laser applications through product quality and proximity with its partners and customers.
More information about Fastlite:
Fastlite is a recognized leader in ultrafast scientific instrumentation and has since 2016 offered to the ultrafast scientific community customized ultrafast laser sources based on Ytterbium-pumped Optical Parametric Chirped Pulse Amplifiers.
Press contact:
Agnès BUYS MAULEON – Global Communication Manager
agnes.mauleon[a]amplitude-laser.com
An industry leader in Ultrashort Pulse laser based micromachining and the production of ultrafast lasers and laser-based solutions for scientific research and industrial applications, Clark-MXR, Inc. is known for offering unparalleled contract manufacturing services and easy-to-use laser products at a low cost of ownership. Located in Dexter, Michigan, Clark-MXR, Inc. serves customers from universities, laboratories and industries across the globe.
Clark-MXR, Inc. was incorporated as a Michigan corporation in 1992, to acquire the assets of two running companies: Clark Instrumentation Inc., founded by Dr. William Clark, and Medox (MXR) Research, Inc., founded by Dr. Philippe Bado – a member of Professor Gerard Mourou’s research group. As the world’s first commercial ultrafast laser company, Clark-MXR, Inc. has introduced many first-to-the-market products since its inception, including its CPA-1000 in 1992. In addition, Clark-MXR, Inc. has been involved in the use of ultrafast lasers for micromachining based on research conducted at Professor Mourou’s laboratory at the University of Michigan.
The company’s products and services stem from its two main divisions: the Laser Products Division and the Micromachining Division. Responsible for designing, building and servicing ultrashort pulse lasers for scientific and industrial applications, the Laser Products Division also manufactures micromachining workstations that are used in industrial micromachining, micro-manufacturing and proof-of-concept process development. Its complete system solutions meet a variety of industry needs, from ultrashort pulse micromachining workstations based on Model CPA-Series Ti:Sapphire lasers to Model IMPULSE, Yb-doped fiber lasers and complete nonlinear spectroscopy systems. Additionally, this division of Clark-MXR, Inc. produces accessories, such as NOPAs and harmonic generators, and offers customized product development, consultation and collaborations.
The formation of the second division, the Micromachining Division, was initiated by the introduction and success of the first commercial ultrafast laser based micromachining workstation in 2002, Model UMW based on Model CPA-Series laser. Providing value-added service to the semiconductor, medical and other high tech industries, this division utilizes the company’s ultrashort pulse lasers to cover a range of tasks, from prototyping to routine part production.
The Micromachining Division consistently meets its goal of addressing the growing demand for micromachined parts using ultrafast lasers, which offer a superior quality when compared to traditional methods. Because of the company’s innovative technology and extensive knowledge from the last 20 years, Clark-MXR, Inc. can machine a wide variety of materials – including ceramics and refractory metals – without recasting, heat-affected-zone (HAZ), delamination or melting. The micromachining technologies utilized within this division of the company can be adapted for innovative research – from 3D tomography and geological sample analysis to laser ablation mass spectrometry and LIBS. With a clearly-honed expertise, state-of-the-art inspection facilities, and a dedication to working closely with customers, Clark-MXR, Inc. develops custom methodologies that successfully fulfill customers’ unique needs.
Over its history, Clark-MXR, Inc. has grown, now earning recognition as a premier company in the laser industry for ultrafast laser micromachining and for its numerous ultrafast laser products, including many first-to-market products and innovations. The range of products and services the company offers today includes Model CPA-Series Ti:Sapphire Ultrafast lasers, Model IMPULSE Yb-doped high power/high energy fiber lasers, Ultrafast Micromachining workstations, and complete system solutions for micromachining and research sectors, including fully customized systems. In addition to its range of products, Clark-MXR, Inc. works to help the growing ultrafast laser based micromachining industry, among other things, through its Ultrafast Micromachining Handbook, which was introduced in 1999 and is now freely available on the Clark-MXR, Inc. website to familiarize individuals with the novel physics of ultrafast laser based material removal processes.
Since joining Laser Institute of America (LIA) in 1999, Clark-MXR, Inc. and its team have been actively involved in the organization, with Dr. William Clark serving as LIA president in 2005.
