TOPTICA goes round – and presents photons in all sizes, shapes and colors at LASER 2013

Rb-MOT: with temperatures below 300 μK the coolest place at LASER 2013.

April 22, 2013

TOPTICA presents one of the largest selections of diode and ultrafast fiber lasers for photonics applications at the upcoming LASER World of Photonics 2013 show in Munich. Thomas Renner, VP Sales & Marketing cordially invites you: “TOPTICA has ‘A passion for precision.’ – and for photons. If we play with physics terminology a bit: We are proud to present on live display gigantic, the tiniest, the most round, colorful and the fastest photons at the TOPTICA booth.” All new systems will be shown in applications for three major markets: Test & Measurement, Quantum Optics & Spectroscopy and Biophotonics & Microscopy.

Gigantic photons
Terahertz radiation has unique properties. For example, it can look inside materials that are opaque to visible light. Also many gases and organic solids feature characteristic absorption lines – so-called “fingerprints” – at Terahertz frequencies.
At the booth, two innovative Terahertz spectroscopy systems will be shown: one for time-domain, and one for frequency-domain Terahertz spectroscopy.

The TeraFlash, a breakthrough for pulsed Terahertz spectroscopy, is based on mature 1.5 μm telecom technology, combining a compact femtosecond fiber laser (FemtoFErb, 1550 nm, 100 fs, 100 mW, 100 MHz), a highly precise delay stage, and state-of-the-art InGaAs Terahertz antennas. With a bandwidth of 4 THz, this platform covers the relevant frequency range of many chemical substances, e.g. biomolecules, explosives and narcotics. Furthermore, the TeraFlash provides a peak dynamic range of more than 70 dB – an industrybreaking record in sensitivity.

The TeraScan systems are “TopSeller” configurations for cw-Terahertz spectroscopy based on tunable DFB diode lasers. The TeraScan 850 employs GaAs photomixers and offers an outstanding bandwidth and high dynamic range. The newly introduced TeraScan 1550 is based on InGaAs emitters and receivers, and provides the most compact solution for cw-THz spectroscopy. One of the key features of the TeraScan is its frequency resolution on the 1 MHz level.

TOPTICA’s THz-systems access frequencies down to 0.05 THz. This corresponds to an optical wavelength of 6 mm, most likely the “most gigantic” photons emitted at LASER 2013.

Tiniest photons
Many applications require dedicated wavelengths in the deep UV – most of them not directly accessible with diode or other lasers. TOPTICA’s TA-FHG pro systems address this challenging task with two cascaded SHG stages, which convert IR diode laser radiation into the UV. They supply tunable, narrow-linewidth output of up to 60 mW with excellent long-term stability in the 205..320 nm spectral range. In the same scheme, wavelengths down to even 193 nm were demonstrated. A live system at 254 nm with 60 mW provides coherent cw photons with probably the shortest wavelength, and, to stay in the theme, some of the “tiniest” photons at the LASER 2013 show.

Most “round” photons
The noise properties of the laser and its electronics often relate to the precision and measuring time of an experiment. Perfect laser control therefore is a crucial factor for many applications. TOPTICA is proud to present the first fully digital high-end control electronics for tunable diode lasers: the DLC pro. The new laser controller outperforms even the best analog electronics and sets a new benchmark with respect to noise levels on current, temperature and piezo voltage. The DLC pro provides precise control for the most demanding experiments and introduces a new and intuitive way of working with tunable diode lasers. Come and touch the future!

New digital control electronics are also incorporated in the new TopMode – an industry-changing diode-based alternative to bulky gas lasers for applications that require a high coherence length. Six different wavelengths (405, 445, 488, 515, 633, 685 nm) provide TEM00 beam quality. The coherence length of more than 25 meters is perfect for interferometry, holography or metrology applications. The new highlight is 100 mW at 405 nm with all the advantages of compact diode laser technology.

The unique features of TOPTICA’s high coherence diode lasers are only made possible with their ‘pro’-type optomechanical setup and the latest generation control electronics. The result are the finest linewidth control, highest coherence length and lowest noise characteristics. It feels like having the “most round” photons.

Fastest Photons
TOPTICA celebrates 10 ultrafast years of fiber technology with an installed base of more than 500 lasers. The established FemtoFiber pro and FemtoFiber smart ultrafast fiber laser series are serving applications in metrology, spectroscopy, microscopy, Terahertz generation and high-power seeding.
At LASER 2013 TOPTICA presents the FemtoFYb, a model featuring femtosecond pulses at 1030 nm (800 fs). The second new member of the FemtoFiber smart family is the FemtoFErb 780, offering a pulse duration of less than 100 fs at 780 nm. With more than 50 mW average power, this laser is ideally suited for Terahertz-generation. Like any other fiber laser from TOPTICA, the FemtoFErb 780 also employs SAM (saturable absorber mirror)-technology and polarizationmaintaining fibers, both of which ensure extraordinary robustness and reliability. With integrated electronics it is also one of the most compact femtosecond laser systems available.


The FemtoFiber pro UCP provides the shortest pulses (< 25 fs), or the “fastest” photons from a fiber laser.

Also on display will be different models of the FemtoFiber pro series, one of them the FemtoFiber pro UCP, providing the shortest pulses that are commercially available based on fiber lasers. It achieves pulses shorter than 25 fs – a time scale which allows observing ultrafast processes, just like using a triggered high speed camera. TOPTICA expects the system to provide the “fastest” photons at the show, certainly out of a fiber laser.

Most “colorful” photons
Multiple biophotonics instruments like microscopes or flow cytometers require multiple laser wavelengths out of one package. TOPTICA´s unique iChrome MLE provides a perfect solution: up to 4 laser beams (e.g. 405, 488, 561, 640 nm) combined in one single-mode fiber – all integrated in one compact box. At LASER 2013 new models with an output power up to 100 mW are presented. The unique COOLAC beam combination technology guarantees perfect optomechanical stability and an autocalibration feature after e.g. transportation. The userfriendly and flexible interface provides direct modulation with up to 20 MHz with a unique instantaneous access to power levels between μW and mW.

Individual wavelengths are also available in a compact all-in-one device: the iBeam smart. Up to 300 mW and direct modulation up to 250 MHz are some of the unique features, appreciated by thousands of customers.

All TOPTICA lasers combined provide access to a wavelength spectrum between 193 nm and 0.05 THz, almost without any spectral gaps – certainly the most “colorful” photons presented at LASER 2013.

Coolest place at LASER 2013
See the coolest place at LASER 2013, literally! Rubidium atoms are laser trapped and cooled down to temperatures of ~300 Microkelvin above absolute zero, a temperature far below any temperature found in nature. TOPTICA’s new amplifier BoosTA pro amplifies the light of a DL pro to cool the atoms, and to hold them in place in the compact magneto-optical trap, MiniMOT™ (supplied by ColdQuanta). A fibercoupled DL pro serves as repumping laser. Both lasers are frequency stabilized by either a compact module for saturation spectroscopy (CoSy), or a HighFinesse wavelength meter.

See the most gigantic photons and much more, at the TOPTICA booth B1.117 at the upcoming LASER World of Photonics (May 13th - 16th 2013) in Munich, Germany.