More than 20 companies are active in the field associated with ultrashort pulse (USP) lasers worldwide, according to Laser Focus Globe,. Most of them are Western european and American; a couple of are from The far east.
Now there is really a new, potentially effective Japanese entrant.
Hamamatsu Photonics is definitely enlisting European support to expand the laser-related product line plus develop industrial laser beam technology that “can process virtually any material at the highest accuracy. ”
This claim is made by the Japanese company and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Laser beam Technology as they declare the establishment of a jointly-run laboratory in Aachen to develop programs for ultrashort pulsed (USP) lasers using Hamamatsu’s new, high-power spatial light modulator (SLM).
The particular establishment of the laboratory in Aachen follows preparatory work on the technology by the 2 partners and the statement, on June 24, of Hamamatsu Photonics’ acquisition of NKT Photonics, a Danish laserlight maker that has “unique photonic crystal fiber production technology meant for USP laser hyperbole and fiber transmission. ” Pending regulating approval, the deal needs to be completed at the end of 03 2023.
Hamamatsu Photonics, headquartered within Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, is perhaps best known because of its work with Nobel Reward winner Masatoshi Koshiba, which led to the construction of the Kamiokande neutrino detector in Gifu Prefecture (see “ Nobel laureate physicist Masatoshi Koshiba dies with 94 ” (Asia Times, November 16, 2020).
In addition to its near overall dominance of the worldwide market for photomultiplier tubes (which are used to detect the neutrinos, among numerous additional applications), Hamamatsu Photonics is a leading maker of laser diodes, optical sensors and components, light and radiation sources, specialty cameras and other image resolution and measurement tools.
Its products are utilized worldwide in medical diagnostics, semiconductor inspection and wafer dicing, non-destructive testing plus factory automation, high-energy physics, food examination, water-quality analysis along with other applications, including all those acquired via NKT Photonics and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser beam Technology.
The Institute, located in Aachen, is a contract R& D company that develops new production processes plus components together with clients from the automotive, plane, mechanical and electrical engineering, medical, optical and other industries, which includes laser manufacturing plus measurement start-ups. Certainly one of 76 institutes and research facilities managed by Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, they have nearly 500 workers and has generated more that 40 spin-offs.
According to its website, the Start has expertise in a broad range of sophisticated technologies, including lasers, optical systems, portion technology, laser measurement technology, additive manufacturing, surface technology, reducing, digitalization, EUV (extreme ultraviolet) and plasma technology, and healthcare technology.
The particular Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, headquartered within Munich, advertises by itself as “the world’s leading applied analysis organization. ” Working almost worldwide, it consists of nine groups: energy and climat, health, information and communications, innovation, lighting and surfaces, materials and components, microelectronics, production, and reference technologies and bioeconomy. Its goal would be to prioritize “key future-related technologies” and commercialize its findings in operation and industry. It has about 30, 000 employees, most of them scientists and engineers.
Specialists from Hamamatsu and Fraunhofer have already developed “an industrial processing SLM-head that may use customized, dynamic beam shaping combined with large laser typical output powers to get a wide range of applications, ” their press release states. “SLMs are particularly suitable for developing manufacturing processes that use USP laser radiation since the beam properties can be easily adapted plus tailored. ”
Since explained by The german language photonics company Holoeye, spatial light modulators are devices that modulate the amplitude, phase or polarization of light surf in space plus time. They may be used in display, holography, laser beam shaping, laser beam pulse modulation, optic metrology and other applications, including laser materials processing.
Processes employing USP lasers include micro-machining, ablation, surface finishing, cutting, scribing and drilling. They are especially good for processing frail or fragile components – for exact cutting of thin glass, as one illustration.
Hamamatsu Photonics received funding for the new lab underneath the Cross-ministerial Strategic Creativity Promotion Program led by the Japanese government’s Council for Technology, Technology and Innovation. The program promotes interdisciplinary R& D through fundamental research in order to industrial application with the cooperation of sector, academia and federal government.
As for the purchase of NKT Photonics, usana products include:
- Supercontinuum white-light lasers, which are used since light sources within microscopy and semiconductor inspection;
- Single-frequency fiber lasers, which are used to type ion and atom cold traps within quantum computing, sensing and other applications;
- Ultrafast dietary fiber Lasers, now utilized as surgical lasers in ophthalmology and expected to be used within semiconductor wafer dicing and high-precision commercial processing.
These products complement the present line-up of Hamamatsu Photonics. Substantial new product development and marketing synergies are expected. NKT Photonics’ management, staff members, facilities and logos reportedly will be retained.
The Danish company, after two years of losses and the sale of its non-core sensing business final March, looks forward to continuing procedures with sound economic support as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hamamatsu Photonics. The 205 million euro acquisition price (¥28. 7 billion at the present exchange rate) is easily covered by net cash of 775 million euros (¥108. five billion) on Hamamatsu Photonics’ balance page at the end of June.
NKT Photonics currently generates yearly sales of about seventy million euros (about ¥10 billion). This is equivalent to about 5% of Hamamatsu Photonics’ total consolidated sales and 15% of its industrial instrument product sales.
All of this should be thought about before jumping in order to conclusions about China taking over global production.
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