If you have ever been to Auckland, New Zealand, you know the natural beauty of its surroundings and the vibrancy of the city. What you may not know is that the campus of the University of Auckland is home to a unique facility, one that uses the power of intense pulses of light to manipulate, measure and machine matter — it uses photons as its ‘machinery.’
The Photon Factory
This unexpected find is the result of the efforts of Dr. Cather Simpson, who joined the faculty of the University of Auckland in 2007. Soon after arriving, Dr. Simpson challenged herself to “bring the rich versatility of high-tech ultrashort laser pulses to New Zealand academic and industry innovators.” This challenge resulted in the creation of a facility dubbed the ‘Photon Factory.’ The Photon Factory fulfills multiple functions: it is a laboratory for education, research, innovation and even economic development.
The ‘Photon Factory’ at the University of Auckland (left) and Dr. Cather Simpson (right) along with members of her team of students, researchers & entrepreneurs
Dr. Simpson became familiar with ultrafast lasers and their extremely short pulses (on the order of 100 fs = 100 x 1015 seconds) while pursuing research in ultrafast energy conversion in molecules. She used them as a tool in her lab when she started her career as a professor at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Light can be converted by molecules into other forms of energy; by studying the dynamics of molecular complexes excited by light on femtosecond to microsecond timescales through both experiments and modeling, it is possible to learn how molecules direct the energy acquired in light absorption. The ultimate goal of these investigations is to understand how the structure and environment influence molecular functions so that photochemical and photophysical behavior can be both predicted and tailored.
Having achieved tenure at CWRU, she found the opportunity to move to New Zealand compelling, and there, her research has flourished to span from fundamental spectroscopy to applied device development. The Photon Factory is the facility and resource she has developed to accomplish her research goals and to bring the power of laser light to New Zealand, and beyond.
A Factory of Ideas & People, Powered by Light
How did the Photon Factory come into being? When Dr. Simpson moved to New Zealand, the country was undergoing a transformation in how academic research was being funded. A newly-formed government was in the process of making structural changes, closing the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology and moving some of its functions to a newly created agency, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. This signaled the new government’s stance that science and technology were to be viewed as drivers of economic development. Because she arrived at this time and had no history with the previous methods of funding, Simpson was able to embrace and navigate the new system. She realized that the government wanted to use the academic community to fill a large gap in R&D spending that New Zealand companies were not filling — the level of spending on internal R&D was well below that of international companies, and nearly non-existent. She also realized that, unlike what she had encountered in America, funding sources would scrutinize how she engaged with industry and what type of business case there was for the proposed work as a key factor in whether her work would be funded or not. She began to pay attention to what companies were identifying as the problems they wanted to solve. But at the same time, she was eager to continue her ultrafast chemistry research.
Dr. Simpson recognized that the laser tools that she was using in chemistry were being used for other applications, some that might have more immediate use to industry. Her experience and interest in laser-matter interactions was a natural bridge into material processing applications. She also understood that there were challenges, such as slow machining speeds, that kept ultrashort pulsed machining from widespread use. With these ideas in mind, the multi-purpose, multi-user Photon Factory, was born.
Since its opening in 2010, the facility has grown to over 30 students and employees from physics, chemistry and engineering backgrounds who work on dozens of academic and commercial projects. These activities range from basic research stemming from Simpson’s chemistry background, such as evaluating the photobehavior of improved solar energy harvesting molecules, to more industry-friendly applied research, such as fabricating photomasks for microfluidic chip production.
The Photon Factory generates commercial contracts and grants, and also serves as a test bed for science innovation and a training ground for future scientists and engineers. Interactions with New Zealand-based companies including Next Window, Rakon, Fisher & Paykel, Izon and others have produced such wide-ranging results as improved touch-sensitive displays, better locking nuts, more efficient designs for solar thermal energy harvesting, and new designs for GPS chips. Global companies like Intuitive Surgical (based in Sunnyvale, CA) have brought projects to the Photon Factory to develop laser-based surgery in difficult tissue. Such projects have yielded patent filings, and an increased ability to understand commercial opportunities. They have also created conditions for both students and Dr. Simpson herself to get involved in industry-sponsored and spin-off technologies.
