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.