Entrepreneurship has become a buzzword in academic circles, but in New Zealand, the Photon Factory takes the concept to heart. Two spin-off companies have already been generated by the work of the Photon Factory. The first, Engender Technologies, Ltd., was established in 2011 as a result of taking a serious look at the challenges faced by New Zealand’s dairy industry. When approached by a venture capital firm with the five top problems in that sector, Dr. Simpson found one that seemed possible to address by photonics and then chose a team of students and engineers to find a solution. The problem she chose was that of improving sperm sorting by sex, to address the needs of dairy farmers who are turning to artificial insemination to control the numbers of bulls versus cows. The resulting microfluidic and photonic device is a huge departure from the state-of-the-art flow cytometry based solution, and one that could only be identified by people with a new set of tools at their disposal. A second spin-off is currently being formed to commercialize a new centrifugal microfluidic technology developed in the Photon Factory to analyze milk at “point of cow” in the milking shed. The new company already has backing from VC and other investors. It is probably no coincidence that both start-ups are addressing New Zealand’s important agricultural sector.
Cell-sorting prototype developed within the Photon Factory
Transforming Matter & Lives
So, what has the Photon Factory achieved thus far? Besides new chemical insights, material processing to solve diverse problems, and generating novel concepts and devices, it has turned Dr. Simpson into an entrepreneur and led her to tackle questions that she previously would not have envisioned. Her passion for research has been applied to significant problems in diverse application areas, from touch sensor displays to challenges in dairy farming. And perhaps most importantly, this passion has been applied to developing future engineers and scientists with deep curiosity and an entrepreneurial spirit. All of these things have resulted from the fortuitous confluence of a researcher, with a specialized high-tech tool, finding interesting challenges and opportunities based on New Zealand’s desire to develop more innovation to drive economic growth. Who knew that photons could be so powerful?
For more information, or to reach Dr. Cather Simpson, visit www.photonfactory.auckland.ac.nz/en.html
Infrared antireflection surfaces are of great realistic significance in wide fields including infrared imaging, sensors, thermoelectrics, stealth, artificial blackbody, etc. However, efficient infrared antireflection property still remains a major challenge, especially on metal surfaces which are usually inherent excellent reflectors at the infrared wavelength regime. Until now, few reports of near unity infrared AR property reaching reflectance below 1 percent and fewer reports of broadband near unity AR strategies which keep effective through the spectrum of 5~25 μm on metal surfaces have been demonstrated. It is known that the high optical impedance between metal and the free space is the culprit accounting for the severe apparent reflection of metal surfaces. An effective method for alleviating the optical impedance is to introduce a transitional medium. The semiconductor materials, metal oxide in particular, are expected to be good candidates to realize such a purpose. However, it’s technically difficult to steadily produce a uniform as well as highly efficient oxide layer on metal surfaces. Here, we propose a novel ultrafast laser hybrid processing approach to tackle this fundamental challenge. By forming precursor micro-nano structures via ultrafast laser, oxide in the unique structural form of nanowires is facilely and uniformly grown on Cu surfaces after a subsequent simple thermal oxidation process. Continue reading →
Technology breakthroughs can change the face of a whole industrial sector; in many cases unexpected discoveries drive unprecedented benefits for industrial applications. Let’s consider the adaptation of lasers into various industrial sectors and developments in laser technologies. The advent of solid-state lasers some 30 years ago, in a world dominated by gas lasers, brought unparalleled advantages, through the significant increase in efficiency gained by replacing flashlamps with semiconductor laser diodes and the development of high beam quality, high average power thin disk lasers.
The micro-manufacturing industry has experienced profound changes over the past decade, largely attributed to the increasing availability of industrial grade, high power ultrafast lasers. Another key contributing factor has been the heavy investment and development of associated beam delivery technologies. Many solid-state lasers used in industry today employ optical fiber beam delivery, enabling easy coupling to industrial robots, the ability to supply multiple workstation from a single high power laser source, and more generally, offering exceptional flexibility to production processes. Continue reading →
